The Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana

A Macchi C.205V in RLM color scheme

As you are now well aware, I do like the oddball and obscure. While the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana might not be as obscure to Check Your 6! gamers as say, the 100 Hour or Slovak-Hungarian Wars, I am guessing that not too many gamers collect the aircraft of the ANR. My interest in ANR is actually rooted in my interest of the United States 332nd Fighter Group, known more commonly as the Tuskegee Airmen. One of the scenarios in Battles Above 1 features both the 332nd and the ANR (Protecting Them All) - the Americans, flying P-51Cs, coming to the rescue of a straggling B-24 that was being tracked by a pair of Macchi C.205Vs from the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. My only quibble is the rating of the Italian pilots - one is skilled and the other green, but I feel they should most likely be skilled or even veteran, even though one pilot did, in an effort to get away from a P-51, clipped the Veltro's wing along a mountainside, causing the Macchi to be destroyed. Overall the Italian pilots in the ANR were experienced flyers.

In preparation for gaming this scenario, I had some beautiful planes printed by Flight Deck Decals in 1/285th scale. And they are beautiful!

Back to the ANR - The Italian pilots who decided to keep fighting on the Axis side were fairly small in number, but also consisted of some of the best Italian aviators from the Regia Aeronautica. Initially the Germans were very hesitant in accepting the Italians as a separate entity, while confiscating numerous Italian aircraft of the "5" series. One will find examples of the Italian aircraft painted with German markings in late 1943. By the end of 1943 and into 1944 the Germans allowed the formation of Italian squadrons to serve under Italian direction. The Italian planes initially would have sported the typical Italian tan and green swirled camouflage, but by March/April 1944 started being seen in schemes like that illustrated above. 

There are several books on the ANR, but I just own one at this time. Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (1943-1945): The Aviation Of The Italian Social Republic, written by Eduardo Martinez, published by Kagero in 2018, covers the subject suitably for a gamer's needs with several color profiles and black and white photographs to go along with enough historical context to give the reader enough background. It does not detail combat actions. However, the text seems to have been translated from Italian to English using software as at times the sentence structure and terms used are awkward. There are several other titles that detail the ANR, but most of them are hefty in price. I do have The Camouflage & Markings of the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana 1943-45, written by Ferdinand D'Amico and Gabriele Valentini, on order. Another book, Mussolini's Hawks, details the ANR fighter squadrons, and that is probably the book to have for scenario creation.

There will be more on the ANR in future posts, including progress on the aforementioned scenario.