Lorenzo Migliorato was from Padova.

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

When Italy declared war on the Great Britain and France on 10 June 1940, Sergente Maggiore Migliorato served in the 91^a Squadriglia, 10^o Gruppo, 4^o Stormo C.T.

On 12 June, the 2^o Stormo’s fighters in North Africa were joined by those of the 10^o Gruppo (84^a, 90^a and 91^a Squadriglie) of the Gorizia based 4^o Stormo C.T.. The Gruppo was commanded by Tenente Colonnello Armando Piragino and started the war at Tobruk T2 with 27 CR.42s.
The 91^a Squadriglia C.T. was composed of the following pilots: Capitano Giuseppe D’Agostinis (CO), Tenente Enzo Martissa, Sottotenente Ruggero Caporali, Maresciallo Raffaele Chianese, Maresciallo Vittorio Romandini, Sergente Maggiore Leonardo Ferrulli, Sergente Maggiore Migliorato, Sergente Maggiore Natale Fiorito, Sergente Maggiore Elio Miotto, Sergente Aldo Rosa, Sergente Alessandro Bladelli, Sergente Guido Scozzoli and Sergente Luigi Ferrario. They had ten CR.42s on strength (including Piragino’s).

The unit's aircraft suffered the wear of sand. On 30 June, in fact, after only twenty days of war, it received the order to return to Benghasi Berka K airfield to start the general revision of its fighters.
The 90^a Squadriglia only managed to muster six flyable CR.42s, which with the unit’s Caproni Ca.133 flew back to Benghazi. Sergente Giovanni Battista Ceoletta was forced to make an emergency landing near Barce airfield caused by the total loss of the engine’s oil. The aircraft was not recovered; the other five aircraft also arrived at Berka without oil in their engines.
Two more CR.42s suffered accidents during the transport (Sergente Roberto Steppi of the 84^aSquadriglia and Sergente Maggiore Migliorato of the 91^a Squadriglia.
Finally, on 4 July, all the aircraft of the Gruppo met in Benghazi.
The 10^o Gruppo rejoined operations from El Adem only on 22 July with 16 Fiats on hand (the others were still under repair).

