Interesting Italian Air Force wrecks in desert in Libya

[Mark_Pilkington]

Two interesting and rare Italian Air Force wrecks found in the desert in 2003 in Libya have turned up on a Tourist Safari site on the web.

http://www.fjexpeditions.com/frameset/oct03.htm

The would seem to be the sole surviving fuselage of a 1930's Italian Air Force Biplane - a Ro-1, a forerunner of the Ro-37's recently recovered from Afganistan by the Italian Air Force Museum

** I am not sure why the images are not displaying?? so I edited the post and added links to them below each one?




http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=155095

The wreck is now positively identified as a Meridionali (IMAM) Ro-1, a license-built version of the Fokker C.V, in construction between 1927 and 1935 (when it was gradually replaced with the bigger IMAM Ro-37. with which it has been initially confused). It was a general purpose biplane that was commonly used by the military in the thirties. Ro-1-s have been used in the area for reconnaissance preceding the occupation of Kufra in 1931, and from the official account it is known that one crashed and burned "near Wau Namus" in the autumn of 1930 (the pilot escaped with light injuries). As the immediate vicinity of Wau Namus is unsuitable for aircraft due to the soft sand, and Bir Maaruf was used as a reconnaissance base in 1930, this aircraft could well be the same.

30th January, 2004

The aircraft wreck at Bir Maaruf (initially thought to be an IMAM Ro.37bis) has now been positively identified as a Meridionali (IMAM) Ro.1, a Fokker C.V. built under license in Italy from 1927 to 1935. It was used as a multi-purpose military aircraft, Ro-1-s have probably taken part in the Kufra campaign (though there is no proof that this particular wreck dates from that time). From 1935 on they were gradually replaced by the bigger and stronger Ro-37, but many survived into the North African and Ethiopian campaigns of 1940-41.

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http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=155102




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The website also has some pictures of some fuselage /cockpit remains of WW2 trimotor SM-79 bombers of the Italian Air Force.




http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=155100

After the camel encounter we continued to the old landing ground used in WWII. Much to our surprise, the wrecks of the two Savoia SM-79 bombers, destroyed in 1940 by the LRDG, were still there. Their condition has deteriorated since the last photo taken in 1968, but the steel frame of one of them is still fairly intact. (It is very probable that the tidbits of recognisable aeroplane parts found at various tibou encampments around Uweinat came from these two wrecks.)

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The Ro-1 is an Italian licence built Fokker CV, there is one Swedish licence built S6 example preserved in Sweden, this would seem to be an excellent artefact for the Italian Air Force to recover and preserve similar to their recent recovery of the three Ro-37s from Afganistan?

The SM-79 was Italy's most numerous bomber of WW2, there are three preserved examples in Italy along with a derelict fuselage in a fourth museum, however the Italian Air Force Museum does not hold any of those, and these cockpit remains would seem an excellent artifact to acquire, especially if the effort is made to recover the Ro-1?


Regards

Mark Pilkington

[JDK]

Hi Mark,
Good spot!

I am not sure why the images are not displaying?? so I edited the post and added links to them below each one?

Probably hot-linking (which increases the bandwidth requirement) might be disabled.

IIRC, The Aviodrome has the last Fokker C.V, currently in store, although it's the only Dutch aircraft surviving from the May 1940 German invasion.

Cheers,

[Mark_Pilkington]

Hi JDK,

Actually its thanks to David Burke on KP's forum who found the unidentified first pic and posted it there, causing me to spend time trying to identify what it was, and then good old google for finding the Safari site with these great shots on it.

I wasnt aware of the Fokker CV at Aviodrome, thanks for that.

Regards

Mark Pilkington

[Mark_Pilkington]

I'm not sure if the problems with my interenet connection or the forum's servers but these Libya pics and links are not working??

so for those who cant see any of the pictures above I have made the photos "attachments" over in the KP forum thread on the same topic.

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=71852


regards

Mark Pilkington

[airnutz]

Great stuff Mark,thanks! No Stukas?...sighhh...

[Mark_Pilkington]

airnutz,

The existance of these wrecks (and Lady Be Good earlier) may suggest Libya's years of isolation may have hidden some other treasures, although it does seem that these two Italian airframes have been stripped of everything useful, and obviously the nomadic tribes would value aluminium highly for pots etc similiar to tribesmen in PNG.

But the shifting sands of the desert or simply the isolation and vastness could be hiding further interesting wrecks.

hopefully this Ro-1 fuselage will generate some interest in the Italian Air Force Museum, it is a licence built Fokker CV, there is an original Fokker CV in the Aviadrome and a Swedish licence built S6 at the Flygvapenmuseum, both could be used as references for replica construction of wings, elevators and rudder to rebuild this Ro-1 airframe for static display.

Aviadrome Fokker CV image and webpage link



http://aviamagazine.xs4all.nl/gallery/photoview.aspx?id=3388581011

Flygvapenmuseum S6 image and webpage link



http://www.avrosys.nu/aircraft/Spaning/206S6.htm



regards

Mark Pilkington

[PeterA]

The existance of these wrecks (and Lady Be Good earlier) may suggest Libya's years of isolation may have hidden some other treasures, although it does seem that these two Italian airframes have been stripped of everything useful, and obviously the nomadic tribes would value aluminium highly for pots etc similiar to tribesmen in PNG.

But the shifting sands of the desert or simply the isolation and vastness could be hiding further interesting wrecks.


Mark Pilkington

Mark,

I was out in Libya in March this year with a bunch of former regimental comrades visiting the great battlefields of the Western Desert.

I looked in on the 'Lady be Good' and it is excellent news. The Libyans have done a first rate job in recovering the remains to the safety of the Police/Museum compound, including somehow transporting the wing in one piece. They recovered the 'Lady' back in 1994 because of the continuous and growing degradation from visitors all sorts.

In time I am sure it will displayed in a fitting crash diorama setting.

The full story is a five pager in the current, August 2007, Aeroplane Monthly.

PeterA

[Mark_Pilkington]

Peter,

thats great news, and a great outcome for LBG, its story is all about the crash and legend surrounding that, it is best conserved in a crash scene diorama telling its desert story, not as a restored B24 prior to the crash.

It is very impressive that the Libyan Government has done this.

Regards

Mark Pilkington

[REGINALD VON GLEASON III]

Impressive?..I'd say absotively infuc&ingcredible that amount was remaining....our boy, North Africa's Major Domo, would never {in a waking moment} allow that amount of convertable awards alloy slip away....life goes on..
I remain,
Reggie

[Wolverine]

To work, image tags need ".jpg" or ".gif" or something. You're linking them to the urls.

[tom d. friedman]

italian warbird recoveries are probably the most neglected segment of ww 2 aviation history!!!

[ZRX61]

The existance of these wrecks (and Lady Be Good earlier) may suggest Libya's years of isolation may have hidden some other treasures
Mark Pilkington

*hidden* being the operative word.... My Grandfather was in the area just after WWI & the one thing he said that freaked him out was pitching his tent on top of one sand dune & waking up the next morning to find it was now in a hole between 2 sand dunes....