Giovanni Levi was from Tripoli (Libya).

In June 1940, Sottotenente Giovanni Levi served in the 412^a Squadriglia Autonoma Caccia in the Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana - AOI).

Nine Wellesleys of 223 Squadron took off from Summit on 12 June. These were flown by Squadron Leader Larking (L2714), Flying Officer Roden (L2695), Flying Officer Collier (L2673), Flight Lieutenant Roulston (L2715), Flying Officer Ross (K7747), Pilot Officer Gidney (L2711), Flight Lieutenant Cross (L2690), Pilot Officer Tuffs (L2698) and Pilot Officer Ellis (K7788). Flight Lieutenant Cross had to return prematurely because shreds of canvas had come off its wings. Therefore, Flight A and C reunited in a five-man formation. Holding off Asmara, at 17:30 they made their first pass over Gura, attacking the structures to the north of the airport. At the same time, while the anti-aircraft came into action, the five planes were attacked by the CR.42 of Tenente Elia Mussolin, returning from a patrol over Asmara, and then by Sergente Mario Perini and another FIAT, which had scrambled. Heading south-east, the bombers prepared for a second pass in a north-westerly direction, still pursued by the three fighters. In the meantime, B Flight reached its assigned target, the Officine Caproni-Toselli of Mai Edaga, located at the southern end of the Gura complex, but here it was repeatedly attacked by three other Italian fighters (Sottotenente Fiorindo Rosmino, Sottotenente Levi, who had taken off from Asmara, and, probably, Tenente Carlo Canella, possibly flying a CR.32). After the second pass, the first section of bombers descended, still pursued by Tenente Mussolin and Sergente Perini, while the third fighter turned to also attack B Flight. The low altitude limited the fighters’ manoeuvres, as they could not attack from below and were therefore more exposed to the defensive fire of the Lewis guns.
K7747/AO-K of Flying Officer Ross was repeatedly hit and the gunner Corporal Stevenson was wounded in the legs. Despite the damage, Ross' plane managed to return to base, but it was destroyed on landing due to undercarriage failure (it was officially decommissioned on 7 July). Over Áddi Úgri a second Wellesley, K7788 of Pilot Officer Ellis, the left wing wingman, was repeatedly hit in the outer wing tank and in the fuselage behind the pilot’s seat. The aircraft was badly damaged and, after landing, would also be declared out of service. The Squadron's gunners fired a total of 2115 rounds of .303 inch.
During the combat, it seems that Tenente Canella was credited with one Wellesley shot down (probably K7788). Mussolin’s plane was hit by a total of seven bullets in the lower right wing, two engine cylinders, the oil cooler and the left tyre. Mussolin nevertheless landed safely at 18:05 after firing 360 rounds of 12.7 mm, claiming one bomber probably destroyed (mistakenly identified as a ”Hampden” but most probably K7747) and the machine-gunning of the other four. His CR.42 MM4305 was judged repairable at SRAM. The other fighters, meanwhile, continued to attack B Flight and Sottotenente Levi fired 400 bullets and also claimed a probably downed aircraft (probably also K7788).
The British saw a biplane hitting the ground after being hit by several bullets. This was CR.42 MM5527 piloted by Sergente Perini, which crashed with the pilot wounded. On the Italian side, in addition, CR.42 MM5523 (pilot unknown) was also hit and the destruction of two pavilions and 15 aircraft engines was reported.
Although this air combat is one of the most documented on the Italian side to date, there remains some doubt as to the identity of the pilot credited with shooting down the Wellesley. The motivations with which the Medaglia d’argento al valor militare was awarded to Tenente Visintini attribute this victory over Gura to him, while in the similar decoration to Tenente Canella was officially recognised for the shooting down of a Wellesley the following 14 June over Massawa. However, from one of the first letters written by Visintini to his family immediately after the outbreak of the conflict, it is clear that in those days he never left Massawa; furthermore, according to the pilot and special war correspondent Leone Concato, Canella was ”directly responsible for the first British aircraft shot down over East Africa”, a circumstance also confirmed by Capitano Antonio Raffi. The victory of 12 June should therefore be attributed to Canella, and consequently to Visintini the one on 14 June.

