208

THE APPENDIX

209

AIR HEADQUARTERS MALTAHQ: Valletta, Malta

AVM Forster H.M. Maynard – 20 Jan 1940 to 1941AVM Hugh P. Lloyd May – I June 1941 to 1942AVM Sir Keith Park – 15 July 1942 to 1944AVM RM Foster – 26 March to Oct 1944AVM KB Lloyd – 19 Oct 1944 to 6 Jun 1947

Air Headquarters Malta was formed on 26 December 1941 by renaming RAF Mediterranean. Subordinate to Middle East Command, Air HQ Malta was transferred to Mediterranean Air Command on 18 February 1943, and then to HQ Mediterranean Allied Air Forces on 10 January 1944. On 1 August 1945, the formation was transferred to RAF Mediterranean and Middle East, and granted independent command status on 1 December 1953. Air HQ Malta was disbanded on 30 June 1968.

First Period, June 1940 to February 1942

The RAF began its war began in Malta with a token strength of six antiquated Gladiator fighters. A force of Hurricane’s was flown in and this constituted No. 412 Flight. In late-1940 RAF Wellingtons (five squadrons) were based on the island and were the only offensive capability Malta possessed. In January 1941, however, all these were destroyed on the ground in a series of intense air attacks. Meantime, Hurricane fighters were constantly ferried to the island to replace losses and to increase the number fighters on Malta. In all, 361 Hurricanes were ferried towards Malta since August 1940 of which 303 reached the island, and of which 150 went on to North Africa. May 1941 brought the total force of Hurricanes to 50 aircraft. From June 1940 to the beginning of 1942, the defending fighters had claimed 199 confirmed enemy aircraft kills and 78 probables, while the AA guns accounted for another 50 aircraft. All this had been achieved for the loss of 20 Hurricanes, three Fulmars, one Gladiator plus another 10

Hurricanes & two Fulmars were lost in accidents; these figures exclude losses on the ground.

Fighter Squadrons

Unit Aircraft Period261 Sqdn Hurricane I Aug 1940 — May 1941806 FAA Sqdn (det)

Fulmar I Jan 1941 — Mar 1942

185 Sqdn Hurr I, IIA, IIB & C

May 1941 — Feb 1942

249 Sqdn Hurr I, IIA, B May 1941 — Feb 194246 Sqdn Hurr IIB, C June 1941 — Feb 1942

(became 126 Sqdn)1435 Flt Hurr IIB, C Dec 1941 — Feb 1942800 FAA Sqdn (det)

Fulmar I May — Nov 1941

242 Sqdn (det)

Hurr IIB, C Nov 1941 — Feb 1942

605 Sqdn (Part)

Hurr IIB, C Nov 1941 — Feb 1942

Sqdn, Sq = Squadron, det = detachment, FAA = Fleet Air Arm, ref = reformed, Hurr = Hurricane

Note: No. 261 Squadron had been formed partly from 412 Flight, containing 12 Hurricane Mk Is. In May 1941, No. 249 Squadron replaced 261 Squadron on the island.

Strike Squadrons

Unit Aircraft Period252 Sqdn (det)

Beaufighter I May 1941 — Dec 1941

252/272 Sqdn (det)

Beaufighter I July — Aug 1941

272 Sq (det) Beaufighter I Aug — Sept 1941107 Sq (Det) Blenheim IVF Aug 1941 — Jan 1942113 Sq (Det) Blenheim IVF September 1941114 Sq (Det) Blenheim IVF Sept 1941 — Jan 1942

1. RAF ORDERS OF BATTLE

210

Bomber Squadrons

Unit Aircraft Notes148, 37, 38, 221 (Special Flight), 104 & 40 Sqdns

Wellington

21, 139, 82, 110, 105, 107 & 18 Sqdns

Blenheim IV

830 FAA Sqdn Swordfish 12 aircraft828 FAA Sqdn Albacore

Reconnaissance Units

Unit Aircraft Period431 Flight Maryland Sept 1940 — Jan 194169 Sqdn Maryland Jan 1941 — Feb 1942

Note – 69 Squadron formed by expanding 431 Flight in Jan 1941.

