Red
1 (M.M. 6810) of 374th Squadriglia, 153rd Gruppo, flown by Commander
Capitano Natale Veronesi, Turin-Caselle/Italy, June 1942
The 153rd Gruppo returned from the North African front in late
December of 1941, to Turin Caselle for rest and refit. In February
of 1942, the unit was declared operational and was put in charge
of the defense of the Piedmont region. Capt. Veronese led the
374th Squadriglia from April of 1940 to February of 1943. He
later took command of the 153rd Gruppo, leading the unit up to
the armistice in September of 1943. After the armistice, he participated
in the struggle against the German occupiers with groups of former
ex-soldiers until the liberation of Rome on 4 June 1944. After
that Veronese joined Aviazione Cobelligerante Italiana, the Italian
Co-Belligerent Air Force, assigned to the 4th Stormo based in
the Puglia region. Here his unit operated in the Balkans against
German forces flying the P-39 Aircobra conducting ground attack
missions. Note that this aircraft is displaying an overall Verde
Scuro (Dark green) "metropolitan" scheme, with Grigio
Azzurro Chiaro (Light Blue Gray) lower surfaces. On the fuselage
the standard red striped blue squadriglia command pennant has
been applied. |
