Biplane fighter aces

Italy

Sergente Maggiore Dino Carta

Decorations
Date Decoration Note
??/??/40 Medaglia d’argento al valor militare O.M.S.
??/??/42 Medaglia di bronzo al valor militare 1940-43
??/??/40 Croce di guerra al valor militare 1940-43

Dino Carta was from Treviso.

He served as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War and was decorated for this.

In June 1940, Sergente Maggiore Carta served in the 366a Squadriglia of the 151o Gruppo. This unit was based at Casabianca, Italy, and equipped with Fiat CR.42s.

In the morning on 13 June, Carta took part in a strafing attack on the French airfield at Hyéres. During the mission, he shot down a Vought 156 of AB 3 coded ‘AB3.6’ flown by Second Maître Droucpeet and Quartier-Maître Lucas that was approaching its base to land. Both French aviators were killed.
This was the first Italian claim on the north-western front.

On the last day of August 1940, the 151o Gruppo C.T. (366a, 367a and 368a Squadriglie) was ordered to move in Libya with 30 CR.42s as a reinforcement for the attack against Sidi Barrani.
The unit under the command of Maggiore Carlo Calosso was one of the first equipped with CR.42s in 1939 and was based in Caselle Torinese near Turin, with sections and Squadriglie detached in different airbases of North Italy for local defence duties.
They departed Caselle Torinese in the morning of 6 September and at 18:20 on 8 September, the whole Gruppo landed in Tripoli Castel Benito.
The 366a Squadriglia formation was composed of ten aircraft: Capitano Bernardino Serafini (CO), Tenente Mario Ferrero (the Gruppo Adjutant), Sottotenente Amedeo Guidi, Maresciallo Giulio Cesare, Sergente Maggiore Fiorenzo Milella, Sergente Maggiore Carta, Sergente Maggiore Roberto Marchi, Sergente Maggiore Cesare Chiarmetta, Sergente Antonio Camerini, Sergente Eugenio Cicognani. Tenente Piero Veneziani and Maresciallo Giovanni Accorsi followed in the unit’s hack Caproni Ca.133 together with five ground personnel.
The formation of 367a Squadriglia comprised the Gruppo Commander Maggiore Carlo Calosso, the 368a Squadriglia’s pilot Sergente Piero Hosquet and nine other pilots for a total of eleven. Among them were Capitano Simeone Marsan (the CO), Tenente Irzio Bozzolan, Tenente Aldo Bonuti, Sergente Maggiore Gino Bogoni and Sergente Tolmino Zanarini. The Squadriglia’s other six pilots were Tenente Giuseppe Costantini, Maresciallo Bruno Castellani, Sergente Maggiore Rodolfo Benco, Sergente Maggiore Bruno Celotto, Sergente Renato Mingozzi and Sergente Maggiorino Soldati.
The 368a Squadriglia formation was composed of nine aircraft: Capitano Bruno Locatelli (CO), Tenente Giuseppe Zuffi, Sottotenente Furio Lauri, Sergente Maggiore Davide Colauzzi, Sergente Maggiore Annibale Ricotti, Sergente Maggiore Alvise Andrich, Sergente Stefano Fiore, Sergente Ottorino Ambrosi, Sergente Mario Turchi. Tenente Orfeo Paroli and Maresciallo Guido Paparatti followed in the Ca.133 of the Squadriglia (Paroli and Fiore were just transferred from 367a Squadriglia).
On 25 September the 151o Gruppo transferred from Benghazi to El Adem where it replaced the 9o Gruppo C.T.

Carta ended the war with 1 biplane victory.

Claims:
Kill no. Date Time Number Type Result Plane type Serial no. Locality Unit
  1940                
1 13/06/40 morning 1 Vought (a) Destroyed Fiat CR.42   Hyéres airfield 366a Squadriglia

Biplane victories: 1 destroyed.
TOTAL: 1 destroyed.
(a) Vought 156 of AB 3 coded ‘AB3.6’ shot down. Second Maître Droucpeet and Quartier- Maître Lucas KIA.

Sources:
Diario Storico 366a Squadriglia kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo.
Elenco Nominativo dei Militari dell’ A. M. Decorati al V. M. Durante it Periodo 1929 - 1945 1 Volume A - L
Additional information kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo.




Last modified 25 March 2024