At 08:55 on 9 August, five Wellesleys of 47 Squadron flown by Flight Lieutenant Magill (K8521), Pilot Officer Moir (K8587), Sergeant Colvin (K7756), Sergeant Keith (L2679) and Sergeant Wimsett (K7781) arrived over Gura and the Caproni Workshops of Mai Edaga.
Five minutes later, during the dive, they were confronted by eight or nine CR.42s and CR.32s, which attacked the formation with extreme determination and from all directions. Sergeant Colvin’s Wellesley was hit in the undercarriage hydraulics, which open in flight and force it to break away from the formation. Fighters immediately swoop down on the isolated aircraft and seriously injured the gunner, Sergeant Pope, who was seen to keel over by the fighter pilots.
At least three other Wellesleys were also more or less seriously damaged. On return to the base Colvin's plane crashed on landing and was to be decommissioned on 26 August; Sergeant George R. Pope (RAF no. 746774) was flown by a Blenheim of 45 Squadron to the hospital of Port Sudan but in spite of the care he received, he succumbed two days later.
The Italian Command reported that the bombs all fell off target and claimed only one bomber as "severely hit"; it also admitted that a FIAT, damaged in combat, crashed on landing, without injury to the (unknown) pilot.
Among the fighters involved was Sottotenente Levi, who noted in his log book that he had fired 850 rounds and claimed a probable enemy aircraft. Sergente Maggiore Ottavio Bracci, on the other hand, didn’t claim anything, despite the 400 rounds fired.

On 11 September, three Blenheims from 45 Squadron, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Smith (L8469), Pilot Officer Richardson (L8461) and Pilot Officer Gibbs (L6664), took off in that order, staggered by half an hour, to bomb fuel depots in Gura. Due to bad weather, the first two headed for Asmara, where they dropped their cargo at 17:00 and 17:25 respectively, causing only minor damage to a building.
Pilot Officer Gibbs was the only one successfully identifying Gura and bombed at 17:55, hitting three halls and damaging some hangars.
A number of fighters (Sottotenente Levi and Sergente Maggiore Ottavio Bracci among others) scrambled on alert, and Bulletin No. 94 states that the attack was countered by anti-aircraft fire and fighters, while Sottotenente Levi recorded in his personal booklet a departure on alert from Gura and a fight with a Blenheim, which he believed was probably shot down after firing 250 rounds.
None of the bombers, however, appear to have suffered any serious damage, as they all returned to action within a few days. The discrepancy between the statements of Levi, who recorded a probably destroyed, and the ORB of 45 Squadron, which does not report the presence of any Italian fighters, can perhaps be explained by the assumption that Levi spotted the bomber in the clouds and fired at it from a long distance, unnoticed due to poor visibility, and optimistically claimed possible destruction after losing sight of it.

On the 16 September, Pilot Officer Richardson of 45 Squadron took off at 09:10 with Blenheim L8461 for an armed recon-naissance over Gura and Asmara. He made an initial photographic sweep over Gura and then headed for the Eritrean capital, but here he was intercepted and hit by several CR.42s.
Sottotenente Levi, who took off from Gura, took part in the engagement and fired 358 shots. He believed that he had probably shot down the enemy scout plane.
The Blenheim, in fact, was seriously hit ("badly shot up" according to the ORB), but managed to distance itself from the enemy fighters by flying at a very low altitude over the city, where the Italians could not fire, and therefore managed to return to Wadi Gazouza at 12:40. After the necessary repairs, the Blenheim was back in action on 23 September.

At 12:50 on 30 September, three 45 Squadron Blenheim Is (Squadron Leader Dudgeon (L8452), Flight Lieutenant Bush (L6665) and Pilot Officer Cockayne (L8463)) raided Gura, but, once there, all the bombers were attacked by CR.32s and CR.42s. Blenheim L6665 flown by 28-years-old Squadron Leader George Justin Bush (RAF No. 37061) was soon damaged in an engine by Tenente Mario Visintini, who, with Sergente Lugi Baron and possibly Sottotenente Levi, surrounded the bomber and ordered it by gestures to land. But the Blenheim couldn’t remain in the air with just one engine and crashed, killing Bush and his crew (20-years-old Observer Sergeant John C. Usher (RAF no. 580912) and 21-years-old Wireless Operator/Air gunner Sergeant James Corney DFM (RAF no. 541684)).
Generale Raffi described the fight as follows:

“[...] Visintini and Sergente Baron [...] hit a Blenheim at one engine, the most vulnerable point: then, without firing any more, they moved up to cabin height, one on one side and one on the other, signalling to land on Gura. At first, the British seemed to accede to the request, but then they suddenly made a dive towards the sea, towards a possible rescue by long-range seaplane. During the dive, however, they lost too much altitude and, when they recovered on one engine, they could not make it over a rocky ridge and crashed into it, all of them dying.”

“The Blenheim was slightly faster than the CR.42 at low altitude, but it was extremely vulnerable: if you hit an engine, it would ignite; and if it stopped, with only one engine it would not stay in the air.”

In the meantime, six other Blenheims of 45 Squadron (Squadron Leader Dallamore (L8502), Pilot Officer Collins (L8438), Sergeant Grant (L8467), Flight Lieutenant Troughton-Smith (L6664), Flying Officer Woodroffe (L8473) and Pilot Officer Gibbs (L8477)) divided into two patrols, arrived at Gura at 13:25, flying from the south over Áddi Úgri. Shortly before, the British crews had seen in front of them, patrolling north of the base, at least four Italian aircraft, one CR.32 and three CR.42s. The bombers swooped down, immediately pursued by fighters who attacked them just as they were dropping their bombs, with the CR.32, to which a second had been added in the meantime, pouncing on the first patrol, and the three CR.42s on the second.
Two of the Blenheims were machine-gunned (Tenente Levi on his second mission of the day, acknowledged that he fired 40 rounds), but all managed to return to base.
The damage to Gura and the adjacent Officine Toselli was limited to one destroyed pavilion and some others damaged.

On 2 October 1940, three Bleinheims of 45 Squadron (Squadron Leader John W. Dallamore (L8452), Flight Lieutenant Rixson (L8467) and Pilot Officer Gibbs (L8461)), took off from Wadi Gazouza at 02:30 to hit the Toselli workshops in Mai Edagà.
At 07:15, while flying over Gura at an altitude of about 150 meters, they were surprised from behind by some CR.42s. The first of these, piloted by Sergente Maggiore Lugi Baron, attacked Squadron Leader Dallamore's Blenheim L8452, setting fire to its left tank before the British pilot could drop his load of bombs. Soon after, Baron also fired at the plane of Pilot Officer Gibbs’ L8461. The first burning bomber went down with the pilot desperately tried to keep aloft by getting rid of the cargo. Only Pilot Officer Sheppard managed to escape while Squadron Leader Dallamore (RAF no. 36074) and Sergeant Myles MacKenzie (RAF no. 531772) perished in the crash.
The two surviving bombers separated and, probably at this moment and thanks to an abrupt manoeuvre, Pilot Officer Gibbs managed to get out of sight of the Italian fighters, who therefore concentrated on Blenheim L8467 of Flight Lieutenant Rixson, who, however, managed to outdistance them.
The ORB of 45 Squadron stated:

“[...] As the formation left Gura, two fighters were seen taking off and others in formation crossing the target. Sgt. Murray [gunner with Pilot Officer Gibbs] saw at least six CR.42s attack the formation. One CR.42 went from attacking the S/Ldr Dallamore to the tail of the Plt. Off. Gibbs. S/Ldr Dallamore's plane was the first to be attacked by a CR.42 from behind and was apparently shot down by that fighter. This machine caught fire before it could drop its bombs, which were released later at the I 55 marker. The left fuel tank was seen burning and flames were seen rising from under the cockpit. Gunner Sgt. MacKenzie jumped out and his parachute was seen to open. The Squadron Leader must have known that his plane was on fire, but he refused to save his own life in order to give his crew ample opportunity to escape. The machine was seen to hit the ground and explode. The Plt. Off. Sheppard appears to have made no attempt to bail out; it is, of course, possible that he was wounded or killed by fighter fire which is reported to have fired more effectively at the commander's plane. The other two aircraft broke formation in unison, continuing on their own towards the base, pursued by the fighters, in the case of F/Lt Rixson for 10-15 minutes. The enemy fighters pushed their attack to within 150 yards and all their attacks were executed from behind.”

