Photos WW2 Axis Forces
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The AS42 “Sahariana’ was a reconnaissance car, initially unarmed. However, under pressure from the Italian Royal Army’s high command, the vehicles received heavy armament. The SPA-Viberti AS42 was rapidly developed at the beginning of 1942. The prototype was presented to the army on July 9, 1942, passed all tests and was put into production in the SPA-Viberti factory in Turin as early as August 1942.
Design of the AS42
One of the first built AS42 “Sahariana” at the SPA-Viberti factory, with the pedestal for a Solothurn S18/1000 anti-tank rifle, the frontal pedestal for a Breda machine gun and Pirelli “Raiflex” type tires.
The combat compartment of an AS42.
An AS42 with the windshield and combat compartment covered by the tarpaulin.
An AS42 without its spare wheel and with the Solothurn Anti-Tank rifle mount.
Blueprints showing the various optional mounts for the main weapons on the AS42. The first is armed with a Breda 20/65 cannon on the Mod. 1935 mount, the second is the 47/32 cannon Mod. 1935 and the third the Solothurn S18-1000. The last picture shows the floor of the combat chamber with the central pedestal.
AS42 “Sahariana” with license plate “R.E. 794B” armed with a Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935 and a Vickers K machine-gun. It does not have the water jerry cans on the left mudguard and the wheels are of the Pirelli “Raiflex” type. Several backpacks are also attached to the vehicle, probably used for the storage of machine gun ammo, personal objects and food.
An AS42’s crew takes a break in the desert.
An LRDG Willys Jeep captured by some Arditi that are replacing a wheel. A Camionetta AS-42, possibly “RE 794B”, is in the background.
Probably the AS42 “R.E. 794 B” filmed in a propaganda film of Studio LUCE on 3 April 1943.
A Camionetta AS42 ‘Metropolitana’ without jerry cans, armed with a 47/32 Mod. 1935 gun and a Breda Mod. 1937 in Rome during a stop in the days after the armistice. Behind it, two AB41 armored cars wait to get into action against the Germans.
Italian soldiers (with German uniforms) on AS42 “Metropolitana” “1197B” of the 2. Fallschirmjäger Division, armed with a Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935 in the Ukrainian steppes during winter.
AS42 “Metropolitana” “1197B” the autumn before with the crew in Arditi uniform.
AS42 “Metropolitane” belonging to the PAI with soldiers of the XªFlottilla’s “Barbarigo” battalion. The first AS is armed with a Breda 20 mm and two Breda 37. Both had an identification plate on the frontal jerry can rack with the “PAI” registration number instead of the Royal Army plate on the hull. The second AS was used as a command vehicle.
AS42 ‘Metropolitana’ destroyed by a Sherman in Via Nazionale.
Design of the AS42
One of the first built AS42 “Sahariana” at the SPA-Viberti factory, with the pedestal for a Solothurn S18/1000 anti-tank rifle, the frontal pedestal for a Breda machine gun and Pirelli “Raiflex” type tires.
The combat compartment of an AS42.
An AS42 with the windshield and combat compartment covered by the tarpaulin.
An AS42 without its spare wheel and with the Solothurn Anti-Tank rifle mount.
Blueprints showing the various optional mounts for the main weapons on the AS42. The first is armed with a Breda 20/65 cannon on the Mod. 1935 mount, the second is the 47/32 cannon Mod. 1935 and the third the Solothurn S18-1000. The last picture shows the floor of the combat chamber with the central pedestal.
AS42 “Sahariana” with license plate “R.E. 794B” armed with a Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935 and a Vickers K machine-gun. It does not have the water jerry cans on the left mudguard and the wheels are of the Pirelli “Raiflex” type. Several backpacks are also attached to the vehicle, probably used for the storage of machine gun ammo, personal objects and food.
An AS42’s crew takes a break in the desert.
An LRDG Willys Jeep captured by some Arditi that are replacing a wheel. A Camionetta AS-42, possibly “RE 794B”, is in the background.
Probably the AS42 “R.E. 794 B” filmed in a propaganda film of Studio LUCE on 3 April 1943.
A Camionetta AS42 ‘Metropolitana’ without jerry cans, armed with a 47/32 Mod. 1935 gun and a Breda Mod. 1937 in Rome during a stop in the days after the armistice. Behind it, two AB41 armored cars wait to get into action against the Germans.
Italian soldiers (with German uniforms) on AS42 “Metropolitana” “1197B” of the 2. Fallschirmjäger Division, armed with a Breda 20/65 Mod. 1935 in the Ukrainian steppes during winter.
AS42 “Metropolitana” “1197B” the autumn before with the crew in Arditi uniform.
AS42 “Metropolitane” belonging to the PAI with soldiers of the XªFlottilla’s “Barbarigo” battalion. The first AS is armed with a Breda 20 mm and two Breda 37. Both had an identification plate on the frontal jerry can rack with the “PAI” registration number instead of the Royal Army plate on the hull. The second AS was used as a command vehicle.