During the morning on 4 August, 80 Squadrons ‘B’ Flight received a signal from the headquarters to provide four Gladiators to escort a Lysander from 208 Squadron flown by Pilot Officer Burwell, which was to observe enemy troops movement at Bir Taieb el Esem on the other side of the Libyan border. 'Pat' Pattle (Gladiator Mk.I K7910) decided to lead the escort and took with him Flying Officer Peter Wykeham-Barnes (L8009), Pilot Officer Johnny Lancaster (K7923) and Sergeant Kenneth George Russell Rew (RAF no. 526687) (Gladiator K7908). They took off at 17:15 and reached the rendezvous point in ten minutes where they found the Lysander circling at 6000 feet. Wykeham-Barnes and Rew took up a position about 3000 feet above and immediately behind the Lysander, whilst Pattle and Lancaster climbed 1000 feet higher on the starboard flank. The aircraft crossed the border a few miles south of Sidi Omar twenty minutes later and followed the sand tracks leading to their target.
During the same morning eleven CR.42s of the 97^a Squadriglia went from Benghazi-Berka to El Adem T3 to participate, together with twelve other CR.42s from the 96^a Squadriglia, which had arrived the previous day, and with nine CR.42s of the 10^o Gruppo, in an aerial covering flight of the 2^a Divisione Libica of Regio Esercito. This Division was marching from Bir el Gobi to Gabr Saleh.
In the meantime, a concentration of British armoured vehicles was discovered in the Bir Sheferzen area, around 30 kilometres south-west of Sollum, near the border where a logistic outpost of the Western Desert Force was located and consequently an air attack was planned.
At 16:50, a formation of assault aircraft of the 50^o Stormo took off together with an escorting group of Fiat CR.42 fighters of the 4^o Stormo heading for it. The assault aircraft took off from Tobruk T2bis and were twelve aircraft of the resident 12^o Gruppo Assalto. They included six Breda Ba.65/A80s of the 159^a Squadriglia, armed with 2kg bombs (the Bredas could carry up to 168 of these small calibre bombs) commanded by the Squadriglia Commander Capitano Antonio Dell’Oro and flown by Tenente Adriano Visconti, Tenente Fioravante Montanari (who led the second section), Sergente Maggiore Giovanni Bianchelli, Sergente Maggiore Gianni Pappalepore and Sergente Maggiore Paolo Perno. The other six were Fiat CR.32quaters of the 160^a Squadriglia, armed with eight 2kg bombs and divided in two groups of three. The first group led by Capitano Duilio Fanali (Squadriglia CO) included Sottotenente Giuseppe Mezzatesta and Sergente Maggiore Corrado Sarti as wingmen while the second group was lead by Sottotenente Giuseppe Rossi with Sottotenente Mirko Erzetti and Maresciallo Romolo Cantelli as wingmen.
The Italian fighter escort took off from El Adem T3 and was composed of 31 CR.42s (ten from the 97^a Squadriglia, eleven from the 96^a Squadriglia, one from the 73^a Squadriglia and nine from the 10^o Gruppo). At the head of the two formations were Maggiore Ernesto Botto (in the aircraft from the 73^a Squadriglia) and Maggiore Carlo Romagnoli. Pilots from the 97^a Squadriglia were Capitano Antonio Larsimont Pergameni, Sottotenente Giovanni Barcaro, Sergente Franco Sarasino, Sottotenente Riccardo Vaccari, Sergente Angelo Golino, Sottotenente Jacopo Frigerio, Sergente Maggiore Otello Perotti, Maresciallo Vanni Zuliani, Sergente Maggiore Raffaele Novelli and Sergente Maggiore Massimo Salvatore. Pilots from the 10^o Gruppo were apart from Maggiore Romagnoli, Capitano Giuseppe D’Agostinis, Tenente Enzo Martissa, Sottotenente Ruggero Caporali and Sergente Maggiore Migliorato from the 91^a Squadriglia, Capitano Luigi Monti and Tenente Giuseppe Aurili from the 84^a Squadriglia and Tenente Franco Lucchini and Sergente Amleto Monterumici from the 90^a Squadriglia.
The two Italian formations met at a rendezvous point twenty kilometres east of El Adem and then headed for the target. The 4^o Stormo’s aircraft flew at heights between 3500 and 4500 meters, the Fiat CR.32s at 1000 meters and the Bredas at 300 meters.
On the way towards the frontline, at 5000 m over Ridotta Capuzzo, they spotted a formation of nine Blenheims heading to El Adem, escorted by many Glosters Gladiators. Aircraft of the 96^a Squadriglia and the 10^o Gruppo attacked the bombers and then chased the fighters. In the fierce combat that followed, Tenente Lucchini claimed a Gladiator with the use of 385 rounds of ammunition. Pilots from the 91^a Squadriglia claimed two Gladiators and three Blenheims as shared, with two additional Gladiators as shared probables (one of the Glosters was most probably the same claimed by Lucchini). Capitano Monti and Tenente Aurili claimed to have damaged two Blenheims each and then reported being credited with the three Blenheims shot down by the Stormo’s formation as shared. The pilots from the 90^a Squadriglia claimed the same three Blenheims and a Gladiator jointly with the 96^a Squadriglia and other pilots of the 10^o Gruppo plus the individual victory of Lucchini and recorded “other Glosters shot down by pilots of 9^o and 10^o Gruppi”. At the end of the combat, Maggiore Botto, who personally claimed a damaged British bomber with the use of 200 rounds of ammunition, recorded ten enemy aircraft shot down together with other units. Apart from the five confirmed and two probables already detailed, the remaining victories should be those of the 50^o Stormo, more prudently the 10^o Gruppo’s Diary claimed only three Blenheims and a single Gloster shot down.
The 97^a Squadriglia, covering at a higher altitude, spotted first six Blenheims, which were attacked by the other Squadriglie and then three other Blenheims that were heading towards Egyptian territory and dived to pursue them. Capitano Larsimont Pergameni and Sergente Sarasino chased them for a while, claiming hits on them.
The fighters from the 97^a Squadriglia had most probably attacked a trio of Blenheim Mk.Is (L8667, L8391 and L8530) from 55 Squadron, which had been ordered on short notice to bomb up and meet two other flights from other squadrons over Ma’aten Bagush at 17:00 to attack an Italian M. T. convoy, 13 miles east of Bir El Gobi (obviously the Libyan division). Commanded by Pilot Officer T. O. Walker in L8667, they missed the rendezvous with the other Squadrons over Ma’aten Bagush and headed alone towards the front. After crossing the frontier, the trio spotted a big formation of about 25 CR.42s (4^o Stormo’s formation). Twelve of these fighters started in pursuit as the Blenheims turned for home (the 97^a Squadriglia formation). A running engagement, which lasted seven minutes started after which the Italian fighters broke off without having caused or suffered any damage. The other RAF Squadrons involved in this combat were 211 Squadron and most probably 112 and 113 Squadrons. 211 Squadron was up with two Blenheims piloted by Squadron Leader Bax (L8533) and Flight Lieutenant G. D. Jones (L8532), which were intercepted by a reportedly 40-50 fighters. Sergeant J. McIntosh, gunner of L8532, was wounded in the forearm and it seems that it was badly damaged and forced to land before reaching its base since it was salvaged by 51 RSU at Sidi Barrani on 10 August but Struck off Charge on 20 September. The total lack of records of 113 Squadron and the high level of incompleteness of those of 112 Squadron makes it quite difficult to reconstruct their contribution to the combat. It seems however probable that at least three Gladiators of 112 Squadron were around this area at the time, because it is known that Pilot Officers Robert Hugh Clarke, Homer Cochrane and B. B. E. Duff left Maaten Gerawla during the day for Sidi Barrani, with the task of patrolling over Sidi Omar (extremely close to the area where the evening combat developed). No encounters with the enemy are however recorded in the fragmentary reconstructed ORB of the unit.
The formation from the 50^o Stormo continued alone towards the border, arriving over Bir Sheferzen (around thirty kilometres south and slightly east of the position where the escort left it) at 17:20, where they discovered numerous British vehicles that were immediately attacked by the Bredas and Fanali’s trio of CR.32s while Rossi’s stayed at 1000 meters as cover. The Italian aircraft performed two passes over the vehicles and while they were preparing the third the 208 Squadron Lysander and 80 Squadron Gladiators came into the area. The crew of the Lysander spotted the Italians first and alerted the escort with a red Very light before heading due east at low altitude to reach safety. Pilot Officer Burwell carried some bombs that he tried to aim at Italian transports that he saw in the vicinity but missed, then he was forced to return by the strong opposition encountered.
