Avio Industrie Stabiensi AVIS.7 bis LW
1./NSGr.13, Luftwaffe, March 1944, Idritsa, German-occupied Russia



In late October 1943, the Luftwaffe reorganised its night harassment Störkampfstaffel into Nachtschlachtgruppen (NSGr). As part of this reorganisation, the Störkampfstaffel lost their 4 character codes (3 letters and 1 number), replaced by the single letter codes of day close air support units. At the same time, the NSGr force was expanded, at least on paper, as both men and aircraft were in short supply. To supply NSGr.13 with sufficient planes, the Luftwaffe issued it with 11 AVIS.7 bis biplanes that had been confiscated from the Eastern Front deployed Italian 22° Gruppo CT. However, most of these aircraft were in poor condition and only 6 were deemed airworthy by Luftwaffe standards. Although the AVIS.7 had been out of production since April, over 100 had been seized in Italy in the wake of the Italian surrender. Modified with flame dampers, night flying cockpit instrumentation and German radios, 67 would be converted by the type's manufacturer to AVIS.7 bis LW standard.




By mid-November all of NSGr.13's personnel were gathered at Baranavichy in occupied Belarus.
The 6 airworthy AVIS.7 bis transferred to NSGr.13 were insufficient to begin intensive operations, so the unit scrounged 2 Arado Ar 66C, 3 Gotha Go 145Cs and 2 Henschel Hs 126B-1s while it waited for more AVIS.7s. Their first combat mission (using a Hs 126B-1, 4 AVIS.7 bis and 3 Go 145s to attack a Red Army troop concentration) was on 28 November.




Avio Industrie Stabiensi (AVIS) was the aviation arm of Industrie Stabiensi, a large engineering and manufacturing company based in Naples. The parent company's main activities were ship building and the construction of railway engines and rolling stock. Established in 1917, AVIS initially concentrated on aircraft maintenance and component manufacture. Opening a design office in 1923, the company built several unsuccessful prototypes until, finally, in 1934, the AVIS.7 dive bomber received a production order from the Regia Aeronautica. Cheap to build, easy to maintain and repair and with a reputation for providing accurate and timely air support from forward airstrips, the AVIS.7 stayed in production until the factory making them was destroyed by the USAAF in April 1943. By then, hundreds were in service with the Regia Aeronautica and the air forces of Croatia and Greece. The type had also been operated by the Spanish Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War.




The AVIS.7 bis was introduced in late 1941, although its design had been completed in 1938. Featuring numerous structural and aerodynamic improvements (notably straighter, lighter undercarriage and the removal of the rear wing bracing), a larger propeller and a more powerful engine, it was the latter that delayed the type's progress to production. The supercharged Fiat A.59 R.C. had a low priority and experienced several failures during bench testing, but ultimately proved to be reliable in service. The bis replaced the 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns of earlier versions with 12.7 mm models. Despite improved performance, the bis generally used the same loadouts as earlier models: a centreline fuel tank with 4 50kg bombs underwing. Alternatives included 2 100kg bombs or a single 250kg bomb under the fuselage. In service with NSGr.13, SC 50 general purpose or (as seen here) SD 50 fragmentation bombs were carried, as were AB 23 cluster bombs (each loaded with 23 SD 2 anti-personnel mines).



NSGr.13 was disbanded in February 1946. By then all the AVIS.7s had been destroyed or damaged beyond repair, the type's last combat sortie taking place in July 1945

Thanks to Dizzyfugu for the inspiration.

Worth the wait 

Nice one! 

Great work and I love the backstory too!

That is nice. I especially like the colour scheme 

Quote from: SPINNERS on July 20, 2023, 06:06:33 AMGreat work and I love the backstory too!

Thanks.

The original backstory was about twice as long. Editing  can be a good thing.

Lovely stuff Harps mate 👌 👍 😀

Thanks for the front picture hiding the swastika, from it I made a zwilling version at https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=20326.6270
Thanks again!

Quote from: Tophe on July 23, 2023, 12:23:39 AMThanks for the front picture hiding the swastika, from it I made a zwilling version at https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=20326.6270
Thanks again!

No, thank you. That Zwilling looks the goods.