Customer Reviews

Courage Alone: The Italian Air Force 1940-1943

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Italy's involvement in World War 2 has often been practically omitted from works by serious historians who based their research only on the accounts of American, British Empire and German combatants. From the scant information available about the Italian air force, the Regia Aeronautica, readers might assume it was irrelevant to the conflict. The accounts of those who faced its pilots in combat show this view to be mistaken.

The previous absence of material published on the Italian Regia Aeronautica is redressed by this book. It features large numbers of outstanding rare photographs, and is thoughtfully illustrated with maps. An exhaustive list of the aircraft types operated by the Italians is also included.

As well as covering the Mediterranean and North African fronts, it includes lesser known Italian deployments to the Russian Front, East Africa, and in Belgium during the Battle of Britain. This fascinating book is excellent value for money and sets a new standard for reference texts on the subject.

Due to publishing delays my book arrived 6 months after the order was placed so I wondered if this book was worth the wait? I had previously read reviews on the "out of print" version of this book.

This 2009 version of the book was updated and now has 360 pages.

Here are some of the items included in the book:

#1 Over 150 pages covering the various unit histories within the Italian Air Force.

#2 Eleven pages of maps showing airfields used by the Regia Aeronautica including Italy, North Africa, East Africa, Russia, Europe and the Balkans.

#3 Squadron allocations are covered in eight pages.

#4 Thirteen pages showing Orders of Battle.

#5 Aircraft specifications and camouflage/markings are discussed and there are many color side profiles of aircraft used by the Italian Air Force.

#6 One page showing color unit badges.

#7 Excerpts from Italian aircraft manuals.

#8 Tables listing Italian Aces and Allied shipping casualties (damaged and sunk).

#9 Interesting sections on "Why the Regia Aeronautica Lost" and "The Carrier Aquila".

The book was worth the wait and provides much information on a very scarce subject.

This is one of the best of the few books available on the Italian Airforce as well as a great companion to the Italian Airforce 44-45 by Ferdinando DiAmico. I was able to use it to provide background data on a web based profile on Loris Baldi who flew with the Regia Aeronautica and ANR.... If anyone needs some research material I would be happy to check my copies for data. The text and order of battle charts, in Chris Dunnings book are very well done. Outstanding photos as well. It was one of the first published by Hikoki Publishing which seems to specialize in these rare subjects.

This book represents a monumental effort by Dunning to chronicle the story of the Regia Aeronautica during the war. It is extremely well organized, overwhelming with information, and impressively documented with photographs and color plates. My only criticism is that I would have liked to have seen the subject covered in a chronological order by theater, rather than unit by unit in numerical order, but that's a personal preference and does not detract from the validity of the book. As other reviewers have stated, this book more than adequately fills a void in coverage of the Regia Aeronautica. I'm not sure that the book puts the achievements of Italian pilots in the context I had expected, or to the extent that I had thought it might. Be that as it may, this book is an indispensable English language reference on the Regia Aeronautica, and is more than reasonably priced for the size and quality of the book, and the treasure trove of information it presents.

A fabulous book...rare color pictures...outstanding aircraft color profiles and a very readable text...a terrific value for the price.
Any person who studies the Italian Air Force and its aircraft should not be without this book.

"Courage Alone: The Italian Air Force 1940-1943", by Chris Dunning, covers the Regia Aeronautica (the Italian Air Force, or RA) from when Italy declared war in June 1940 to its surrender to the Allies in September 1943.

Before describing what this book is, let me first say what it is not. It is not a description of the combat and operational history of the RA in its many campaigns during that time frame, except in an indirect way. Do not buy this if that's what you're looking for. What you get when you buy this book is a detailed individual history of all of the RA gruppi (aircraft formations of typically 18 to 24 aircraft) and independent Squadriglia (aircraft formations of typically 9 to 12 aircraft), analysis on the RA command structure, impressive maps of bases and locations in all the theatres the IAF was involved, and orders of battle. You also will find individual chapters on aircrew, individual figher aces, brief details of all of aircraft types used by the RA, equipment, markings, camoflage, rare pictures (many in color), and an analysis of why the RA lost, among others.

Again, this book is not for the casual reader looking for an entertaining tale about IAF operations over Great Britian or the Soviet Union. Its for the modeler, author, serious historian, or World War II buff looking to learn about the nuts and bolts of the IAF. To that audience, this book is pure gold, as very little has been written about the IAF, particularly at this detailed of a level. The production quality of this book is quite high, and it's obviously a labor of love for the author.

Highly recommended.

Mussolini's Regia Aeronautica was the Rodney Dangerfield air force of World War II. When war broke out, Italy's air force was initially equipped with large numbers of obsolescent aircraft, utilized outmoded tactics and was hobbled by inadequate training and aircraft reserves. Belittled by the Allied press, Italy's fliers nevertheless tried to make up for those deficiencies through sheer courage and determination. Chris Dunning chronicles the organizational life and times of the Regia Aeronautica in this magnificent 2009 release from Hikoki Publications.

COURAGE ALONE, THE ITALIAN AIR FORCE 1940-43 is not a "yank-and-bank" air-battle-by-air-battle combat history of the RA. Rather it provides detailed information on the Regia Aeronautica organization - its units, orders of battle, command structure, aircraft types, aces, camouflage and markings, bases and locations, aircrew training, etc. Given the paucity of material on the RA thus far, Dunning's book gets six stars for the breadth and depth of information it presents. Though some of the material is dry, overall the book is an interesting read.

The authoritative and enlightening text is complimented by hundreds of b&w and color photographs; dozens of color aircraft profiles; color renditions of markings, unit badges and insignia; color maps showing locations of bases, air supply routes, etc.; and b&w aircraft plan-views.

Paging through COURAGE ALONE, you get the feeling that the book is a labor of love. Dunning seems to have left no stone unturned in his quest to tell the story of Italy's Air Force in World War II. Everything about the book - the research, the text, the illustrations - smacks of quality. Military aviation history doesn't get much better than this, folks! Highly recommended.

This book is a good general study for anyone interested in the
WWII Italian Air Force. It covers in good detail, aircraft types,
personalities, campaigns, & the many difficulties the Italian Air Force
had to deal with during the war. A recommended book.

This book is simply amazing, not only in totally comprehensive, but is organized in a logical way. From battle group, badges, camo patterns and colors, aircraft types, weapons, win /loss statistics, well you just ask and you will find it. No doubt a labor of love of the author, congratulations to him for such an incredible book and kudos to the publisher for releasing such a masterpiece .

actually I'm looking for this book, very important, if anyone would like to sell me theres. Please respond e-mail. thank you