“That morning, two Bristol Blenheims were flying low over the mountains, heading for Gura. A CR.42 piloted by Sergente Baron took off and after a very fast wheelie attacked the nearest enemy bomber, strafing it from a few feet away. At the end of the parabola, Baron reared up again and hit the other aircraft from below.”

Having known since 13 October, by aerial reconnaissance, that a Flight of 47 Squadron had been detached to Al Qadarif (Gadáref), pilots of Regia Aeronautica planed a strafing attack on that field. Thus, on the evening of 15 October, the Italian Northern Sector Command transferred three S.79s and several CR.42s to Barentù, in addition to those already present at the base, bringing the total number of available fighters to nine.
Also during the night, infiltrators cut the tele-phone link between the secondary camp and the city of Gedáref, from where the alarm could be transmitted by radio to the 'Azaza camp, Gladiator base of the 1 SAAF Squadron detachment.
At 06:00 on 16 October, a S.79 of the 19^a Squadriglia, piloted by Tenente Edmondo Carlucci and Tenente Colonnello Luigi Klinger (CO of the 28 Gruppo), with Generale Pietro Piacentini (CO of Settore Aeronautico Nord AOI) also on board took off together with at least eight of the nine CR.42s available. The figther pilots from the 412^a Squadriglia were Capitano Antonio Raffi, Tenente Mario Visintini, Tenente Carlo Canella, Tenente Raimondo Di Pauli, Sottotenente Fiorindo Rosmino, Sottotenente Levi, Sergente Maggiore Lugi Baron, and Sergente Pietro Morlotti. Some sources states that nine CR.42s were involved in this strike, but possibly the ninth pilot, newly arrived Sergente Carlo Scarselli, was left to protect Barentu.
The formation headed for Càssala and from there followed the railway line to Gedáref. What happened is vividly described by Vittorio Beonio-Brocchieri, correspondent of the Corriere della Sera:

“Imagine that you see in front of you, from an aerial perspective, a quadrangular polygon surrounded by a clearing of small woods and bushes. British equipment appears scattered partly in the centre and partly on the edges of the range.”

“At this moment, our pilots were able to observe a very curious scene on the field: the mad flight of the British soldiers and officers who were at the defensive positions of the airfield. Rarely does one witness such a funny spectacle: seeing the entire airfield staff abandon their machine gun emplacements and anti-aircraft guns during an attack in order to save their legs and jump into the armoured "fifaus"!”

“As the first columns of smoke rose from the stricken machines on the northwest side of the airfield, two large explosions detonated at the other end, showing that three of the British aircraft were not refuelled but were already loaded with bombs. About three minutes into the action, columns of smoke began to rise, stretched obliquely by a south-westerly wind. In the fourth minute, while the chain of assailants in pursuit repeated the attack without giving the enemy the material time to attempt a sufficient reaction, a larger explosion erupted at the ammunition depot, which was blown up at three consecutive times, at intervals of a few seconds. Even a lorry loaded with petrol at one end of the field caught fire and gave off a smear of smoke which, in the photograph, looks like a torrent in flood. Before our aircraft had moved away, the smoke from the fires had invaded all the vicinity of the range and was spreading far and wide. The pilot of one of the aircraft responsible for photo-graphically documenting the feat, having descended to within a few metres of the ground, was able to recognise and ascertain that the destruction of the enemy's war material had been completely, utterly and exhaustively successful.”

“[...] I wish I knew how to express to you the impression of the fires caused at Ghedaref: you know, between night and dawn, when the blackness of the night has not completely gone and the first light has not succeeded in overcoming the darkness, tongues of fire of a colour between carmine and violet burst from the ground, emanating from a dense envelope of smoke, and in between you see the great wings of the aircraft crucifying themselves on the ground, now useless, lost. And the carousel of fighter planes spiralling in that air of tragedy and triumph. And the descents at very low altitude, amidst the stupefaction of the adversary who can no longer even decide to retaliate against the offence: and the pale dawn, which little by little widens and overcomes the darkness, and then a triumph of dazzling sunlight which eats up the fires of the earth and only in the still air are scarves of smoke left to reach the clouds.”