Pattle and Lancaster dived down but failed to spot any enemy aircraft. Wykeham-Barnes and Rew had also disappeared but a few seconds later Pattle heard Wykeham-Barnes over the radio ordering Rew to attack. Immediately afterwards Pattle saw a reported seven Breda Ba.65s in two separate flights - one containing three aircraft in vic formation and the other made up of two pairs, heading east hunting the Lysander.
Wykeham-Barnes and Rew attacked the formation of four Bredas before they could reach the Lysander and Wykeham-Barnes shot down one of them in flames immediately but at the same time was Rew shot down and killed. Pattle and Lancaster meanwhile attacked the other three Italians from astern. The Bredas dispersed and all four Gladiators separated as they each selected a different enemy machine as a target. Pattle attacked two aircraft, which kept close together and turned in a complete circle. The Bredas dropped to around 200 feet and each released two bombs. This reduced weight meant that they slowly began to creep away from Pattle’s slower Gladiator. Suddenly they however turned north towards the fighter base at El Adem. Pattle quickly cut inside their turn and closed in to 150 yards. He delivered a quarter attack on the nearest Breda but his two port guns almost immediately ceased firing. His aim had been good however and he had hit one of the Italians who slowed down considerably. He swung in directly astern of it and, after a few more bursts from his remaining two guns, saw a puff of white smoke from the starboard side of the engine. He continued to attack the Breda, which dropped lower and lower and finally force-landed on good grounds five miles further on. The second Breda got away. Lancaster had also been having trouble with his guns. After his initial burst, all four guns jammed and he spent the next ten minutes frantically pulling his Constantinescu gear pistons and aiming at various enemy aircraft, but without any further bullets leaving his guns. Eventually he was forced to go on to the defensive and got an explosive bullet in the left arm and shoulder. Because he feared the loss of blood would cause him to lose consciousness, he wriggled out of the fight and with his right thumb pressed tightly against his left radial artery, held the stick between his knees and waggled his way home. In spite of his wounds and the serious damage to his Gladiator, he made quite a smooth landing before losing consciousness. It is reported, that the fitter who came to examine the aircraft shortly afterwards pronounced it too damaged to repair in situ and ordered it to be burned forthwith! However, in fact it seems that even if 80 Squadron didn’t fly it any more, Gladiator Mk.I K 7923 was repaired and later in the year passed to the Greek Air Force.
After claiming the Breda, Wykeham-Barnes was attacked by the CR.32s. He claimed one of them before another, attacked him, which hit his Gladiator, in his Combat Fighter Report he recorded: “The left side of the instrument panel and most of the windscreen went and two bullets came through the back of the seat before I could close the throttle, and the CR 32 passed under me. My machine then fell into a dive and I abandoned it, landing me by parachute.” He had received a shrapnel wound. He was also to receive a swollen tongue and a pair of very painful blistered feet before being rescued by a detachment of 11th Hussars, who brought him back to Sidi Barrani.
Four of the Bredas were damaged and in particular that of Sergente Maggiore Perno, which was hit fifty times and the pilot was slightly wounded in the leg, before Fanali’s Fiats were able to intervene. In the meantime, it was the section of Sottotenente Rossi, which was waiting higher up for its turn to attack, that first fell over the RAF fighters, taking them by surprise. After the sharp initial attack of the Fiats the combat developed into a WW I style dogfight which lasted fifteen minutes. At the end all the Italian aircraft returned to base claiming three of the enemies; one by Fanali (probably Wykeham-Barnes) and two by Cantelli (probably Rew and Lancaster).
One of the damaged Bredas was piloted by Tenente Adriano Visconti who pressed home his attacks against the enemy armoured vehicles notwithstanding the enemy’s fighter opposition. The behaviour of Visconti in this particular combat deeply impressed his commander Capitano Dell’Oro who proposed him for a Medaglia d’argento al valor militare. The motivation of this award that Visconti received “in the field” stated that: ”During a strafing attack against enemy’s armoured vehicles he pressed home his attacks careless of an enemy fighter that was following him shooting at him from short distance (…) and with its last ammunitions he succeeded in burning one of the armoured cars of the enemy(…)”.
After Pattle had claimed the Breda he broke away while attempting, without much success, to clear his port fuselage gun. Immediately, he was attacked by five biplanes (identified as CR.42s) diving towards him from the direction of El Adem, which was approximately 10 miles north-west. He flew on, pretending that he had not seen the Italians, until they were almost in position to open fire and then, with a flick of the wrist and a sharp prod of the foot, shot up and away from the Fiats. The Italians split up and attacked him independently from all directions. The Fiats made repeated attacks simultaneously from the quarter and beam, using the speed they gained in the dive to regain altitude. After each attack Pattle was forced on to the defensive and turned away from each attack, occasionally delivering a short attack on the most suitably target as it dived past. One Fiat on completing its attack turned directly in front of his Gladiator, presenting him with an excellent deflection shot at close range. He fired a long burst with his remaining two guns, which caused the Italian fighter to turn slowly onto its back and then spin down towards the desert. Pattle last saw it spinning at 200 feet and didn’t claim it for sure, but was later credited with this victory. Soon after his starboard wing gun also jammed but fortunately, at the same time the remaining Italian fighters broke away. He was now 40 miles behind enemy lines with only one gun operational and he turned for home at 1000 feet altitude.
When some miles north-west of Bir Taieb El Essem, he was again spotted and attacked by twelve CR.42s and three Breda Ba.65s. The Bredas broke away after a few dives while the CR.42s attacked. They used the same tactics as the five earlier had used with quarter and beam attacks. Within a few seconds Pattle’s remaining gun jammed because of an exploded round in the breach, so he attempted to make the border by evasive tactics and heading east at every opportunity. He soon discovered that one of the Italian pilots was an exceptional shot who made repeated attacks using full deflection with great accuracy. Each time this particular Italian came in, he had to use all his skill and cunning to keep out of the sights of the Fiat. The remainder of the Italians as a whole lacked accuracy and did not press home their attacks to a decisive range. Nevertheless, their presence and the fact that he had to consider each attack made the work of the more determined pilot very much easier. He managed to keep this up for fully fifteen minutes before the determined Italian came out of a loop directly above Pattle’s Gladiator and opened fire. Pattle turned away to avoid the bullets, but flew straight into the line of fire from another Fiat. The rudder controls were shot away, so he could no longer turn. He pulled back on the control column, climbed to about 400 feet and jumped. As he fell the pilot parachute caught his foot, but he managed to kick it free and the main chute opened just in time for him to make a safe landing off the first swing. The time was now around 19:00. He started to walk towards what he thought was Egypt during the night but found out at dawn to his horror that he had actually walked in the opposite direction, deeper into Libya. He turned around and crossed the border at around midday. At 16:00 on 5 August, he was rescued by a detachment from 11th Hussars, which brought him back to Sidi Barrani.
It is possible that Pattle was shot down by Tenente Franco Lucchini.

