batbux
stranger
Reged: 03/07/2008
Posts: 5
Loc: Genova, Italia
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Another part of the very long flying career of my goodfriend Generale Giuseppe Ruzzin is the Battle of Britain Exactly 68 years and one day ago from today Ruzzin was in mission over Harwich: it was November 11 1940 (by the way this day was also Taranto Day!), he was escorting bombers Fiat BR20 and during the dogfight with british fighters Ruzzin (at the time Sergente Maggiore) was piloting a Fiat CR42 possibly m.m.4326 marked 9 85. "I fired on a Hurricane in a steep climb" he sayed to me: "I still remember that it fell away with a long trail of black smoke..., so I was credited with a victory". "The cR42 was a lovely beautiful plane" goes on Ruzzin "It was perfect for aerobatics but not for a modern war!" On that day only 7 CR 42 from 40 of the 18° Gruppo Caccia landed at the Ursel base: Ruzzin landed at Saint-Denis de Gand and all other were scattered on the entire Belgian coast: one pilot landed in Rotterdam!. The CAI (no not the now Alitalia successor Compagnia Aerea Italiana, but the then Corpo Aereo Italiano!)lost 3 fighters and 3 bombers: the Fiat CR 42 marked 13 95 piloted by Sergente Salvadori emergency landed at Orfordness (probably without fuel says Ruzzin) and was captured. Today the 13 95 is on display in RAF Hendon museum and it is ever a beautiful sight (some years ago Ruzzin visited Hendon indeed I have seen the CR42 only in photograph!) but, as I'm also a die hard purist, sadly it is uncorrectly marked on the starboard side: it must be 95 13! there are also some minor snags in the camouflage scheme and in the starboard fuselage badge: arrows wrong direction and wrong colors... Spitfire and Hurricane squadrons involved that day where 41, 46, 249 and 257 Squadrons, I have read that on november 11 1940 the commander of 257 Squadron Stanford Tuck was on leave, but his personal Hurricane was flying? Ruzzin asked me if it is possible after so many years to find and possibly contact one or more of this pilots? Just another question: any news about the Duxford CR42 wich is restoring to flying condition?
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