15º Stormo

15º Stormo “Stefano Cagna” is the name of the 15th squadron of the Italian Air Force . The bar and parts of this helicopter - Association are in Cervia in Rimini , individual Search and Rescue - units of the squadron are on other air bases stationed. The squadron is subordinate to the 1ª Brigata Aerea , which is responsible for special operations and whose headquarters are also in Cervia.

Tasks and organization

The SAR units of the squadron were originally intended primarily to rescue shot down or crashed crews of military aircraft with seaplanes from the Mediterranean and to carry out other military rescue, transport and special missions. Due to international agreements on search and rescue services for emergencies in civil aviation and seafaring , the units of the 15th Squadron took over the majority of the civilian SAR tasks resulting from these agreements. For several decades, the focus has been on rescue operations for civilians in need, especially those at sea.

AW101, 15º Stormo

The 15th Squadron has the following flying units in swarm strength :

23rd CSAR relay in Cervia
80th SAR unit in Decimomannu
81st training unit in Cervia
82nd SAR unit in Trapani
83rd SAR unit in Cervia
84th SAR unit in Gioia del Colle
85th SAR unit in Pratica di Mare
615. Communication unit in Cervia

15th Squadron bases

The units are equipped with helicopters of the types AW101 , AW139 , AB212 and NH500E . The new AW101 are primarily intended for Combat Search and Rescue and special operations in cooperation with a special unit , the other helicopters mainly for normal SAR missions as well as for support and training tasks.

The SAR unit in Cervia covers the northern Adriatic , as well as parts of northern and central Italy if required. The helicopters in Gioia del Colle are responsible for the southern Adriatic, parts of the Ionian Sea and, if necessary, parts of southern Italy. The unit in Trapani takes over Sicily with parts of the sea areas there as well as the southern Tyrrhenian Sea . In November 2013, a SAR unit in Decimomannu on Sardinia was integrated into the squadron. The helicopters in Pratica di Mare near Rome cover large parts of the Tyrrhenian Sea and also operate in central and southern Italy if necessary. Small separate helicopter units of the air force, parts of the army aviation and helicopters of the navy from Luni near La Spezia and from Catania in Sicily complete the military SAR essence.

There are civil rescue helicopters in almost all Italian regions . If these reach their capacity limit or the limit of their technical possibilities or if it is a matter of missions over the Mediterranean Sea, the 15th Squadron is called in. If its capabilities are no longer sufficient, helicopters from the other military units mentioned take off. The latter also happens when these are closer to the location, for example in Sardinia or in the Alps .

The 15th squadron is managed by a coordination point in the operations center of the Italian Air Force in Poggio Renatico ( Comando delle Operazioni Aeree ), in the case of marine casualties the Navy takes on the coordination tasks in the field of air rescue, in other major accidents the civil protection or the Ministry of the Interior and its field offices . In general, SAR helicopters are requested via the emergency number of the emergency services or through the emergency services on site.

history

The history of the 15th Squadron consists of two very different lines. Between 1931 and 1943 it existed first as a bomber and then as a fighter-bomber squadron, and since 1965 as the umbrella organization of the aforementioned SAR units. The history of these units shows no breaks and can be traced back to the sea pilots of the First World War .

Bomber squadron

Coat of arms of 15º Stormo in World War II

The 15th was set up on June 1, 1931 in Rome-Ciampino as a bomber squadron. It consisted of two bomber groups of two squadrons: the 46º Gruppo ( 20ª, 21ª Squadriglia ) and the 47º Gruppo ( 53ª, 54ª Squadriglia ). From November 1931 to September 1935 it was stationed in Ferrara with its Fiat BR.3 and some Caproni Ca.100 . Parts of the squadron took part in the Italian colonial war in East Africa in 1935 and 1936 , the rest temporarily moved back to Rome to the military airfields of Guidonia and Ciampino. In June 1936 the squadron came to the airfield of Castelbeito in Libya . There, with its Savoia-Marchetti SM.81, it contributed to the establishment of Italy's first paratrooper units. From June 1936 to April 1939, Colonel Stefano Cagna commanded the 15th squadron. Cagna, after which the squadron is named to this day, fell in August 1940 as a 38-year-old brigadier general at the head of a larger bomber formation south of the Balearic Islands during a mission against the British Royal Navy .

During the Second World War , the squadron carried out some reconnaissance missions over Tunisia with new aircraft of the type Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 in June 1940 , then relocated it to eastern Libya and from there attacked British targets in Egypt and the Mediterranean in the following months on. It formed the 9th Air Brigade (9ade Brigata aerea) in Libya with the 41st Squadron . After eight months of uninterrupted missions, the 15th Squadron returned to Italy in late February 1941. In Vicenza it was initially equipped with the Caproni Ca.313 , after extensive training on this type it was then, for some inexplicable reason, converted to a Fiat CR.42 double-decker at the beginning of 1942 , with which it was to fly as a fighter-bomber formation for close air support . In September 1942 it returned to Libya with these machines, where it suffered heavy losses until the end of the year as a result of the second battle of El Alamein and was again withdrawn to Vicenza in early 1943. In May 1943 it moved to Capoterra and Oristano on Sardinia, in the following July with parts to Palermo-Boccadifalco , the rest went to Pontedera near Pisa. When the Cassibile Armistice came into effect in September 1943 , the remnants of the 15th Squadron were in Florence-Peretola , where it was disbanded.