On 8 December, four fighters from the 91^a Squadriglia flown by Sottotenente Andrea Dalla Pasqua, Capitano Vincenzo Vanni, Sergente Maggiore Leonardo Ferrulli and Sergente Maggiore Migliorato performed aerobatics over Benina for the cine-operator of the Istituto Luce.

On 11 December, the 91^a Squadriglia of the 10^o Gruppo finally arrived at El Adem with seven fighters (Capitano Vincenzo Vanni, Sergente Maggiore Migliorato, Sergente Maggiore Natale Fiorito, Sergente Maggiore Giovanni Casero, Sottotenente Andrea Dalla Pasqua, Sergente Maggiore Leonardo Ferrulli and Sergente Elio Miotto).

On 22 December, a formation of 23 fighters from the 10^o Gruppo took off at 10:15 from Z1 to escort SM 79s bound to attack the usual British forces in the Sidi Omar-Sidi Azeiz area. The formation included six CR.42s from the 91^a Squadriglia (Maggiore Carlo Romagnoli, Capitano Vincenzo Vanni, Sottotenente Andrea Dalla Pasqua, Sergente Maggiore Migliorato, Sergente Maggiore Natale Fiorito and Sergente Elio Miotto), seven from the 90^a Squadriglia (Tenente Franco Lucchini, Sottotenente Alessandro Rusconi, Sottotenente Neri De Benedetti, Sergente Alfredo Sclavo, Sergente Bruno Bortoletti, Sergente Luigi Bagato and Sergente Luigi Contarini) and ten from the 84^a Squadriglia (Capitano Luigi Monti, Capitano Mario Pluda (from the 91^a Squadriglia but attached to the 84^a Squadriglia), Tenente Antonio Angeloni, Sottotenente Luigi Prati, Sergente Domenico Santonocito, Sergente Roberto Steppi, Sergente Corrado Patrizi, Sergente Giuseppe Scaglioni, Sergente Piero Buttazzi and Sergente Luciano Perdoni).
Capitano Monti, Sottotenente Prati and Sergente Scaglioni were forced to turn back due to engine problems.
During the return journey, a British aircraft, identified as a “Battle”, tried to attack the formation but was attacked and damaged by Sergente Perdoni, Sergente Steppi and Tenente Angeloni. The 91^a Squadriglia formation attacked enemy aircraft (of unspecified type) over the front and claimed one of them confirmed. AA fire damaged Sergente Steppi’s CR.42. At 12:10, all the fighters landed back at Z1.
The bombers were part of the biggest operation by the Regia Aeronautica since the beginning of Operation Compass, consisting of ten bombers from the 41^o Stormo under Colonnello Pezzi and ten more from the 15^o Stormo under Capitano De Cecco. Enemy vehicles around the border area were attacked by Pezzi, who after releasing his bombs went down to strafe from 50 metres altitude using 6000 rounds of ammo. The only damage suffered was from light AA on Tenente Pandolfi’s aircraft. The bombers returned at 12:15.
The 15^o Stormo attacked the Sidi Azeiz area with 90 100kg bombs but was intercepted by aircraft identified as Battles (!). The Italian didn’t have any escort, which had remained with the 41^o Stormo and had to accept combat. Nine SM 79 landed normally at 12:05 but the tenth was shot down, being forced to crash-land 30 kilometres south-east of Tobruk with a dead and two wounded among its crew.
It seems that they “Battles” in fact were Hurricanes from 33 Squadron, which reported that they flew offensive patrol together with 112 Squadron. During the day, they claimed two confirmed SM 79s shot down.

