53 Degrees Stormo

Description

A detailed examination of one of Italy's leading units in World War 2, 53 Degrees Stormo saw action on the French Front, the Balkans, in North Africa and the Mediterranean in some of the most iconic Italian fighters of the conflict - CR.32/42, Fiat G.50, Macchi C.200 and C.202, as well as the Bf 109G, 53 Degrees Stormo fought its final actions over Rome, Torino and Milan. Featuring first-hand accounts, numerous photos and colourful artwork, this book is a great addition to Osprey's Aviation Elite Units series.

A native of Rome, Marco Mattioli has been interested in military history since he was a teenager. In 1992 he joined the Italian National Journalist Order, after which he was employed as a writer for several leading Italian history publishers. He has also contributed to many important Italian history and defence magazines, as well as writing a number of books on Italian military aviation.

"This fully-illustrated with black-and-white photographs book offers invaluable information on the 53 Stormo and the historical facts related to it." --NeoPopRealism Journal "For history-oriented readers, the book describes the involvement of different Gruppi from 53 Stormo in the Battle of France, Greece and the Balkans, North Africa, the Central Mediterranean (Malta and Pedestal and Sicily), plus Home Defense roles. It includes very detailed descriptions of the Squadriglie and Gruppi movements and actions, often including tail numbers/pilot names of the aircraft involved in combat whenever possible. I highly recommend this book to modelers based on the reference pictures and profiles and to aviation history aficionados based on the detailed research on the detailed Gruppi and Squadriglie movements and activities." --Pablo Bauleo, IPMS/USA "Author Marco Mattioli covers the history of the unit from its inception until the end of the war. This includes not only log entries, but stories from the pilots themselves. All of this is further enhanced by some excellent period photos of planes and pilots..." --Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness "...makes for a key set of aviation victory insights of World War II and is illustrated throughout with period photos, plane profiles and full-color illustrations. Recently revealed archival material sets this apart from any other consideration -- none of which offer the depth of detail of this survey." --The Midwest Book Review