Second Period, March to November 1942

This was the second period of concerted enemy air strikes, marked by the arrival of Spitfires on Malta from 9 May. The Spitfires soon achieved air dominance when on May 10 they destroyed 23 axis planes for the loss of four Spitfires. A total of 111 Spitfire’s were delivered to Malta during May, with 25 lost in combat. In July 1942, Malta had 80 serviceable fighters, with an average of 17 a week shot down or too badly damaged to fly again. But in exchange 149 axis aircraft had been shot down, with another 38 classified as probably destroyed and 140 damaged for the loss of 36 Spitfires. By mid-November when the raids on Malta were called off, a total of 385 Spitfire had been sent to the Island of which 12 returned to the carrier; 367 reached Malta and 134 had been lost to accidents or combat.

Reconnaissance Unit

Unit Aircraft Period69 Sqdn Maryland, Baltimore

I, II, Spitfire PR IVMar — Nov 1942

Fighter Squadrons

Unit Aircraft Period249 Sqdn Spitfire Vc, b Mar — Nov 1942126 Sqdn Hurr IIB, C, Spit V Mar — Nov 1942185 Sqdn Hurr IIB, C, Spit V Mar — Nov 19421435 Flight Hurricane IIB, C,

Beaufighter IMar — Aug 1942

229 Sqdn Hurricane IIC Mar — May 1942229 Sqdn Spitfire V Aug — Nov 1942601 Sqdn Spitfire V April — June 1942603 Sqdn Spitfire V April — July 19421435 Sqdn Spitfire V July — Nov 194289 Sq (det) Beaufighter I, VIF June — Nov 1942242 & 605 Sqdns

Spitfire V March 1942 (Mixed into 185 Sqdn)

229 & 1435 Sqdns

Spitfire V July 1942 (reformed using 603 Sq personnel)

Strike Squadrons

Unit Aircraft Period235 Sq (det) Beaufighter I Jun — Aug 1942252 Sq (det) Beaufighter I Jul 1942 & Aug 1942248 Sqdn Beaufighter I Jul — Aug 1942227 Sqdn Beaufighter I Aug — Nov 1942

(formed from 235 Sq det)

Bomber Squadrons

Unit Aircraft Period37 Sqdn Wellington Feb — Mar 1942104 Sqdn Wellington May — Jun 194238 Sq (det) Wellington June 1942217 Sq (det) Beaufort June 194239 Sqdn Beaufort I, II Sept — Oct 1942830 FAA Sq Swordfish,

AlbacoreMar — Nov 1942

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2. LUFTWAFFE ORDERS OF BATTLE

FLIEGERKORPS XLt-General Hans Geisler (2 Oct 1939 - 20 Sept

1940)HQ — Athens & Sicily

As Italy’s military fortunes declined in the fall of 1940, Hitler agreed to send reinforcements

to Italy, ostensibly to keep his Axis partner in the fight. He ordered General Geisler’s Fliegerkorps X, then stationed in Norway, south to Sicily to eliminate Malta, which was harrying Axis convoys sailing on to North Africa. Fliegerkorps X began to arrive and take up station on Sicily from 10 to 14 December. Their presence made an immediate difference and escalated the scale of the combat against the island. Geisler used Ju88, backed up by Italian SM79s to perform high-altitude bombing. The fighting prowess of the Italians was already suspect, notwithstanding the fact their existing fighters, notably the Macchi C.200 had were being out-matched by Malta’s new Hurricanes. This would change once again after Geisler’s Me109s entered combat. From the start of the war to 31 December 1941, the Italians had lost 175 planes over Malta, while the Germans acknowledged that they had lost 81. RAF losses had been steeper (See RAF order of Battle). Over Greece, Italian fighter units had been able to claim a 2-to-1 victory-to-loss ratio. Over Malta, these ratio slipped badly in favor of the RAF. Following the arrival of Fliegerkorps X, the Italian Regia Aeronautica was able to rest its crews and many of its aircraft on Sicily were withdrawn to the mainland. This was initially a asetback to Fliegerkorps X. The Germans did not have enough short-range reconnaissance planes on Sicily, their strength was proving slow to build up. On 9 January 1941 — a day before Fliegerkorps X officially began operations against Malta, Geisler had only 156 planes on Sicily. By early March, however, aircraft strength had reached 510 planes, of which roughly 340 were combat ready.

