A scenario that will be included in the S.79 torpedo-bomber Squadron Pack. Spitfires, AA guns, a big Anglo-American fleet in a bay in Tunisia... A very hard task for 278a Squadriglia.
Today, public playtesting at the Rome Wargame Gathering.
Attachment 307249
Against a new enemy
Italian torpedo bombers attack the Allied fleet in the bay of Bougie.
Historical background: When the Allied launched Operation Torch sending a fleet of 850 ships to land 107.000 troops in North Africa on November 8th 1942, US troops appeared for the first time on the Mediterranean theatre and Italian airmen perceived that the fate of the war was doomed. Famed ace Maggiore Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia, commander of 132° Gruppo Aerosiluranti, based at Castelvetrano in Sicily and formed by 278ª and 281ª Squadriglia, decided to strike the ships of the Eastern Task Force in the bay of Bougie, in Algeria.
The attack had to be carried in the few minutes of dusk that prevented Allied escort planes from the carriers to be on air but still allowed Italians to see targets and avoid collisions. 12 S.79 flew for 1.000 km, but bad weather delayed the S.79s and the mission was aborted when the fleet was in sight at 6 minutes of flight. Two more attacks were then carried in daytime, on the 11th of November by 4 S.79s (Buscaglia, Graziani, Angelucci and Faggioni) and on the 12th by 6 of them (Buscaglia, Pfister, Aichner, Bargagna, Marini, and Coci).
Attachment 307251
Both times the S.79 flew over the Atlas Tellien, the mountains surrounding the bay and then down along the narrow valleys at very low altitude, to avoid radars and surprise AA guns. Targets were cargo ships, possibly the ones at the docks - the torpedo bombers had to fly across al the bay over the enemy fleet, drop their torpedoes and then, since mountains in front blocked the way, go back again over the enemy ships. The area was patrolled by Supermarine Seafire Mk.IIc from 880 Squadron based on HMS Argus and Supermarine Spitfires Mk.Vb from No 81 Squadron coming from the captured airfield of Maison Blanche. Both days some of these fighters (8 on the 11th and 7 on the 12th) attacked the S.79 while they approached the fleet and on their way back, while orders prevented them to fly within range of the Allied AA guns.
Attachment 307250
Historical outcome: On the 11th of November, Angelucci’s plane was hit by AA guns and exploded while all other S.79s were damaged; no torpedo reached the target. On the 12th, Buscaglia was hit by the Spitfires and his plane caught fire. He kept on his attack, dropping the torpedo, but then his plane hit the water and exploded in flames. The Italian crews reported three ships hit, but actually the only one was the anti-aircraft ship HMS Tynwald, already sunk in the early morning by the Italian submarine Argo but still emerging from the shallow waters.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/i...ject/205146381
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