On 25 December, the 23^o Gruppo flew its first escorting missions after its arrival in the theatre, one of these was at 15:00 with 12 CR.42s in collaboration with 22 CR.42s from the 10^o Gruppo, which had taken off at 14:35 to escort the 15^o Stormo’s SM 79s bound to attack Sollum Harbour.
The fighters from the 23^o included four from the 70^a Squadriglia (Maggiore Tito Falconi, Tenente Claudio Solaro, Sottotenente Oscar Abello and Sergente Maggiore Balilla Albani), four from the 74^a Squadriglia (Capitano Guido Bobba, Tenente Mario Pinna, Tenente Lorenzo Lorenzoni and Sergente Emilio Stefani) and four from the 75^a Squadriglia (Tenente Pietro Calistri, Tenente Ezio Maria Monti, Sottotenente Giuseppe De Angelis and Maresciallo Giovanni Carmello). The fighters from the 10^o Gruppo included six CR.42s from the 91^a Squadriglia (Maggiore Carlo Romagnoli, Capitano Vincenzo Vanni, Sottotenente Ruggero Caporali, Sottotenente Andrea Dalla Pasqua, Sergente Maggiore Leonardo Ferrulli and Sergente Maggiore Migliorato), seven from the 90^a Squadriglia (Tenente Giovanni Guiducci, Tenente Franco Lucchini, Sottotenente Alessandro Rusconi, Sottotenente Neri De Benedetti, Sergente Alfredo Sclavo, Sergente Luigi Bagato and Sergente Enrico Botti) and nine from the 84^a Squadriglia (Capitano Luigi Monti, Tenente Antonio Angeloni, Sergente Maggiore Salvatore Mechelli, Sergente Domenico Santonocito, Sergente Luciano Perdoni, Sergente Corrado Patrizi, Sergente Piero Buttazzi, Sergente Mario Veronesi and Capitano Mario Pluda (91^a Squadriglia)).
The formation was attacked by some Hurricanes that were counter-attacked and obliged to flee. Two Hurricanes were claimed as probably shot down by the pilots of 90^a and 91^a Squadriglie (the 90^a Squadriglia used 160 rounds of ammunition), which claimed them as shared with the 23^o Gruppo even if the pilot from the 23^o Gruppo in fact weren’t able to claim anything. Tenente Guiducci landed at T5 with engine trouble while the rest of the formation landed at Z1 between 16:50 and 17:00. No losses were suffered by the bombers, which claimed to have hit an aircraft carrier. In fact, they aimed their bomb load at a monitor, but it is not known if the ship was in fact hit.
The Hurricanes were probably machines of 33 Squadron with Flying Officer Peter Wickham and Flying Officer Vernon Woodward that encountered one SM 79 and one CR.42, damaging the CR.42. The action was however recorded in the morning.

At 09:15 on 26 December, eight Gladiators from 3 RAAF Squadron took off from the LG south-west of Sollum to escort a Lysander doing artillery reconnaissance over Bardia. The Lysander failed to appear. At approximately 14:05 (obviously during a third patrol) two flights of five SM 79s escorted by a number of CR.42s were observed a few miles north-east of Sollum Bay. A separate formation of 18 CR.42s was following the bomber formation and escort 2,000 feet higher as top cover. Two Gladiators attacked the bomber formation whilst the remainder climbed to meet the higher formation. The attack on the bombers was broken off when the higher formation attacked the Gladiators. In the ensuing combat, Flight Lieutenant Gordon Steege and Flying Officer Wilfred Arthur each claimed a destroyed (seen to fall into the sea) and a damaged CR.42. Flying Officer Peter Turnbull, Flying Officer John Perrin and Flying Officer Alan Rawlinson each claimed one probable.
The CR.42s were 14 fighters from the newly arrived 23^o Gruppo led by the CO, Maggiore Tito Falconi and 22 CR.42s from the 10^o Gruppo. The CR.42s from the 23^o Gruppo included three from the 70^a Squadriglia (Tenente Claudio Solaro, Sergente Pardino Pardini and Tenente Gino Battaggion), five from the 74^a Squadriglia (Capitano Guido Bobba, Tenente Lorenzo Lorenzoni, Sottotenente Sante Schiroli, Sergente Maggiore Raffaele Marzocca (forced to return early due to a sudden illness) and Sergente Manlio Tarantino) and five from the 75^a Squadriglia (Tenente Pietro Calistri, Tenente Ezio Monti, Sottotenente Renato Villa, Sottotenente Leopoldo Marangoni and Maresciallo Carlo Dentis). The fighters from the the 10^o Gruppo included seven from the 91^a Squadriglia (Maggiore Carlo Romagnoli, Capitano Vincenzo Vanni, Capitano Mario Pluda, Sottotenente Andrea Dalla Pasqua, Sottotenente Ruggero Caporali, Sergente Maggiore Migliorato and Sergente Elio Miotto), nine from the 84^a Squadriglia (Capitano Luigi Monti, Tenente Antonio Angeloni, Sottotenente Luigi Prati, Sottotenente Bruno Devoto, Sergente Domenico Santonocito, Sergente Corrado Patrizi, Sergente Piero Buttazzi, Sergente Luciano Perdoni and Sergente Mario Veronesi) and six from the 90^a Squadriglia (Tenente Giovanni Guiducci, Tenente Franco Lucchini, Sottotenente Alessandro Rusconi, Sottotenente Neri De Benedetti, Sergente Luigi Contarini and Sergente Giovanni Battista Ceoletta), which had taken off at 13:00.
They were escorting ten SM 79s from the 41^o Stormo under Tenente Colonnello Draghelli and five SM 79s 216^a Squadriglia, 53^o Gruppo, 34^o Stormo, led by Tenente Stringa. The SM 79s had taken off from M2 at 12:25 and attacked Sollum harbour’s jetty (reportedly hit) and two destroyers inside Sollum Bay (with poor results because of the heavy AA fire). AA from the ships hit four bombers from the 34^o Stormo; one of them, piloted by Sottotenente Bellini had to force land close to Ain El Gazala with the central engine out of action. Returning pilots reported an attempt to intercept by some Gladiators but the escort repulsed the British fighters. They landed without further problems at 15:15.
Over the target, immediately after the bombing, the Italian fighters reported the interception of “enemy aircraft” alternatively “many Glosters” or “Hurricanes and Glosters”. The 70^a Squadrigli pilots claimed a shared Hurricane, this was possibly an aircraft from 33 Squadron. This unit’s ORB reported that during the day’s patrols many SM 79s and CR.42s were intercepted with one CR.42 believed damaged. Two Gladiators confirmed and two probables were shared between the whole 10^o Gruppo. Another Gladiator was assigned to the 23^o Gruppo (in the documents of 75^a Squadriglia but this is not confirmed by the other two Squadriglie). Many Glosters were claimed damaged by Tenente Lorenzoni, Sottotenente Schiroli, Sergente Tarantino, Sottotenente Marangoni, Tenente Calistri, Tenente Monti and Sottotenente Villa. The CR.42s were back between 14:30 and 15:05.
No Gladiators were lost even if three of them were damaged (all repairable within the unit). The Australians had done a very good job indeed, facing a formation four times more numerous (even if it seem improbable that all the Italian fighters were able to join the combat). From the Italian reports it seems that only the front sections of the escort (including the 74^a, 75^a and the 84^a Squadriglie) were engaged in a sharp dogfight with the Gladiators. The Australians were able to shot down the CO of the 74^a Squadriglia, Capitano Guido Bobba, who was killed when his fighter fell in flames into the sea and damaged Tenente Lorenzoni’s fighter, who landed at T2 (and came back to Z1 the day after). Three more CR.42s were damaged when Tenente Angeloni was forced to land at T5 before reaching Z1, Sergente Veronesi’s fighter was damaged and Sottotenente Prati was forced to make an emergency landing short of T2 (his fighter was reportedly undamaged and only suffering for a slight engine breakdown). Maggiore Falconi’s fighter was also heavily damaged but managed to return. The morning after Angeloni was able to return to Z1 with his aircraft.
Capitano Guido Bobba was awarded a posthumously Medaglia d’Argento al valor militare. He was replaced as CO of the 74^a Squadriglia by Tenente Mario Pinna.