Order of Battle, 22 March 1941

Unit Base Aircraft Strength7./JG 26 Gela Me109E-7 14I/JG 27 Gela Me109E-7 39I/NJG 3 Gela Me110E-3 7III/ZG26 Ain-El-

Gazala, LibyaMe110D-3 33

9./ZG26 Gela Me110D-3 15II/LG1 Catania Ju88A-4 26III/LG1 Catania Ju88A-4 404./KG 4 Comiso He111H-3 12II/KG 26 Comiso He111H-3 26III/KG 30 Comiso Ju88A-4 27Stab, Stg 1 Comiso Ju87B-2I/Stg 1 Ain-el-Gazala Ju87B-2 30II/Stg 1 Trapani Ju87B-2 42III/Stg 1 Trapani Ju87B-2 37I/Stg 2 Ain-el-Gazala Ju87B-2 38Stab, Stg 3 Trapani Ju87B-2 5

JG = Jagdgeschwader (Fighter wing) NJG = Nachtjagdgeschwader (Nightfighter wing)ZG = (Zestörergeschwader (Destroyer Wing)LG = Lehregeschwader (Light Wing)KG = Kampfgeschwader (Bomber wing)Stg = Stukageschwader (Dive-bomber wing)Stab = Headquarters flight

Numerals before the dash (/) symbolize squadrons. Roman numbers denote gruppen (groups).

+ The strength of Fliegerkorps X on 22 March 1941 was: normal strength of 520 of which an average of around 350 were serviceable at any given time. The figures displayed in this column are the standard strengths of units. Not shown are other non-combat units, which accounted for 77 Ju52/3m transports and two reconnaissance units having a total of 29 Ju88D-1s.

212

LUFTFLOTTE IIGeneral Feldmarschall Albert Kesslering (12 January 1940

- 11 June 1943), HQ — Frascati, Rome

Fliegrkorps II Order of Battle, 4 April 1942

Unit Base Aircraft StrengthII/JG 3 San Pietro Me109F-4 25Stab, JG53 Comiso Me109F-4I/JG 53 Gela Me109F-4 34II/JG 53 Comiso Me109F-4 34III/JG 53 Comiso Me109F-4 32IV (Jabo), JG53

Gela JMe109F-4/B 10

I/NJG 2 Catania Ju88C-6 17III/ZG 26 Trapani Me110D-3 20II/LG 1 Catania Ju88A-4 35Stab/KG 54

Catania Ju88A-4

I/KG54 Gerbini Ju88A-4 31Stab, KG77

Comiso Ju88A-4

II/KG77 Comiso Ju88A-4 17

+ The strength column indicates normal strength of corps. Fliegerkorps II also controlled one Reconnaissance unit with 14 Ju88D-1s’, and two transport groups with a total of 44 Ju52/3ms’.

