Courage Alone: The Italian Airforce 1940-1943

"Courage Alone: The Italian Air Force 1940-1943", by Chris Dunning, covers the Regia Aeronautica (the Italian Air Force, or RA) from when Italy declared war in June 1940 to its surrender to the Allies in September 1943.Before describing what this book is, let me first say what it is not. It is not a description of the combat and operational history of the RA in its many campaigns during that time frame, except in an indirect way. Do not buy this if that's what you're looking for. What you get when you buy this book is a detailed individual history of all of the RA gruppi (aircraft formations of typically 18 to 24 aircraft) and independent Squadriglia (aircraft formations of typically 9 to 12 aircraft), analysis on the RA command structure, impressive maps of bases and locations in all the theatres the IAF was involved, and orders of battle. You also will find individual chapters on aircrew, individual figher aces, brief details of all of aircraft types used by the RA, equipment, markings, camoflage, rare pictures (many in color), and an analysis of why the RA lost, among others.Again, this book is not for the casual reader looking for an entertaining tale about IAF operations over Great Britian or the Soviet Union. Its for the modeler, author, serious historian, or World War II buff looking to learn about the nuts and bolts of the IAF. To that audience, this book is pure gold, as very little has been written about the IAF, particularly at this detailed of a level. The production quality of this book is quite high, and it's obviously a labor of love for the author.Highly recommended.

Due to publishing delays my book arrived 6 months after the order was placed so I wondered if this book was worth the wait? I had previously read reviews on the "out of print" version of this book.This 2009 version of the book was updated and now has 360 pages.Here are some of the items included in the book:#1 Over 150 pages covering the various unit histories within the Italian Air Force.#2 Eleven pages of maps showing airfields used by the Regia Aeronautica including Italy, North Africa, East Africa, Russia, Europe and the Balkans.#3 Squadron allocations are covered in eight pages.#4 Thirteen pages showing Orders of Battle.#5 Aircraft specifications and camouflage/markings are discussed and there are many color side profiles of aircraft used by the Italian Air Force.#6 One page showing color unit badges.#7 Excerpts from Italian aircraft manuals.#8 Tables listing Italian Aces and Allied shipping casualties (damaged and sunk).#9 Interesting sections on "Why the Regia Aeronautica Lost" and "The Carrier Aquila".The book was worth the wait and provides much information on a very scarce subject.

This book represents a monumental effort by Dunning to chronicle the story of the Regia Aeronautica during the war. It is extremely well organized, overwhelming with information, and impressively documented with photographs and color plates. My only criticism is that I would have liked to have seen the subject covered in a chronological order by theater, rather than unit by unit in numerical order, but that's a personal preference and does not detract from the validity of the book. As other reviewers have stated, this book more than adequately fills a void in coverage of the Regia Aeronautica. I'm not sure that the book puts the achievements of Italian pilots in the context I had expected, or to the extent that I had thought it might. Be that as it may, this book is an indispensable English language reference on the Regia Aeronautica, and is more than reasonably priced for the size and quality of the book, and the treasure trove of information it presents.

The Italian Airf Force was not as powerful as their German ally. They put their aircraft on the front lines against the allied air forces. The book reviews the aircraft used by the Italian air forces in world wwar two thta were not ready to competeagainst the allied world war 2 aircraft. The book missed discussing Italian aircraft that were not a major part of the Italian air force. One aircraft was the Cant Z.511 which was a projected New York bomber.

This book is simply amazing, not only in totally comprehensive, but is organized in a logical way. From battle group, badges, camo patterns and colors, aircraft types, weapons, win /loss statistics, well you just ask and you will find it. No doubt a labor of love of the author, congratulations to him for such an incredible book and kudos to the publisher for releasing such a masterpiece .

Information on organization, campaigns, types of aircraft used is excellent. A well researched and put together book.

Highly detailed and informative account of the Italian air force in WW2 with great pictures and illustrations.. Has breakdowns of all units that served, aircraft types flown with time frames orders of battle etc.. If you want very in depth information about the neglected history of the Italian Air Force this is must have for your collection...

I build 1/72 scale Italian WWII fighter models. This book is an invaluable reference.

Amazing job by Australian writer Chris Dunning.Bear in mind that this is not a bokk filled with vivid descriptions of air fighting, shipping strikes, mortal air battles.It was conceived to portrait the whole spectre of the Italian Air Force (from 1940-1943 - not ANR here)., including units, orders of battle, aircraft designs, list of aces, commanders, strategical and tactical (or lack of) doutrine, etc.The quality of the printing and drawnings is amazing.

Courage Alone.I was really disappointed. I wanted to find some text which explained the role of the Italian airforce in World War II. However, the only narrative and analysis is confined to a 1 page introduction. This is well written, so why didn't the author write any more?Instead the book is a mass of photos and detailed drawings of different aircraft and very weighty technical information on squadrons and their relative service histories. It all appears to be very raw 'source' information - gathered together and `dumped' into one heavy volume.A good book if you want photos and detailed diagrams of the aircraft, especially if you're a modeller - but a big disappointment as a history.

An excellent history of the Regis Aeronautica in WWII. Well researched, informative and interesting with numerous photos and illustrations. A must have book for all interested in this subject.

Brilliant book on the Italian airforce 1940-43 this purely a reference book on squadrons and aircraft used in this period.

Who is looking for detailed study about Italian Air Force, this is the right stuff!