Seaplane

When the Italian Air Force ( Regia Aeronautica ) was set up as an independent branch on March 28, 1923 , it took over a large part of the air force from the army and navy. Four seaplane units, stationed in La Spezia , Naples , Taranto and Venice , were taken over from the coastal section commands of the Navy and in 1924 were given the numbers 79, 81, 82 and 84 as flying groups. In the following year the groups 80 in central Italian Orbetello and 83 in Augusta on Sicily were added, in February 1933 the 85th in Cagliari on Sardinia. At first they flew the Macchi M.5 and M.7, later among others the CRDA Cant Z.501 and CRDA Cant Z.506 . During the Second World War, the machines were mainly used for long-range reconnaissance and rescue at sea , but also as bombers and transporters .

Basically, the incorporation of almost all Italian military aircraft into the Regia Aeronautica was criticized because the procedures between the armed forces often proved to be inadequate, as was shown, among other things, in the sea battles at Punta Stilo and Cape Teulada . For the units equipped with seaplanes and flying boats and some other units, the Regia Aeronautica set up a “Naval Aviation Command of the Air Force” ( Aviazione Ausiliaria per la Marina ) and tried to establish a special relationship with the Navy. The seaplanes and flying boats had mixed crews; in particular, the observers came from the Navy. In this form, despite everything, they made significant contributions to the reconnaissance of enemy naval movements and to the recovery of shot down (own and enemy) crews. They had to fight particularly against the fighters of British aircraft carriers .

After the armistice of September 8, 1943, the remaining seaplanes were brought together in Taranto and Brindisi the following month , where they remained active in the areas of reconnaissance and sea rescue under Allied control. Groups 82 to 85 were still stationed there and in Cagliari in May 1945. On April 14, 1946, the "rescue center" of the Italian Air Force was set up on the Rome-Centocelle military airfield , and in the following year it was named "Search and Rescue Service". The new SAR service consisted of six coordination points, seven units with seaplanes and three units with other aircraft. In the course of some reorganizations and downsizing, new Piaggio P.136 were introduced in 1951 , followed by some Fiat G.212s in the following year . In 1953 the first two Sikorsky H-19 helicopters were received, followed by the AB47J in 1959 . In 1958, the first Grumman HU-16 flying boats , which were so characteristic of the SAR service in the post-war period , were taken over and stationed in Vigna di Valle on Lake Bracciano .

SAR squadron

HU-16 Albatross the 15th in the Aviation Museum Vigna di Valle

HH-3F Pelican (AS-61R), 15 ° Stormo

HH-3F of the 15th in a splashdown

AW139 in action

On October 1, 1965, the 15th Squadron was re-established in Rome-Ciampino and took over all existing SAR units of the Italian Air Force. These were groups 84 and 85 in Rome-Ciampino and two branches in Milan-Linate and Taranto-Grottaglie , which flew the HU-16 and helicopters of the types AB204B and AB47J. In this form, the squadron distinguished itself as early as 1966 in flood disasters in Tuscany and Veneto .

In the mid-1970s, first 20 and then 15 additional helicopters of the type HH-3F Pelican were ordered for the 15th squadron , which Agusta also built under license in Italy. Thanks to these helicopters, which were introduced in 1977, all models previously used could be taken out of service. At the same time, the squadron and its units were reorganized:

Military airfield	unit	annotation
Rome Ciampino	Staff 15th Squadron	from 1997 to 2010 in Pratica di Mare , then Cervia
Trapani	82nd SAR unit	unchanged
Rimini	83. SAR unit	in Cervia since 2010
Brindisi	84. SAR unit	in Gioia del Colle since 2012
Rome Ciampino	85. SAR unit	since 1997 in Pratica di Mare

From 1984 to 1987, the squadron took some fire-fighting aircraft of the types Canadair CL-215 and Aeritalia G.222 , the fight went from forest fires from the air to the civil defense over. In the mid-1980s, the 615th liaison squadron was established within the 15th squadron on AB212 , A109 , P.166 and S.205 , of which, however, a number of them were subsequently given up. In addition, the 81st training unit was set up to train the crews. With the HH-3F, the Italian Air Force also introduced 35 AB212 helicopters, completing the SAR service from several bases including Milan-Linate, Istrana , Grosseto , Grazzanise and Decimomannu . From 2005 the remaining AB 212 were largely modernized and then concentrated at the 9th Squadron in Grazzanise and the 15th Squadron in Pratica di Mare and then in Cervia.