II/JG 3 JG 53 ‘Pik As’

10(Jabo)./JG53

I/JG 77

I/NJG 2

II/JG 53

JG 77 ‘Herz As’

III/ZG 26

F i g h t e r Un i ts o F LU F t F L o t t e 2

Gruppo Squadrons Base Aircraft Strength6 79,81, 88 Fontanarossa MC.200 N/A17 Gp 71, 72, 80 Trapani Milo MC20083 170, 184, 186 Augusta Z501/Z506 14, 887 192, 193 Sciacca SM.79 N/A90 194, 195 Sciacca SM.79 N/A108 256, 257 N/A SM.79 N/A109 256, 259 N/A SM.79 N/A

144 Stagnone Z501/Z506 N/A612 Stagnone Z506C 5613 Elmas SM66C 5

27 18, 52 Villacidro SM.79 N/A

Regia Aeronautica Order of Battle,10 May 1941

213

3. RAF ACES OVER MALTA

PilotsAir Victories

Unit NotesMalta TotalF/O George F. Beurling (Can) 26.33 31.33 249 KIFA 20 May 1948 in RomeF/L Henry ‘Wally’ McLeod (Canada) 13 21 603, 1435 KIA 27 Sept 1944, GermanyFlt Sgt. Pat A. ‘Paddy’ Schade (Malaya) 121/2 121/2 126 KIFA 31 July 1944F/O Raymond B. ‘Hess’ Hesslyn (NZ) 12 211/2 249 POW 3 October 1943F/O Adrian P. ‘Tim’ Goldsmith (Aust.) 12 12 185 KIA 10 December 1942F/O Claude Waver III (USA) 111/2 131/2 185 KIA 28 Jan 1944, FranceF/L Ioannis A. ‘Johnny’ Plagis (Rhod.) 11 16 249, 185 Ended the war as a W/CW/C Alexander C. Rabagliati (Malta) 101/4 171/4 46, 126 MIA 6 July 1943F/O Virgil Paul Brennan (Australia) 10 10 249 KIFA 13 June 1943F/L John F. McElroy (Canada) 10 161/4 249F/O J. W. Williams (Can) 10 10 249 KIFA 1 Nov 1942Sgt. Frederick N. Robertson (UK) 10 12 261 KIFA 17 May 1942F/O Peter A. Nash (UK) 91/2 121/2 249 KIA 17 May 1942F/O Robert ‘Moose’ Fumerton (Can) 9 14 249 Island’s top nightfighter aceF/L Ronald ‘Ronnie’ West (UK) 9 9 249, 185 KIFA 24 May 1944F/L James A.F. MacLachlan (UK) 8 161/2 261 DOW 31 July 1943F/L Ripley O. ‘Rip’ Jones (USA) 7.7 7.7 126 KIC 17 Oct 1942F/O Jerry F. ‘Crash’ Curry (USA) 7.33 7.33 601 POW 2 March 1944, ItalyP/O Reade F. Tilley (USA) 7 7 601 Transferred to USAAF in 1942P/O Gordon R. Tweedale (Australia) 7 7 185 KIA 9 May 1942W/C Adrian Warburton (UK) 7 7 69 MIA 12 April 1944

+ Only aces with 7 victories or more displayed.

126 Squadron 185 Squadron 249 Squadron 601 Squadron+200 victories N/A 244 victories

44 pilots killedN/A

N/A

+ Figures shown, account for the entirety of the campaign.

214

4. AXIS ACES OVER MALTA

PilotsAir Victories

Unit NotesMalta TotalHptm. Gerhard Michalski 26 73 II/JG 53 KIFA 22 February 1946Oblt. Siegfried Freytag 25 102 I/JG 77Ofw. Herbert Rollwage 20 102 II/JG 53Oblt. Joachim Müncheberg 18 135 7./JG 26 KIA 23 March 1943, TunisiaOfw. Walter Brandt 14 42 I/JG 77OberstLt. Gunther von Maltzähn 13 68 5./JG 53 Died 24 June 1953Lt. Gunter Hannak 12 47 I/JG 77 POW 5 May 1943Lt. Heinz-Edger Berres 11 53 I/JG 77 KIA 25 July 1943Lt. Franz Scheiss 10 67 5./JG 53 KIA 2 September 1943Oblt. Freidrich Geisshardt 9 102 I/JG 77 WIA 5 April 1943, DOW 6 AprilHptm. Helmut Belser 8 36 III/JG 53 KIFA 19 June 1942Oblt. Fritz Dinger 6 67 4./JG53 KIA 27 July 1943

