Breda Ba.29AS

[comrade harps]

Breda Ba.29AS374
personal mount of Tenente Luciano Cacciavillani
374 Squadriglia
Dessie, Ethiopia, 26 April 1941



Although technically obsolete by Italy's June, 1940 entry into the war, Breda's Ba.29 continued to provide valuable combat service through to 1943. Based on a sturdy, if under-armed and under-protected design, the robust Ba.29AS version was built specifically for the harsh conditions in Italy's African colonies. Easy to fly and maintain, with extended range and a desert survival pack located in a baggage compartment behind the pilot's seat, the Ba.29 was popular with both maintainers and pilots. During the East African Campaign of 1940-41, the type was flown by the Regia Aeronautica's two resident fighter units, 374 and 409 Squadriglia across Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, British, French and Italian Somalia and into Kenya, often operating from improvised airstrips.




Before Italy's entry into the war, the African colonial aircraft were painted in a high-visibility scheme to facilitate spotting should they have to make an emergency landing in the desert. On the upper-surfaces, the scheme's overall cream was broken up with radiating red lines. Following the declaration of war, the red was painted over and camouflage colours suitable to the local terrain were selected from the Regia Aeronautica's extensive colour palette. Late in the East Africa campaign, as the Italians withdrew to the Ethiopian hinterland, darker colours were applied resulting in denser schemes than those applied in June, 1940, when much of the fighting was over sandy and rocky desert.




Tenente Luciano Cacciavillani flew this and other Breda Ba.29AS' in combat throughout the East African Campaign. He made many unconfirmed, mostly shared kill and probable claims, but has been credited with 2 confirmed solo kills: a Blenheim and a Hurricane. The RAF Blenheim was shot down early in the war, on 24 June. The 3 Sqd SAAF Hurricane was shot down late in the campaign, during an attack the airfield at Jijiga, on 29 March, 1941 whilst flying the plane depicted here from Ganami. Note that whilst the Regia Aeronautica credited Tenente Luciano Cacciavillan was a second Hurricane air-to-air kill during this mission, South African and Allied documents only record one Hurricane lost in the air that day in Ethiopia. He also damaged and destroyed several other Commonwealth fighters, bombers and transports on the ground during similar raids on airfields.




Forced to flee Addis Adaba at the start of April, 1941, the Italians retreated to a mountainous redoubt around Dessie, where what remained of their main force, surrounded and cut off from re-supply, surrendered on 26 April. Tenente Luciano Cacciavillani was taken prisoner and returned to Italy in late 1944, where he died of malaria complications at a Repatriated Veteran Center on 18 February 1947.




Although clearly defeated, no formal surrender of all Italian forces in East Africa occurred during 1941, as a handful of units escaped capture and went on to perform a guerilla campaign until September, 1943, when the Fascist government was over overthrown and the new government surrendered to the Allies.

[Old Wombat]

Interesting plane, with a mix of advanced & primitive features, and a wonderful paint scheme!



Guy

[NARSES2]

That sir is simply magnificent  And the scheme is just so Italian 

I may well borrow that idea for something similar if that's ok with you ? I have some late 1930's Japanese stuff that now you've done this would look good in Italian schemes 

[ChernayaAkula]

Brilliant camo! 

[TallEng]

  yup really good camouflage, so good in fact I can't recognize
What aircraft it really is
a Val?

Regards
Keith

[nighthunter]

Actually, if memory serves, it's a Mitsubishi A5M "Claude"

[Captain Canada]

Nice work ! Love the stubby shape...and the camo pattern. The first pic looks you did a camo roundel on the fuselage !

[comrade harps]

What aircraft it really is

Actually, if memory serves, it's a Mitsubishi A5M "Claude"

It is indeed the 1:72nd scale HobbyBoss Mitsubishi A5M4 Claude - a neat kit with no major problems in terms of build and de-navalised for the purpose.

After doing all that Asiarama this year (http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/board,159.0.html) I needed to change geography. Along the way. I've done a trilogy of Italian planes as Japanese types, so it was time to repay Italy with a transplanted Japanese design using some of the Regia Aeronautica decals I've been collecting. Expect more cultural exchanges like this.

As for the camo, I brush paint and I'm not too keen on painting blotches, so compromised with this more stripy scheme that's kind of a cross between Regia Aeronautica and Panzer camos.

Thank you for your kind words on this one. It was built over a 3 day weekend and only purchased 2 weeks before, so it was a quick job before the weather got too hot for modelling. Glad that people are enjoying it as much as I did making it.

[comrade harps]

I may well borrow that idea for something similar if that's ok with you ?

Be my guest. Of course.

[McColm]

Fabulous !

[PR19_Kit]

Done over a 3 day weekend? Woweee, you do build fast! 

Seriously impressive camo painting there, as many of the others have said. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice! The paint scheme has a surreal touch - I really like this one. 

[NARSES2]

I may well borrow that idea for something similar if that's ok with you ?

Be my guest. Of course.

Thank you Comrade  Japanese subjects somehow lend themselves nicely to Regia Aeronautica markings now you've shown the way

[comrade harps]

Japanese subjects somehow lend themselves nicely to Regia Aeronautica markings now you've shown the way

I have notes for Regia Aeronautica Ki-43, Ki-61 and Ki-100 and Val (dive bomber or with 37mm cannons from the Ju-87G for low altitude anti-tank across North Africa?) and there's a Dinah in the stash waiting to be made for the ARSI. Somehow both the Japanese and Italians made also-runs (although the Dinah was pretty good).

The more the merrier. Welcome aboard. 

[NARSES2]

Was thinking of a Ki-30 in Abyssinia