Luigi Gorrini
| Luigi Gorrini | |
|---|---|
Sergente Maggiore Luigi Gorrini (D'Amico-Valentini archive)
|
|
| Born |
12 July 1917 Alseno, Italy |
| Died | 8 November 2014 (aged 97) Alseno, Italy |
| Buried at | Castelnuovo Fogliani |
| Allegiance | Italy |
| Service/branch |
Regia Aeronautica Aeronautica Militare Italiana |
| Years of service | 1933 – 1945 |
| Rank | Sergente Maggiore |
| Unit | 85ª Squadriglia, 18° Gruppo, 3° Stormo (RA); 1° Gruppo (ANR); 50°Stormo AMI |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare "a vivente" Medaglia di Bronzo al Valor Militare German Iron Cross first and second class |
Luigi Gorrini, MOVM (12 July 1917 – 8 November 2014), was an Italian World War II fighter pilot in the Regia Aeronautica and in the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. During the conflict he flew with the Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI, Italian Air Corps) during the Battle of Britain, fought over Libya and Tunisia, and was involved in the defence of the Italian mainland. Gorrini was credited with 19 (24 according to some sources) enemy planes shot down plus 9 damaged, of several types: Curtiss P-40, Spitfire, P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt, B-17 "Flying Fortress" and B-24 Liberator. He claimed his air victories flying the biplane Fiat C.R.42 and monoplanes Macchi C.202 and C.205 Veltro. Gorrini was the top scoring C.205 pilot. With the Veltro he shot down 14 enemy planes and damaged six more. He was the highest ranking Italian ace still alive until his death, and the only surviving fighter pilot awarded the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare (Gold Medal of Military Valor).
Gorrini came to North Africa as a member of 85aSquadriglia of 18° Gruppo C.T.. He shot down his first aircraft on 16 April 1941, over Derna, in Cyrenaica, Libya.
While flying alone a CR. 42, during a protection sortie, he intercepted two of the first Bristol Beaufighters, just arrived in the Mediterranean Theater. Gorrini opened fire, immediately before the two British aircraft reached the airstrip N 1 on Ftheja, were his 85ª Squadriglia was based. He shot the leader aircraft from a distance of 700-800 meters, scoring hits on the right wingtip. While the second Beaufighter was taking evasive action, Gorrini closed to a distance of 250 meters hitting again the other Bristol. The British aircraft was by now on the Italian airstrip so Gorrini strafed it a third time and the Beaufighter crashed just south of the airstrip. He was credited with a kill and a damaged. He shot 1,100 rounds. On 29 May, Gorrini intercepted two Blenheim bombers over Benghazi. He shot down one that fell just outside the city, and shot all the remaining rounds at the other Blenheim that managed to escape. Repatriated with his unit, on 29 August he was on Caselle Torinese airfield to start the training on the new monoplane fighters, the Fiat G.50 and Macchi C.200. Gorrini and the rest of 18° Gruppo moved lately on Mirafiori base and then to Ciampino Sud airfield, where the training on the G.50 and the C.200 came to an end on 10 December when his Gruppo flew with Macchi C.200s to Lecce and then to the new base of Araxos, in Greece. During winter 1941-42 he escorted convoys between Italy and Greece. On 17 December, in the air space around Argostoli port, in Kefalonia island, intercepted two Bristol Blenheims, painted in black. He attacked the leading aircraft hitting it repeatedly and then strafed the second. The two aircraft disappeared in the clouds and Gorrini was credited with a "probable" and a "damaged". Gorrini had no other chance to clash with the enemy and he flew back to Italy with his Gruppo, on 25 April 1942. Back in Italy, Gorrini and his fellow pilots were trained to fly the C.200 as a fighter-bomber until mid-July. On 23 July, the 18° joined the 23° Gruppo on Abu Haggag base, in North-Africa. There, Gorrini flew protection sorties for Axis ships and ground-attack missions. When in October the 4° Stormo was moved back, it delivered his Macchi C. 202s to the 3°Stormo. "At last, with the Macchi 202 we had a competitive plane. But when they threw over us, during Allied offensive, a whole host of P-40 and Spitfire, even this machine could not do that much. The Spit was a "very hard bone"... It carried a lot of machine guns, plus two 20 mm cannons and it was faster. The 202 was inferior in speed and armament". On 2 January 1943, the whole 3° Stormo, now equipped with Macchi C.202s, took off to face two formations of Douglas DB.7 Boston and B-25 Mitchell, escorted by Spitfires and P-40s. In the ensuing dogfight, Gorrini shot down a R.A.F. Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk, that fell west of Sirte. Then he damaged a Spitfire that was attacking a Macchi. Gorrini shot 880 bullets but his aircraft had been hit: there were 12 holes in his fuselage. Nine days later, the whole 18° Gruppo was escorting C.200 fighter-bombers in action on British airfields in Uadi Tamet area. Gorrini shot down a 92 RAF Squadron Spitfire and he damaged another from the squadron of the British ace Flying Officer Neville Duke, shooting 688 12,7 mm bullets. His Gruppo was often tasked to strafe the advancing Allied columns or to escort German bombers. On 26 February 1943, in the morning, he took off from El Hamma, to escort, with other pilots of his Squadriglia, Stukas attacking Allied armoured forces in Ksar-Ghilane, then he strafed the enemy troops. In the afternoon, on Kebili, with tenente Melis and two other fellow pilots, he intercepted four Allied aircraft. Gorrini claimed a Hawker Hurricane IID, armed with 40mm Vickers cannons. But this was last air battle in Africa. His irritating eye injury was worsening and he was grounded and subsequently, at the end of February, hospitalized in Sfax. He returned to Italy in late March 1943.
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