+ Table displays only pilots who have scored 8 or more kills+ Although the Luftwaffe was stringent in awarded aerial claims to its pilots (i.e. claims had bee verified by one or two sources), it did not, however, award shared credit. Its policy was: if two pilots were involved in shooting down a single aircraft, both pilots deserved equal credit for the victory. Hence, each pilot received full victory credit. This can partly explain the exaggerated scores accumulated by many Luftwaffe aces.

PilotsAir Victories

Unit NotesMalta TotalSgt. Teresio Martinoli 10 23 9th Gp, 4 Stormo KIFA 25 July 1944, while with the

Allied Co-Belligerent Air ForceCol. Dulio Fanali 9 14 51 Stormo CO of 51 StormoCapt. Furio Niclot Doglio 6 6 155th Gp, 51 Stormo KIA 27 July 1942 (by Beurling)Capt. Franco Lucchini 5 26 10th Gp, 4 Stormo KIA 5 July 1943Maj. Enno Tarantola 5 10 20th Gp, 51 Stormo

Stormo = Italian Air Force unit that was smaller than a German wing. It had two groups.

LUFTWAFFE ACES

ITALIAN ACES

215

Day Pilot Aircrft Location TimeDay Pilot Aircrft Location Time

Feb 2 Oblt Munchberg Hurr I W Takali 2.41

“ Fw Werner Leibing “ Malta 2.45

“ Fw Werner Leibing “ Malta 2.47

Feb 16 Oblt Müncheberg “ Off Dinghli 10.38

“ Uffz Georg Mondry “ S Valletta 10.42

“ Oblt Müncheberg “ Ta Venezia 2.25

Feb 25 Oblt Müncheberg “ E St. Paul’s Bay 4.45

Feb 26 Oblt Müncheberg “ S Krendi 2.06

“ Uffz Georg Mondry “ Kalafrana 2.10

“ Oblt Müncheberg “ 10Km S Malta 2.10

“ Oblt K. Mieutsch “ 10km S Malta 2.17

Mar 2 Oblt Müncheberg “ 2km W Marsa 10.45

Mar 5 Oblt Müncheberg “ S Hal Far 5.32

“ Uffz H-N Kestler “ Malta 5.30

Mar 7 Lt H. Johannsen Blen IV W Gozo 12.15

“ Ofw Karl Küdorf Hurr I Malta 12.20

Mar 15 Oblt Müncheberg Welln 10km NW Gozo 7.50a

Mar 16 Lt H. Johannsen Hurr I Malta N/A

Mar 22 Oblt K. Mieutsch “ 40km N Malta 4.25

“ Uffz K-H. Ehlen “ 30km N Malta 4.25

“ Oblt K. Mieutsch “ 40km N Malta 4.26

“ Uffz K-H Ehlen “ 20km N Malta 4.27

“ Uffz K-H Elhen “ 20km N Malta 4.30

“ Ofw Karl Kühdorf “ 20km. N. Insel 4.30

“ Uffz. H-N Kestler “ 20km N Insel 4.31

Mar 28 Oblt Müncheberg “ 10km S Gozo 5.20

5. Claims made by 7./JG26 over Malta

a = Early a.m.Blen = Bristol BlenheimGrnd = Ground victoryHurr = Hawker Hurricane

Km = kilometersN = NorthN/A = Not AvailableNE = Northeast

NW = NorthwestS = SouthSndld = Shorts SunderlandSE = Southeast

SW = SouthwestW = WestWelln = Wellington

Apr 11 Oblt Müncheberg “ SE Malta 11.31

“ Oblt K. Mietusch “ 30km N Malta 11.50

“ Oblt Müncheberg “ SE St. Paul’s Bay

11.53

Apr 13 Oblt. K. Mietusch “ NE Kalafrana Bay

10.34

Apr 22 Uffz Wagner “ 25km SE Kalaf-rana

4.30

Apr 23 Oblt Müncheberg “ Malta 6.07

Apr 27 Oblt Müncheberg Sund E Kalafrana Bay N/A

Apr 29 Ofw Ernst Laube Hurr I St. Paul’s Bay 6.47

“ Oblt Müncheberg “ St. Paul’s Bay 6.47

Apr 30 Lt H. Johannsen “ Ta Venezia 7.54a

May 1 Oblt Müncheberg “ Takali 7.55a

“ Oblt Müncheberg “ SE Paul’s Bay 7.53a

“ Lt H. Johannsen “ SW Luqa 5.14

“ Oblt Müncheberg “ SW Luqa 5.15

May 6 Oblt Müncheberg Hurr II NE St. Paul’s Bay

12.22

“ Oblt Müncheberg “ SW Hal Far 12.26

“ Staffel Leaders Sndlnd E Kalafrana Bay N/A

May 13 Oblt K. Mietusch Hurr I SW Ta Venezia 2.00

May 25 Lt H. Johannsen Hurr II Grnd, Takali 3.00

“ Ofw Ernst Laube “ Grnd, Takali 3.00

“ Oblt Müncheberg “ Grnd, Takali 3.00

“ Oblt Müncheberg “ Grnd, Takali 3.00

Pilot Oblt. Klaus Mietusch Oblt. J. Müncheberg Lt. Hans JohannsenTotal kills 75 (5 over Malta) 131-135 (18 over Malta) 8 (4 over Malta)

Fate KIA 17 Sept 1944, Netherlands KIA 23 Mar 1943, Tunisia KIA 28 Mar 1942, France

TOP PILOTS IN THE

STAFFEL

216

6. The Ships of OPERATION “PEDESTAL”

Ship Captain Tons Fate Note

Almeriya Lykes W. Henderson 7,773 Sunk Carried ammo & military equipment. Brisbane Star F.N. Riley 12,791 Damaged by torpedo from SM.79Clan Ferguson A.N. Cossar 7,347 Sunk Hit by torpedo on 13thDeucalion R. Brown 7,516 Sunk Carried aviation fuel. Sank at sunset on 12thEmpire Hope G. Williams 12,688 Sunk Carried armaments. Sank on 13th.Dorset J.C. Tuckett 10,624 Sunk Carried high-octane fuel. Glenorchy G. Leslie 8,982 Sunk Carried aviation fuel. Sunk by Italian MTB 31Melbourne Star R.D. Macfarlane 12,806 Had 1,350 tons of high-octane fuel, 700 tons of

kerosene, 1,450 tons of HE shells & heavy oilOhio D. Mason 9,514 Carried 15,000 tons of fuel. Port Chalmers H.G. Pinkey 8,535Rochester Castle R. Wren 7,795 Damaged by Italian MTB 26Santa Eliza T. Thompson 8,379 Sunk Carried aviation fuel. Sank by MTB 564Waimarama R.S. Pearce 12,843 Sunk Carried fuel. Wairangi R. Gordon 12,400 Sunk Attacked by Italian MTBs 552 & 554

FORCE “F”Convoy WS.5.21S

AXIS FORCES

3rd Naval Division (Messina)Three heavy cruisers (Gorizia, Bolzano, Trieste)Seven destroyers (Aviere, Geniere, Camicia Nera, Legionario, Ascari, Corsaro & Grecale)7th Naval Division (Cagliari)Three light cruisers (Eugenio di Savoia, Raimondo Montecuccoli, Muzio & Attendolo)Five destroyers (Maestrale, Gioberti, Oriani, Fuciliere & Malocello)8th Naval Division (Navarino)Three light cruisers & five destroyers