“The first warning the 1st Squadron detachment had of the attack was the billowing clouds of black smoke visible in the distance from the burning bombers. By this time, the Regia Aeronautica was on its way home after a successful day.”

“At dawn bombing and fighter formation attacked at low altitude the new Gedaref airfield by surprise, where previous day and night reconnaissance had discovered and ascertained an important concentration of enemy aircraft, probably a base for offensive action against our north-western array: in repeated passages all the aircraft (11 Wellesley and Gloster types) present and decentralised on the field were set on fire with fragmentation and machine-gun fire; an ammunition depot was blown up and several trucks set on fire; troops were observed fleeing hastily amidst fires and columns of smoke; all our air-craft returned unharmed to base. […]”

04.05 [GMT]. The airfield is attacked by an S.79, 4 CR.32s and 3 CR.42s. The S.79 releases a salvo of bombs, apparently to no effect. Then the CR.32s break away from the formation and machine-gun the 8 Wellesleys and 2 Vincents on the ground while the S.79 and CR.42s circle above. All our aircraft are burnt out and completely destroyed. There were a considerable number of personnel on the airfield at the time, but all were miraculously unharmed.
08.00 [GMT]. Two S.79s flew over the field, apparently on reconnaissance. There was an exchange of machine gun fire, but no casualties.
It was decided to evacuate the area, the camp was disman-tled and all personnel left by train for Khartoum at 1200 [GMT].”

“In October 1940, a detachment of 47 Squadron moved from Khartoum to an airfield near Gedaref, some 230 miles south-east of the capital and which - appropriately enough - was located near the railway system from Port Sudanto Khartoum itself. The unit was skeleton staffed, meaning that everyone had two jobs - which can work well if you have the right people - and consisted of eight Wellesleys and four Vincents. The idea was to be able to operate closer to our targets, taking a calculated risk, thus saving a lot of flight time for both machines and crews.
Within a few days our hideout was discovered by a Savoia Marchetti SM.79, which was indeed a bird of ill omen. At dawn the next day, it returned, carrying six Fiat CR.42s. It was the moment of despair, the one that "Digger" Magill and I had feared, but thought would not happen. We had underestimated the Italian commander, General Piacentini; we were later told that he had accompanied the attack in person, exercising command from the front line. A smart guy!
With no ground defence against air attacks - albeit with an Indian Brigade quartered nearby - and no communications with a Gladiator squadron whose job it was to give us adequate cover, the Italians had a field day. In no time at all, CR.42s set fire to all our planes, and the General no doubt smacked his lips in satisfaction from his vantage point 3,000 feet [910m] above us. Within minutes it was all over, and for the first time in living memory the sun was eclipsed on that side of the world by dense columns of black smoke rising thousands of feet above us. It was an absolutely depressing sight: burning planes scattered all around the field. I felt like crying.
The only distraction came with Black Mac's telegram, which simply said, "Do you want your horse?" I didn't feel like answering. So, back to Khartoum by train - what else could we do? We had learnt our lesson the hard way; this I must repeat to myself, as the idea had been all mine. In other words: if you're going to get close to the enemy, you've got to be damn sure you can defend yourself adequately against air attacks.”

At 17:10 (Aegean time, GMT+2) on 18 October, four S.82s of the 41^o Grupp (MM 60300/204-9, MM60299/204-10, 205-8 and MM60301/205-9), with 3000 litres of additional fuel each, took off from Gadurrà (Rhodes) led by Maggiore generale Ettore Muti to bomb refineries and fuel depots in Manama (Bahrain). The target was reached at 02:20 on 19 October and hit with 132 15 kg bombs. To avoid enemy interception, the return route included a landing at Zùla, which was duly carried out at 08:45. Apart from the damage inflicted, the action had a great impact on the media at the time, not only in Italy, as it ended up being the longest bombing mission ever carried out during the war.
On section comprising Tenente Carlo Canella, Sottotenente Levi and Sergente Maggiore Lugi Baron were sent from Gura to Zùla, to protect the SM.82s. During their stay in Zùla, the CR.42s carried out a protection cruise on the field on 20 October, as well as some scrambles on alert on 19 October, 20 October and 23 October. The section then returned to Gura on 24 October.