In early May 1942, the 4^o Stormo (equipped with Macchi MC.202 Folgores) was in Sicily with the duty of bomber escort over Malta.
On 22 May, the 10^o Gruppo returned to North Africa and to Martuba 4 airfield.

On 1 July, the 10^o Gruppo transferred to Fuka.

On 10 July, the 9th Australian Division launched an attack in the northern sector of the El Alamein line. This was backed by all the Commonwealth Wings that targeted ground targets and the airfields of LG 20, LG 21 and LG 102, which resulted in heavy aerial fighting.
At 08:25, six CR 42s of 50^o Stormo took off to attack enemy vehicles in the Bir Abu Gorya area. They were escorted by eleven MC.202 from the three Squadriglie of 10^o Gruppo (take off 08:55 - landing 10:10) led by Capitano Franco Lucchini (84^a Squadriglia). The MC.202s where then to continue on a free hunt mission.
In the target area, Capitano Lucchini (MC.202 MM7901) spotted a formation of 15 P-40s approaching from the east at 2,600 meters. After a short attack made with height advantage (the Italian fighters were at 4,000 meters), the P-40s went into a ’Lufberry’ circle. The combat ended after 30 minutes when the ammunition was exhausted and they were low on fuel.
The pilots from the 10^o Gruppo returned claiming eight P-40s destroyed. Lucchini, Sottotenente Luigi Giannella (84^a Squadriglia in MM7815), Tenente Virgilio Vanzan (90^a Squadriglia) and Sergente Amleto Monterumici (90^a Squadriglia) claimed one P-40 each while four more were claimed by the pilots from the 91^a Squadriglia; two by Maresciallo Leonardo Ferrulli and one each by Sergente Elio Miotto and Sergente Maggiore Migliorato. Monterumici remained to defend the CR.42s from the attacks from the P-40s and this he made so successfully that the formations leader, Capitano Torquato Testerini (CO 236^a Squadriglia) later visited them at Fuka to show his gratitude.
It seems that they have clashed with the Hurricane IIcs from 274 Squadron on their second mission of the day 09:15-11:15 when they performed a free sweep over El Alamein with eight planes covering nine machines of 1 SAAF Squadron. 15 miles south-west of El Alamein they were attacked by a reportedly at least twelve Messerschmitts and Macchis (probably only the latter) and they formed a defensive circle. They were attacked from all sides but didn’t suffer any loss and with only BP398/NH-H flown by Sergeant P. G. Hemmer being damaged and the pilot slightly wounded. The pilots of 274 Squadron claimed a Macchi and a Bf 109 probably shot down and five Macchis and two Bf 109s damaged. Claiming pilots were:
Flight Sergeant H. Garwood (BD750/NH-W) one probable Bf 109 and one damaged
Flight Lieutenant Walter Conrad (BF698/NH-J) one damaged MC.202
Squadron Leader James Hayter (BE487/NH-F) one probable MC.202
Sergeant R. W. Henderson (BE826/NH-G) one damaged MC.202
Flight Lieutenant G. C. Keefer (BN111/NH-D) two damaged MC.202
Sergeant B. Ott (BN107/NH-B) one damaged Bf 109
Flight Lieutenant from 123 Squadron (BG949/Y) one damaged MC.202
Four pilots of 1 SAAF Squadron were able to fire some rounds but were unable to appreciate any result.

At 09:08 on 30 August, nine Spitfire Vcs of 92 Squadron flew an offensive sweep over Qattara and El Daba where Pilot Officer W. L. Chisholm (BR474/QJ-V) claimed a Bf 109F while Lieutenant D. C. Hewitson (BR491) claimed a damaged Bf 109. One Spitfire, flown by Pilot Officer Bradley-Smith was badly damaged and crash-landed on return when a wheel did not extend. 92 Squadron landed back at base at 10:33.
It is likely that the unit was actually engaged by MC.202s from the 10^o Gruppo. According to Italian records, at 08:00 Maggiore Giuseppe D’Agostinis (CO 10^o Gruppo) led twelve MC.202s from the 10^o Gruppo on a free sweep sortie over the El Alamein-El Qattara area. A formation of about 15 P-40s was encountered over Deir el Qattara and later another formation of twelve Spitfires and P-40s coming from the north. A 15-minute combat followed, two P-40s being claimed shot down plus a probable and some damaged. Tenente Luigi Giannella (MM7815/84-6) from the 84^a Squadriglia claimed a P-40 over El Alamein while Sergente Maggiore Migliorato (91^a Squadriglia) claimed a second over Deir el Qattara. Tenente Paolo Berti (MM7896/84-8) from the 84^a Squadriglia claimed a probable P-40 over El Alamein. MC.202 MM7905/84-4 flown by Sergente Livio Barbera (84^a Squadriglia) was damaged in the combat while Sergente Maggiore Migliorato was attacked by three Spitfires during the return flight and his aircraft (MM7808/91-9) was hit in the radiator. Migliorato recalled:

“After having shot down a P-40 in Deir el Qattara I lost contact with my formation and headed back to Fuka all alone. A few minutes later another Macchi joined me and we flew together at 5,000 metres when we were bounced by three Spitfires that opened fire from about 100 metres. My wingman evaded the attack, but my aircraft was hit in the cooling system and started trailing white smoke. I was ready to bale out when I saw the Spits leaving in a steep left upwards turn. The white trail had been my fortune because they evidently thought I was finished. So I decided to try and get back to our territory. My engine had terrible vibrations but I managed to land safely and got out of the cockpit. Then I noticed that the radiator had been torn away completely by a cannon shell. I sat under a wing hoping to be searched for. All I had was a dozen cigarettes. I stayed there for about nine hours when I sighted a German scout car in a cloud of dust. They had water and chocolate and took me on to El Daba. There I tried to call 4^o Stormo at Fuka but the telephone lines were interrupted due to Allied bombing. So I spent the night in the German camp and next afternoon I managed to notify my comrades that I was still alive.”

At 16:10 on 2 October 1942, 16 Bf 109s from III./JG 27 provided escort for Ju 87s. They engaged defending fighters and claimed three P-40s shot down when Leutnant Werner Schroer (8./JG 27) claimed one north-north-east of Deir El Tarfa at 15:40, Unteroffizier Viktor Gruber (7./JG 27) claimed one north-east of Deir El Tarfa at 15:55 and Leutnant Erich Schöfbeck (7./JG 27) claimed one south of El Alamein at 16:05.
112 and 3 RAFF Squadrons had been scrambled to intercept this formation, six aircraft of the formed unit and 12 of the latter taking off and meeting the Axis aircraft formation south of Deir el Dhib. 112 Squadron (16:20-17:55) reported seeing seven aircraft and then being attacked by two sets of Messerschmitts over the centre front line. One Bf 109s was destroyed by Flying Officer J. M. S. Crichton (Kittyhawk Ia EV315/P), the Axis pilot being seen to bale out, and a second damaged by Sergeant J. M. MacAuley (Kittyhawk EV360/F). Sergeant G. A. Neill (Kittyhawk ET116/B) from 3 RAAF Squadron claimed a probable at 16:50.
13 MC.202s from the 10^o Gruppo, led by Capitano Livio Ceccotti (91^a Squadriglia) were also involved in this escort (15:15-16:30). Tenente Luigi Giannella (84^a Squadriglia in MC.202 MM7815) and Maresciallo Migliorato (91^a Squadriglia) claimed one Spitfire each in the El Alamein area. However, they lost the MC.202 (MM7767/91-1) flown by Capitano Ceccotti (MiA).

On 30 October 1942, the 4^o Stormo CT and 159^o Gruppo Assalto were ordered to move to Martuba. Five pilots of the 4^o Stormo led by Tenente Orlando Mandolini, ferried five war-weary MC.202s to Bu Amud. There they received the order to fly them to Martuba. Whilst on a truck heading to their parked aircraft, the pilots were strafed by Beaufighters attacking the airfield. Tenente Mandolini suffered serious wounds and was taken to Tobruk hospital; Maresciallo Salvatore Mechelli and Sergente Maggiore Migliorato were also injured.
Five Beaufighters from 252 Squadron strafed El Adem airfield at 18:30, crews reporting twelve Ju 52/3ms and two or three MC.202s on the ground there, six or eight of the transports with their engines running. Four were claimed destroyed on the ground with five more claimed as damaged. These claims were shared between Sergeant A. B. McKeown (with navigator/wireless operator Sergeant W. M. Driscoll in Beaufighter Ic X8068) and Sergeant D. R. Meldrum (with navigator/wireless operator Sergeant F. Hawthorne in Beaufighter Ic T5036). These two pilots also claimed a shared probable Ju 52/3m in the air. Two more were spotted in the air after take-off. One of them was shot down by Sergeant J. M. Stephan (with navigator/wireless operator Sergeant S. R. Whear in Beaufighter Ic T5046) west of El Adem landing ground while the second was shot down by Pilot Officer R. S. Watson (with navigator/wireless operator Sergeant G. D. Hudson in Beaufighter VI T5110) over the airfield. T5046 was damaged by Flak and abandoned north of Edcu.
Italian records noted that three Ju 52/3ms had been set on fire on the ground. Only one Ju 52/3m has been identified when WNr. 6591 from IV./KGzbV 1 was destroyed at El Adem with the pilot Oberfeldwebel Georg Probst and air gunner Unteroffizier Gerhard Schneider were KiA (two more in the crew were safe).
In the meantime, at Fuka, the 4^o Stormo handed over its few remaining serviceable MC.202s to the 3^o Stormo and prepared to retreat. Both air and ground echelons moved on motor transports towards Martuba, which was reached on 1 November.

