Museum Grade WWII Italian (Axis) Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR) Artifact.

There are only 3 of these maps in the world that are known to exist. One is currently being held by the Library of Congress in the United States, one is in the possession the University of Prague, and the one we have available here.

Size: 47 x 34 inches

This extremely rare, one sided, paper map is dated 1942 and is titled, ‘Carta Aeronautica D'Italia Al Milionesimo' (Italian Air Force Charter to the Millionth). The subtitle of the map reads ‘Edizione Speciale Ad Uso Esclusivo Della R. Aeronautica’ (Special Edition for the Exclusive use of the R. Aeronautica). The map itself is 1 of 2 sections and shows the southern quadrant with some of the most infamous land, naval and air battlegrounds of WWII including Sicily, Southern Italy, Sardinia, and part of Tunisia. What makes this map even more special are the words ‘Druck: Berlin’ (Printing: Berlin). These are the only 2 words on the map that are not in Italian. Meaning this map was printed in Berlin Germany by the Nazi’s for the Italian Air Force. The map shows altitude tints with colors designating the altitude heights. Located near the bottom middle of the map are CONFIDENTIAL locations of airports for airplanes, seaplanes, makeshift camps, and obstacles. During its use, this map was used by the the National Republican Air Force (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, or ANR). This was the Air Force of the Italian Social Republic during World War II, closely linked with the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) in northern Italy. From 10 June 1940 up to 8 September 1943, the Regia Aeronautica lost 6,483 aircraft (other sources report 5,201 ), including 3,483 fighters, 2,273 bombers, torpedo-bombers and transports, plus 227 reconnaissance planes. The Royal Italian Air Force itself claimed 4,293 enemy aircraft, including 1,771 destroyed on the ground. Personnel losses suffered during the conflict consisted of 3,007 dead or missing, 2,731 wounded and 9,873 prisoners of war.

Sicilian Campaign and before 8 September 1943:

The Regia Aeronautica was put in a defensive role during the Sicilian Campaign. Italian pilots were constantly fighting against Allied efforts to sink Regia Marina ships. Just before the Allied invasion, a huge Allied bomber offensive struck the airfields in Sicily in an effort to gain further air superiority. This left the Regia Aeronautica very weak, but still alive as aircraft continued to arrive from Sardinia, southern Italy, and southern France. The last mission of the Regia Aeronautica before the truce with the allies was the defense during the (USAAF) bombing on Frascati—Rome on September 8, 1943.

Allied Efforts in Italy:

The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place on 3 September 1943 during the early stages of the Italian Campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General Sir Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group (comprising General Mark W. Clark's Fifth Army and General Bernard Montgomery's British Eighth Army) and followed the successful invasion of Sicily. The main invasion force landed around Salerno on 9 September on the western coast in Operation Avalanche, while two supporting operations took place in Calabria (Operation Baytown) and Taranto (Operation Slapstick).

On 28 March 1923, the Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service by King Vittorio Emanuele III of the Kingdom of Italy. This air force was known as the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force). During the 1930s, the fledgling Regia Aeronautica was involved in its first military operations, first in Ethiopia in 1935, and later in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. After a period of neutrality, Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940 alongside Germany. The Regia Aeronautica could deploy more than 3,000 aircraft, although fewer than 60% were serviceable. It fought from the icy steppes of Russia to the sands of the North African desert, losing men and machines. After the armistice of 8 September 1943, Italy was divided into two sides, and the same fate befell the Regia Aeronautica. The Air Force was split into the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south aligned with the Allies, and the pro-Axis Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana in the north until the end of the war. On 8 May 1945, the hostilities ended, beginning the rebirth of military aviation in Italy.