Emploi et organisation de la Regia Aeronautica en Afrique Orientale Italienne (1936-1940) vues par les attachés militaires français à Rome

The idea to use aircraft to insert some ad-hoc trained detachment in the rear area of the enemy was considered in Italy since the second half of the Twenties. In the following years, it was debated in the Air Force Magazine with regards also to the counter-insurgency problem and to expand the manoeuvring capabilities of regular forces, with a focus on what was happening in other countries. During the Thirties, some significant experiments were conducted leading to the establishment of the first parachute unit following a specific initiative of the Air Marshal Italo Balbo, at the time Governor of Libya. Eventually, during the war, some saboteur units were created and deployed in the final stage of the conflict to carry out some innovative and in some way asymmetric operationAccording to reports from the French military attachés in Rome, after the Italian victory in Ethiopia, confirmed by the capture of Addis Ababa on 5 May 1936, the Regia Aeronautica had to carry out numerous pacifications operations in East Africa – some of which were very brutal – to contribute to the Italian takeover of its new colony, but it also participated in the development of this region during the five years of the Italian Empire of Ethiopia. Rapid progress towards pacification in the winter of 1936-37 meant that the air force present in Africa Orientale Italiana could be transformed into a colonial air force. From then on, Italian airmen could devote themselves more to colonial service missions and open airlines, without neglecting pacification operations. Indeed, until the outbreak of the Second World War, the Regia Aeronautica deployed in Africa Orientale Italiana remained the main air force in the Horn of Africa, despite the fact that its aircraft were rarely renewed and its numbers were reduced in 1938-39.