Migliorato ended the war with 8 shared biplane victories and a total of 3.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1940
	04/08/40	16:50-	1	Gladiator (a)	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Ridotta Capuzzo area	91a Squadriglia
	04/08/40	16:50-	1	Gladiator (a)	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Ridotta Capuzzo area	91a Squadriglia
	04/08/40	16:50-	1	Blenheim (a)	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Ridotta Capuzzo area	91a Squadriglia
	04/08/40	16:50-	1	Blenheim (a)	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Ridotta Capuzzo area	91a Squadriglia
	04/08/40	16:50-	1	Blenheim (a)	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Ridotta Capuzzo area	91a Squadriglia
	04/08/40	16:50-	1	Gladiator (a)	Shared probable	Fiat CR.42		Ridotta Capuzzo area	91a Squadriglia
	04/08/40	16:50-	1	Gladiator (a)	Shared probable	Fiat CR.42		Ridotta Capuzzo area	91a Squadriglia
	22/12/40	10:15-12:10	1/6	Enemy aircraft	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Sidi Omar-Sidi Azeiz area	91a Squadriglia
	25/12/40	14:35-17:00	1/13	Hurricane (b)	Shared probable	Fiat CR.42		Sollum area	91a Squadriglia
	25/12/40	14:35-17:00	1/13	Hurricane (b)	Shared probable	Fiat CR.42		Sollum area	91a Squadriglia
	26/12/40	13:00-15:05	1/22	Gladiator (c)	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Sollum area	91a Squadriglia
	26/12/40	13:00-15:05	1/22	Gladiator (c)	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Sollum area	91a Squadriglia
	26/12/40	13:00-15:05	1/22	Gladiator (c)	Shared probable	Fiat CR.42		Sollum area	91a Squadriglia
	26/12/40	13:00-15:05	1/22	Gladiator (c)	Shared probable	Fiat CR.42		Sollum area	91a Squadriglia
	1942
1	10/07/42	08:55-10:10	1	P-40 (d)	Destroyed	MC.202		El Alamein area	91a Squadriglia
2	30/08/42	08:00-09:35	1	P-40 (e)	Destroyed	MC.202	MM7808/91-9	Deir el Qattara	91a Squadriglia
3	02/10/42	15:15-16:30	1	Spitfire (f)	Destroyed	MC.202		El Alamein area	91a Squadriglia

Biplane victories: 8 shared destroyed, 6 shared probably destroyed.
TOTAL: 3 and 8 shared destroyed, 6 shared probably destroyed.
(a) Claimed in combat with bombers probably from 55 and 211 and/or 113 Squadrons and probably Gladiators from 112 Squadron. One Blenheim from 211 Squadron seems to have force-landed and was lost in this combat. None of other RAF units reported any losses or claims. The Italian fighters from the 9^o and 10^o Gruppi totally claimed 3 Blenheims and 2 and 2 probable Gladiators.
(b) Possibly claimed in combat with Hurricanes from 33 Squadron, which claimed one damaged CR.42 without any losses. The CR.42s from 10^o claimed two probables without losses.
(c) Claimed in combat with Gladiators from 3 RAAF Squadron, which claimed 2 and 3 probables without any losses, and possibly Hurricanes from 33 Squadron, which claimed a damaged CR.42 during the day. The 23^o Gruppo claimed 1 Hurricane and 1 Gladiator and the 10^o Gruppo claimed 2 and 2 probable Gladiators while losing one CR.42 and getting five more damaged.
(d) Claimed in combat with Hurricane IIcs from 274 Squadron, which claimed 2 probable fighters and 7 damaged with one Hurricane damaged. The 10^o Gruppo claimed 8 P-40s without losses.
(e) Claimed in combat with Spitfire Vcs from 92 Squadron, which claimed 1 fighter and 1 damaged while losing 1 fighter. 10^o Gruppo claimed 2 P-40s and 1 probable while losing 1 MC.202 and 1 damaged.
(f) Claimed in combat with Kittyhawks from 3 RAAF and 112 Squadrons, which claimed 1 destroyed Bf 109, 1 probable and 1 damaged without losses. Axis fighters claimed 5 Spitfires destroyed while losing 1 MC.202 (pilot MiA).

Sources:
2^o Stormo - Note storiche dal 1925 al 1975 - Gino Strada, 1975 USSMA, Rome, kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo
55 Squadron Operations Record Book
Ace of Aces: M T StJ Pattle - E C R Baker, 1992 Crécy Books, Somerton, ISBN 0-947554-36-X
Aces High - Christopher Shores and Clive Williams, 1994 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-898697-00-0
Aces High Volume 2 - Christopher Shores, 1999 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-902304-03-9
A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940-1945: Volume Two – Christopher Shores and Giovanni Massimello with Russell Guest, Frank Olynyk & Winfried Bock, 2012 Grub Street, London, ISBN-13: 9781909166127
Ali d’Africa - Michele Palermo and Ludovico Slongo, 2009 IBN Editore, ISBN 88-7565-060-8
Desert Prelude: Early clashes June-November 1940 - Håkan Gustavsson and Ludovico Slongo, 2010 MMP books, ISBN 978-83-89450-52-4
Desert Prelude: Operation Compass - Håkan Gustavsson and Ludovico Slongo, 2011 MMP books, ISBN 978-83-61421-18-4
Deutsche Luftwaffe Losses & Claims -series - Michael Balss
Diario Storico 90^a Squadriglia kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo
Diario Storico 91^a Squadriglia kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo
Elenco Nominativo dei Militari dell’ A. M. Decorati al V. M. Durante it Periodo 1929 - 1945 2 Volume M - Z
Fiat CR.42 Aces of World War 2 - Håkan Gustavsson and Ludovico Slongo, 2009 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84603-427-5
Fighters over the Desert - Christopher Shores and Hans Ring, 1969 Neville Spearman Limited, London
Quelli del Cavallino Rampante - Antonio Duma, 1981 Editore Dell'Ateneo, Roma, kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Additional information kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo