In Istrana, a change in command of the “Grappa”
The ceremony took place in the presence of the Commander of the 51st Air Wing, Colonel Maurizio D’Andrea, and numerous former members of the 132nd Group of Fighter Bombers and Reconnaissance “Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia”among whom – as an exceptional guest and former Commander of the 132nd Air Group – General of the Air Force Mirco Zuliani, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation of Norfolk (U.S.A.).
During his speech, Major Antonio V., after more than a year of intense activity as Commander, praised the excellent work of his men, who have been deployed both in operations outside the national borders and in national contexts.
Major Marco R., for his part, expressed his pride in the assignment given to him and, in thanking Colonel D’Andrea for the trust placed in him, also wished to express his deep gratitude to Major Antonio V. for the enormous contribution to growth he was able to provide to the Group through his command actions.
The event concluded, as is tradition, with the exchange of the patch bearing the inscription “Guitar capo”, as a sign of continuity in the command of the 132°.
The 132nd Group is one of the most glorious units of the Royal Air Force. It was formed at the base of Littoria as “132nd autonomous silurating group”On April 1st, 1942, under the command of the then captain Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia. The specialty of the air-launched torpedoes was absolutely new for the Royal Air Force and the first torpedo attack was attempted against the British ships at the base in the port of Alessandria in August 1940, at a time when the conflict had just begun. The method of delivering the attack with the torpedo forced the crews to fly at very low altitude and at short distances from the targets, exposing themselves to the fearsome fire of the enemy’s anti-aircraft defenses. Despite these serious difficulties, the crews with the famous SM-79 Sparviero aircraft successfully carried out numerous attacks on the allied naval formations and convoys in the Mediterranean during the Second World War.