Towards the end of October, Tenente Mario Visintini, Sergente Maggiore Lugi Baron and Sottotenente Levi moved to Bahir Dar, on the south side of Lake Tana, for operations in the Metema-Gallabat border front. Previously, another section led by Capitano Raffi himself had been transferred by Gura to Gondar airport, on the north side of the same lake. In early November, Visintini joined them at Gondar.

On 11 November, a reconnoitring Hardy of 237 (Rhodesian) Squadron bombed Italian lorries on the road to Gondar. Around 12:30 some Fiat fighters scramble to intercept it, but instead had a clash with three Gladiators which were patrolling the area.
Lieutenants John Coetzer, Andrew Duncan and Servaas de K. Viljoen of 1 SAAF Squadron had set off for Gallabat to intercept bombers. West of the town they ran into a reported eight enemy fighters instead. These were stepped up in echelon in three groups, 1524 meters above the three Gladiators. Despite tactical and numerical disadvantage, the South Africans attacked, chasing two of the Fiats down to ground level before they escaped, while the rest made one pass on the Gladiators and then fled. One Gladiator returned damaged by a single explosive bullet.
The Italians from 412^a Squadriglia returned claiming a Gladiator destroyed (probably by Tenente Mario Visintini) and two more probables, the latter one each to Sottotenente Levi and Sergente Maggiore Lugi Baron.

On 23 November, six CR.42s from the 412^a Squadriglia (among them Capitano Antonio Raffi, Tenente Mario Visintini, Sottotenente Levi and Sergente Maggiore Lugi Baron) returned to Gura, leaving at Gondar a section of another six fighters, commanded by Tenente Niso Provinciali.

On 12 December, the 412^a Squadriglia launched an airfield strafe on the advanced strip at Gaz Regeb, where 237 Squadron’s ‘B’ Flight was based.
In the morning, five aircraft took off led by a S.79 (Tenente Colonnello Liberati). At 06:10, three of them (Capitano Antonio Raffi, Tenente Carlo Canella and Tenente Mario Visintini) attacked the parked Hawker Hardys, destroying K4053, K4308, K4055 and K4307 while the other two CR.42s (Tenente Luciano Cacciavillani (detached from the 413^a Squadriglia) and Sottotenente Levi) remained above as cover.
Capitano Raffi, CO of the 412^a Squadriglia, made several attacks on one aircraft, which consistently refused to burn, but his own aircraft was then hit in the oil sump by fire from the Sudan Defence Force detachment guarding the airfield. Trailing smoke, he headed for his base, but the engine finally seized and stopped some 100 kilometres from the target and he force-landed east of Aroma, near the Atbarah River. Tenente Visintini landed alongside, took his CO aboard and seated on Raffi's knees after dispensing his parachute, took off and returned successfully. Once at Barentu, after refurbishing, Tenente Visintini, Tenente Cacciavillani and Sottotenente Levi returned to destroy Raffi's abandoned fighter to ensure its total destruction.
The Italian pilots claimed to have destroyed five Vickers Vincents on the ground at Qawz Rajab, together with three armoured cars near the downed Fiat.

Levi ended the war with 5 probable biplane victories.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1940
	12/06/40	17:30	1	Wellesley (a)	Probably destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Gura	412a Squadriglia
	09/08/40	09:00-	1	Wellesley (b)	Probably destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Gura area	412a Squadriglia
	11/09/40	17:55 ca	1	Blenheim (c)	Probably destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Gura	412a Squadriglia
	16/09/40	09:10-12:40	1	Blenheim (c)	Probably destroyed	Fiat CR.42		take off from Gura	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Wellesley (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Wellesley (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Wellesley (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Wellesley (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Wellesley (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Wellesley (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Wellesley (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Wellesley (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Wellesley (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Gladiator (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	16/10/40	07:00-07:20	1/8	Gladiator (d)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Al Qadarif	412a Squadriglia
	11/11/40	12:30 ca	1	Gladiator (e)	Probably destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Metema	412a Squadriglia