Submarines18 Italian submarines (Bronzo, Ascianghi, Alagi, Dessié, Avorio, Dandolo, Emo, Cobalto, Otaria, Axum, Asteria, Brin, Wolframio, Granito, Dagabur, Giada, Uarsciek & Vellela)Two German U-boats (U-73 & U-333)

Light Ships2nd MS Squadron (MS 16, 22, 23, 25, 26, 31)15th MAS Squadron (MAS 549, 543, 548, 563)18th MAS Squadron (MAS 556, 553, 533, 562, 560)20th MAS Squadron (MAS 557, 554, 564, 552)German S-boats (S30, S59, S58, S36)

Total: Nine cruisers, 17 destroyers, 20 submarines, 10 Minesweepers (MS) & 13 Motor Torpedo Boats (MAS)

Land-based AircraftItalian: 287th, 146th, 170th, 144th, 197th Squadriglia328 aircraft (90 torpedo bombers, 62 bombers, 25 dive-bombers, 151 fighters)

Luftwaffe Fliegkorps II: 456 aircraft (328 dive bombers, 32 bombers, 96 fighters)Total: 784 aircraft (328 Italian, 456 German)

Source: Milan Vego, Major Convoy Operation to Malta, 2010

Source: Peter C. Smith, Pedestal : The Malta Convoy of August 1942, 2004.

CREDITS

The bulk of the photographs found within this document are from public the domain, the Imperial War Museum or the Bundesarchiv. All uncredited photographs are from private collections. Several have entered the In some cases, I have been unable to trace the copyrighter holder. Do contact me if you hold the copyright to a photograph.

AOC Air Officer CommandingCOS Chief of Air Staff DFC Distinguished Flying CrossDFM Distinguished Flying MedalDSO Distinguished Service OrderFAA Fleet Air ArmHMS His/Her Majesty’s ShipIWM Imperial War MuseumKIA Killed in Action

KIC Killed in CollisionKIFA Killed in Flying AccidentMAS Motoscafo Armato Silurante Italian (Motor Torpedo Boat)MIA Missing in ActionRAF Royal Air ForceRCAF Royal Canadian Air ForceRN Royal NavyVC Victoria Cross

CONTACT Send me an E-Mail

ABBREVIATIONS

Royal Air Force Abbr. US Army Air Force Regia Aeronautica Luftwaffe Abbr.Air Chief Marshal ACM General Generale d’Armata Aerea General OberstAir Marshal AM Lt-General Generale di Squadra Aerea General der FleigerAir Vice-Marshal AVM Maj-General Generale di Divisione Aerea General LeutnantAir Commodore A/C Brig-General Generale di Brigata Aerea General MajorGroup Captain G/C Colonel Colonnello OberstWing Commander W/C Lt-Colonel Tenente Colonnello Oberst Leutnant OberstLtSquadron Leader S/L Major Maggiore MajorFlight Lieutenant F/L Captain Capitano Hauptmann HptmFlying Officer F/O 1st Lieutenant Tenente Oberleutenant ObltPilot Officer P/O 2nd Lieutenant Sottotenente Leutnant LtWarrant Officer 1st Class W/O Flight Officer Maresciallo 1a CL Fahnjnkr FeldwebelWarrant Officer 2nd Class W/O2 Staff Sergeant Maresciallo 2a CL Stabsfeldwebel StfwFlight Sergeant F/Sgt. Master Sergeant Sergente Maggiore Oberfeldwebel OfwSergeant Sgt. Sergeant Sergente Feldwebel FwCorporal Corporal - Unteroffizier UffzLeading Aircraftsman Leading Airman Primo Aviere GefreiterAircraftsman Airman Aviere Fleiger Flg

+ Abbr. = Abbrevations used in the text.

Ranks