Italian Navy & Air Force Elite Units & Special Forces 1940-45

by Piero Crociani, Pier Paolo Battistelli, Mark Stacey (Illustrator)

Overview

This volume assesses the formidable Special Forces fielded by Italy's navy and air force in World War II. Italian Navy Special Forces were particularly active and respected in the Mediterranean, where 10th Motor-Torpedo Boat Flotilla used frogmen, 'two-man torpedoes' and explosive ram-boats. The Italian Air Force formed a special commando unit, ADRA, before the 1943 surrender; it was tasked with attacking Allied airfields and communications in North Africa. Men from ADRA and Army paratroopers formed the new 'Folgore' Regiment, which also continued to fight alongside German forces until 1945. In both cases, the pro-Allied Italian forces also formed 'mirror' units to fight alongside US and British forces, including the Recce Squadron 'F'. Featuring rare photographs and specially commissioned artwork, this book tells the story of the little-known elite forces fielded by Italy's navy and air force in World War II, some of whose successors remain in service with today's Italian armed forces.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780963723
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	01/20/2013
Series:	Elite , #191
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	863,167
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Piero Crociani acts as a consultant for the Italian Army Historical Branch and is the author of several articles, essays and books on Italian military history. Amongst his published words are The Albanians in the Italian Armed Forces (Rome, 2001); The Neapolitan Army 1806–15 (Milan, 1987) and, together with Virgilio Ilari and Giancarlo Boeri, A Military History of Murat's Kingdom (1806–15) (Milan, 2007). Pier Paolo Battistelli earned his PhD in Military History at the University of Padua. A scholar of German and Italian politics and strategy throughout World War II, he is active in Italy and abroad writing titles and essays on military history subjects. A contributor to the Italian Army Historical Office, he is currently revising his PhD thesis for publication: The War of the Axis: German and Italian Military Partnership in World War Two, 1939–1943.
Pier Paolo Battistelli earned his PhD in Military History at the University of Padua. A scholar of German and Italian politics and strategy throughout World War II, he is active in Italy and abroad writing books and essays on military history subjects. A contributor to the Italian Army Historical Office, he is currently revising his PhD thesis for publication: The War of the Axis: German and Italian Military Partnership in World War Two, 1939-1943.
Mark Stacey was born in Manchester, UK, in 1964 and has been a freelance illustrator since 1987. He has a lifelong interest in all periods of history, particularly military history, and has specialized in this area throughout his career. He now lives and works in Cornwall.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Navy Special Forces: 1st & 10th Mas Flotilla, 1940-43 6

Origins

Organization, 1941

Craft and equipment

Operations

Midget Submarines & the Black Sea 21

'San Marco' Naval Infantry 24

Origins

Italian landing forces

'San Marco' Regiment: operations 'P', 'N' & 'NP' special forces

Air Force Special Forces 36

1st Air Force Paratroop Unit

'Loreto' Battalion

1st Air Force Assault Regiment 'Amedeo d'Aosta'

Air Force Assault Engineer Battalion (ADRA)

Borghese and the Xa Mas Units, 1943-45 42

The Italian surrender

The RSI Navy special assault forces

Operations The Xa MAS naval infantry

Early operations

The 'Divisione Decima' A 'flotilla' swallows a navy

Operations, December 1944-April 1945

'Folgore' Parachute Regiment, 1943-45 57

Conclusions 60

Select Bibliography 63

Index 64

Editorial Reviews

This coverage uses vintage rare wartime photos and new color pictures of uniforms and equipment to narrow the focus on the unit's many achievements, with M. Stacey's illustrations making this a key survey for any World War II military collection.” —James A. Cox, The Midwest Book Review (June 2013)

“The spotlight shines on some relatively little-known military men in Italian Navy & Air Force Elite Units & Special Forces 1940-45. Co Authors Piero Crociani and Pier Paolo Battistellin examine units that were regarded as being formidable. Fine artwork by Mark Stacey and some photographs that are considered rare illustrate the intriguing story of these elite Italian units.” —Toy Soldier & Model Figure

“The authors cover the full spectrum of these troops and a goodly portion of the book delves on the 10th MAS with their manned torpedoes and attack boats as they were the ones with the greatest success. As the Elite series is as much a uniforms and troops weapons/equipment book as anything most of the photos concentrate on that aspect of things. There are the usual superb full color plates to go along with this, so those who are figure modelers will find much interest in this title. I learned a great deal I did not know from this book and found it to be not only an interesting read, but a look into what could have been. It is one I can easily recommend to you for a look at a little known aspect of Italian military history.” —Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness (April 2013)

“Fans of special operations and irregular warfare will love this one.” —David L. Veres, www.cybermodeler.com (February 2013)

From the Publisher