In 1993 the 15th Squadron returned to Africa as part of Operation Restore Hope , where they were confronted with the need for Combat Search and Rescue during operations in Somalia . As a result, the squadron focused on building such a capability, with the HH-3F receiving improved avionics , communications and self-protection devices, and devices for machine guns , among other things . After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , they also took on a role as slow mover interceptors , i.e. the interception of light aircraft that could pose a terrorist threat, especially at major political, sporting or religious events.

In 1997 the staff of the 15th squadron with training and support units and the 85th SAR unit moved from Rome-Ciampino to the Pratica di Mare military airfield, which is also near Rome, and then to Cervia near Rimini in 2010, where a fighter squadron had been disbanded whose airfield they did not want to give up for strategic reasons. At the same time, the 83rd SAR unit moved from Rimini Airport to Cervia, and in 2012 the 84th SAR unit from Brindisi Airport to nearby Gioia del Colle for reasons of rationalization. The 82nd unit in Trapani on Sicily and the 85th in Pratica di Mare will remain at their previous locations.

On October 23, 2008, a tragic accident occurred in which all eight crew members of an HH-3F of the 84th SAR unit from Brindisi were killed. They were on their way to Florennes , Belgium , where they wanted to take part in a NATO exercise of the Tactical Leadership Program , when at Bar-le-Duc a blade of the main rotor came off and then the tail rotor separated. The Italian air force command imposed a flight ban on the HH-3F until the accident was resolved (the AB 212 and others took over the SAR service). Finally it was decided to gradually replace the HH-3F and also the AB 212 with the more modern models AW139 and AW101 within the scope of financial possibilities . In 2012, the first of ten ordered AW139s were put into service in Cervia, followed by the first of twelve AW101s ordered in 2015. The remaining HH-3F were concentrated in Pratica di Mare and decommissioned there in 2014. With the new AW101, the 23rd squadron (23 ° Gruppo) was created again in Cervia in 2018 , which had belonged to the disbanded 5th Squadron (5 ° Stormo) as a fighter squadron there until 2010 .

Web links

Remarks

↑ Stormo literally means "swarm" and originally referred only to flocks of birds. The small circle at 15º stands for an o and thus for the ordinal number (15.) and its shape corresponds to the English 15th (15ª, if followed by a feminine noun).
↑ The units stand in the tradition of flying groups ( Gruppi ), which are divided into squadrons ( Squadriglie ). Italian groups today have relay strength. Because in the case of the 15th Squadron there are usually no more than six helicopters per group, they did not want to stick to the terminus Gruppo . The units are now called Centro SAR or SAR Center. They are usually commanded by a major .
↑ The military helicopter units or bases that complete the SAR network are located in (starting in the north, counterclockwise): Luni ( Navy and Coast Guard , northern Tyrrhenian Sea), Decimomannu and Salto di Quirra (Air Force and Coast Guard, Sardinia), Catania (Navy and Coast Guard, Ionian Sea), Grazzanise (Air Force, southern Tyrrhenian Sea), Pescara (Coast Guard, central Adriatic Sea), Casarsa ( Army , northeast Italy), Bozen (Army, Alps), Aosta and Venaria Reale (Army , Northwest Italy).
↑ The helicopter population of the Italian Air Force in the 1990s was 35 HH-3F (15th Squadron), two related SH-3D (readiness for flight in Rome-Ciampino), 35 AB 212 (various bases) and 50 NH 500E of the helicopter flight school in Frosinone (the latter also with various liaison teams). Almost all of them were built under license in Italy.

[1] Stormo literally means "swarm" and originally referred only to flocks of birds. The small circle at 15º stands for an o and thus for the ordinal number (15.) and its shape corresponds to the English 15th (15ª, if followed by a feminine noun).

[2] The units stand in the tradition of flying groups ( Gruppi ), which are divided into squadrons ( Squadriglie ). Italian groups today have relay strength. Because in the case of the 15th Squadron there are usually no more than six helicopters per group, they did not want to stick to the terminus Gruppo . The units are now called Centro SAR or SAR Center. They are usually commanded by a major .

[3] The military helicopter units or bases that complete the SAR network are located in (starting in the north, counterclockwise): Luni ( Navy and Coast Guard , northern Tyrrhenian Sea), Decimomannu and Salto di Quirra (Air Force and Coast Guard, Sardinia), Catania (Navy and Coast Guard, Ionian Sea), Grazzanise (Air Force, southern Tyrrhenian Sea), Pescara (Coast Guard, central Adriatic Sea), Casarsa ( Army , northeast Italy), Bozen (Army, Alps), Aosta and Venaria Reale (Army , Northwest Italy).

[4] The helicopter population of the Italian Air Force in the 1990s was 35 HH-3F (15th Squadron), two related SH-3D (readiness for flight in Rome-Ciampino), 35 AB 212 (various bases) and 50 NH 500E of the helicopter flight school in Frosinone (the latter also with various liaison teams). Almost all of them were built under license in Italy.