AS42 ‘Metropolitana’ destroyed by a Sherman in Via Nazionale.
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Survivors of the German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis on board the Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli, December 1941
The Enrico Tazzoli was a Calvi-class ocean-going submarine of the Regia Marina, built in 1935. Improving upon the Balilla-class, those were double-hulled boats that ended up being a success: robust, with good seakeeping qualities, with good autonomy and well-armed. They proved well apt at the campaign that was left in the hands of BETASOM, i.e. the attack on isolated, unescorted merchantmen in Caribbean and South American waters. The Tazzoli ended up being the most successful Italian submarine of the war in terms of number of ships sunk, with eighteen victories, and second in terms of tonnage (92'836 GRT).
In December 1941, the three Calvi-class, plus the Luigi Torelli, on the request of the German B.d.U., sailed to relieve the U-Boote that had taken onboard the survivors of the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis, plus those of the refuelling ship Phyton, as the situation onboard the much smaller German boats was dramatic; they took onboard several survivors and brought them back to St. Nazaire.
The Enrico Tazzoli was a Calvi-class ocean-going submarine of the Regia Marina, built in 1935. Improving upon the Balilla-class, those were double-hulled boats that ended up being a success: robust, with good seakeeping qualities, with good autonomy and well-armed. They proved well apt at the campaign that was left in the hands of BETASOM, i.e. the attack on isolated, unescorted merchantmen in Caribbean and South American waters. The Tazzoli ended up being the most successful Italian submarine of the war in terms of number of ships sunk, with eighteen victories, and second in terms of tonnage (92'836 GRT).
In December 1941, the three Calvi-class, plus the Luigi Torelli, on the request of the German B.d.U., sailed to relieve the U-Boote that had taken onboard the survivors of the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis, plus those of the refuelling ship Phyton, as the situation onboard the much smaller German boats was dramatic; they took onboard several survivors and brought them back to St. Nazaire.
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Maestrale class destroyer Scirocco and Condottieri series light cruiser Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta,Fratelli Orlando dockyard in Livorno
Battleship Vittorio Veneto, La Spezia arsenal, March 1943
Battleship Vittorio Veneto, La Spezia arsenal, March 1943
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Battleship Cavour was sunk in the shallow waters of Taranto in the famous British raid in November 1940. On the 22 December the ship was refloated and moved to Trieste in late 1941 to undergo repairs
The three Littorio class Battleships together at sea. Probably in spring 1943 during their transfer to La Spezia. From the closest: Roma, Littorio and Vittorio Veneto
"Aquila" the Italian Aircraft Carrier that was almost completed
Aquila (Italian for "Eagle") was an Italian aircraft carrier converted from the trans-Atlantic passenger liner SS Roma during World War II. Work on Aquila began in late 1941 at the Ansaldo shipyard in Genoa and continued for the next two years. With the signing of the Italian armistice on 8 September 1943, however, all work was halted and the vessel remained unfinished. Aquila was eventually scrapped in 1952.
Aquila was Italy's first aircraft carrier project; it was not built from the keel up as such, and was never completed.
The three Littorio class Battleships together at sea. Probably in spring 1943 during their transfer to La Spezia. From the closest: Roma, Littorio and Vittorio Veneto
"Aquila" the Italian Aircraft Carrier that was almost completed
Aquila (Italian for "Eagle") was an Italian aircraft carrier converted from the trans-Atlantic passenger liner SS Roma during World War II. Work on Aquila began in late 1941 at the Ansaldo shipyard in Genoa and continued for the next two years. With the signing of the Italian armistice on 8 September 1943, however, all work was halted and the vessel remained unfinished. Aquila was eventually scrapped in 1952.
Aquila was Italy's first aircraft carrier project; it was not built from the keel up as such, and was never completed.
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Heavy cruiser Trieste arriving in Taranto. Trieste was the 2nd unit of the of the Trento class entering service in the late 1920s. Served in WW2 until damaged by B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 99th Bomb Group, 5th Bombardment Wing, 12th USAAF in April 1943 and capsized
Orsa class torpedo boat Orsa,in Piraeus 10 September 1942.
Battleship Roma testing its main armament near Trieste in early 1942.
A "Spica" class torpedo boat testing its 450mm torpedo tubes at sea.
Orsa class torpedo boat Orsa,in Piraeus 10 September 1942.
Battleship Roma testing its main armament near Trieste in early 1942.
A "Spica" class torpedo boat testing its 450mm torpedo tubes at sea.