Biplane victories: 5 probably destroyed, 11 shared destroyed on the ground.
TOTAL: 5 probably destroyed, 11 shared destroyed on the ground.
(a) Claimed in combat with 8 Wellesleys of 223 Squadron, which suffered 2 Wellesleys written-off while claiming 1 CR.42 shot down. 412^a Squadriglia claimed 1 destroyed bomber and 2 probables while losing 1 CR.42 and getting 2 damaged.
(b) Probably claimed in combat with Wellesleys from 47 Squadron, which suffered at least 4 damaged (1 gunner KiA).
(c) Blenheim L8461 from 45 Squadron damaged.
(d) According to British sources eight Wellesleys of 47 Squadron (L2650, L2675, L2677, L2688, K7742, K7762, K7779 and K7781) and two Vincents of 430 Flight (K4657 and K4731) were burned on ground, against claims for nine Wellesley destroyed on the ground and two Gladiators shot down during take-off. The latter were unofficially credited to Capitano Raffi.
(e) Claimed in combat with three fighters of 1 SAAF. Italians claimed a Gladiator destroyed and two probable. Official 1 SAAF documents are missing for this period, but it seems that just one Gladiator suffered mild damage. Lacking official sources by Italian side too, an attribution of this claim to Mario Visintini is an educated guess.

Sources:
Luciano Cacciavillani's personal logbook courtesy of Cacciavillani family (Luciano jr and Alberto)
Giovanni Levi’s personal logbook, courtesy of Michele Palermo
Fiorindo Rosmino’s personal logbook, courtesy of Rossella Baron
Aroldo Soffritti’s personal logbook, courtesy of Ariella Soffritti
Various documents belonged to Luigi Baron, courtesy of Rossella Baron
Various documents belonged to Antonio Raffi, courtesy of Alide Comba
Collection of Comando Aeronautica AOI War Bulletins, USSMA, Rome, kindly provided by Michele Palermo
I Cavalieri Erranti - Ludovico Slongo, Stefan Lazzaro, Eugenio Eusebi, Michele Palermo and Danilo Ventura, 2023, ISBN 978-88-87952-37-7
410^a Squadriglia war diary (1940) kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro.
Comando Aeronautica Africa Orientale war diary (June 1940) kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro.
Dust Clouds in the Middle East - Christopher Shores, 1996 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-898697-37-X
Elenco Nominativo dei Militari dell’ A. M. Decorati al V. M. Durante it Periodo 1929 - 1945 1 Volume A - L
Fiat CR.32 Aces of the Spanish Civil War – Alfredo Logoluso, 2010 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84603-983-6
Fiat CR.42 Aces of World War 2 - Håkan Gustavsson and Ludovico Slongo, 2009 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84603-427-5
Guerra di Spagna e Aviazione Italiana – Ferdinando Pedriali, 2nd ed., 1992 Ufficio Storico Stato Maggiore Aeronautica, Rome, kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro
In cielo e in terra - F. Pagliano, 1969 editore Longanesi, Milan, kindly provided by Alfredo Logoluso.
Mario Visintini. Storia e Leggenda di un Asso Italiano – Gianni Bianchi, Associazione Culturale Sarasota, kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro
Le Vittorie Aeree di Mario Visintini in Africa Orientale – Eugenio Eusebi, Stefano Lazzaro, Ludovico Slongo, in: Storia Militare no. 246 (XXII), March 2014, Albertelli Edizioni Speciali, Parma, ISSN 1122-5289
Spanish Republican Aces – Rafael A. Permuy López, 2012 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84908-668-4
Springbok Fighter Victory: East Africa Volume 1 1940 – 1941 – Michael Shoeman, 2002 African Aviation Series No. 11, Freeworld Publications CC, ISBN 0-958-4388-5-4
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Story of no. 1 Squadron SAAF – Vivian Voss, 1952 Mercantile Atlas (Pty.) Ltd., Cape Town, kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo.
Visintini, il Pilota Solitario - Silvio Platen, 1942 editore Rizzoli, Rome, kindly provided by Alfredo Logoluso.
Additional info kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro, Alfredo Logoluso and Ludovico Slongo.