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Destroyer Grecale being towed into Taranto's Mar Piccolo to be repaired after being damaged during the battle of the Duisburg Convoy; the arrows indicate the entrance holes of two shells that hit in the machinery rooms
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Photos taken by Margaret Bourke-White for LIFE Magazine, 1940: "Romanian army guard, dressed in order of cold weather, during sentry service over the bridge of the frozen River Prut, in a climate of 35 degrees below zero that makes it impossible for him to stay at his post for more than an hour at a time."
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Me 109 E-3 7th group Constantin Langulescu Mamaia 1943
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Leutnant Cvitan Galić (left), with 28 confirmed and 3 probable victories the CAFL's leading ace during its first combat tour, poses with Oberfeldwebel Stjepan Radić on a Messerschmitt "Bf-109E" of 10th Reinforced Fighter Sqn ("15./JG 52") in 1942. Galić would be killed on the ground during an Allied raid on a Croatian airfield on 6 April 1944. Radić scored his fifth victory on 29 August 1942, but fell victim to flak later in that mission. The CAFL badge is painted below the cockpit, and the nose cowling is painted in the yellow adopted by the Luftwaffe in Russia for quick recognition at a distance.
(CAFL = Croatian Air Force Legion = Hrvatska Zrakoplovna Legija).
Source: "World War II Croatian Legionaries" of Vladimir Brnardic. Osprey Publishing.
(CAFL = Croatian Air Force Legion = Hrvatska Zrakoplovna Legija).
Source: "World War II Croatian Legionaries" of Vladimir Brnardic. Osprey Publishing.
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Bulgarian Bloch MB.200, 1939
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Bulgarian Avia B-534 "Dogan" 1940.
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Destroyer Sebenico (formerly Beograd in the Royal Yugoslav Navy) weighing anchor, autumn 1942
The destroyer is weighing anchor, as the seaman near the bow is signalling with flags the "lengths" of chain remaining, while the one beside him is standing ready to haul down the jack.
Of the three-strong Beograd-class, the lead ship and the Ljubljana were taken over by the Regia Marina as Sebenico and Lubiana, respectively, while its crew successfully scuttled the Zagreb. Captured by the Germans after the Italian armistice, the ex-Beograd was scuttled in Trieste, raised and then scuttled again
Submarine Fratelli Bandiera off Pola sometimes between 1942 and 1943, when she was a training boat for the RM Submarine School
The Bandiera-class submarines were of the Bernardis-type (single hulled with bulges); a descendant of the earlier Vettor Pisani-class, they had been ordered before its ancestors had been tested, so they shared many of their design flaws - mainly the lack of stability, which forced to apply blisters that further reduced speed, and an even more marked lack of seaworthiness in poor sea conditions, which led to the application of the so-called "big nose" (nasone) on the bow, that is apparent in the picture.
The destroyer is weighing anchor, as the seaman near the bow is signalling with flags the "lengths" of chain remaining, while the one beside him is standing ready to haul down the jack.
Of the three-strong Beograd-class, the lead ship and the Ljubljana were taken over by the Regia Marina as Sebenico and Lubiana, respectively, while its crew successfully scuttled the Zagreb. Captured by the Germans after the Italian armistice, the ex-Beograd was scuttled in Trieste, raised and then scuttled again
Submarine Fratelli Bandiera off Pola sometimes between 1942 and 1943, when she was a training boat for the RM Submarine School
The Bandiera-class submarines were of the Bernardis-type (single hulled with bulges); a descendant of the earlier Vettor Pisani-class, they had been ordered before its ancestors had been tested, so they shared many of their design flaws - mainly the lack of stability, which forced to apply blisters that further reduced speed, and an even more marked lack of seaworthiness in poor sea conditions, which led to the application of the so-called "big nose" (nasone) on the bow, that is apparent in the picture.
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The commander of the 5th Don Regiment of the Wehrmacht, former Commander of the Red Army Ivan Nikonovich Kononov (left) with his aide.
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Vichy French cruiser Gloire being escorted towards Casablanca, September 20th 1940. Phot taken from HMAS Australia.
The cruiser division 4 of the Vichy French departed from Libreville on September 18th to deliver troops to Pointe Noire who sworn allegiance to the Free French. Montcalm and Georges Leygues would return to Dakar after the light cruiser Primauguet and the oil tanker Tarn would be intercepted by British warships. Gloire would be intercepted by HMS Cumberland and HMAS Australia. She had mechanical failures and stopped at Conakry to be repaired, she would be escorted to Casablanca on September 24th and thus would not participate in the naval battle of Dakar.
The cruiser division 4 of the Vichy French departed from Libreville on September 18th to deliver troops to Pointe Noire who sworn allegiance to the Free French. Montcalm and Georges Leygues would return to Dakar after the light cruiser Primauguet and the oil tanker Tarn would be intercepted by British warships. Gloire would be intercepted by HMS Cumberland and HMAS Australia. She had mechanical failures and stopped at Conakry to be repaired, she would be escorted to Casablanca on September 24th and thus would not participate in the naval battle of Dakar.
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