Michele Fonseca. Life and Death of a "Sparviero (Sparrowhawk)"

by Manuel Noferini

What we are about to recount is the story of a young, courageous, and idealistic man who, swept up by the events of the Second World War, did not live to see its end. The decorations for valor delivered to his family would have done little to compensate for the loss of a young man who had just turned twenty-five. This story mentions places and dates of battles, identifies military units, and bears the first and last name of its protagonist, but in all other respects it is entirely similar to many others lived by our young men (of that time) during the years of war.

From the origins to the Decimomannu air base

Michele Fonseca was born in the province of Florence on 1 April 1916, the son of Michelangelo and Carmelita Pacini. The years of his adolescence coincided with a period in which Italy excelled in the field of aviation, winning prestigious awards in the most important international sporting competitions, setting record after record, and appearing on the front pages of newspapers around the world thanks to countless feats—foremost among them the transatlantic flights of Italo Balbo.

In this exhilarating climate, full of optimism for the future, the young man developed what would become his great passion: flying. Coming from a fairly well-off family certainly helped him to some extent. As a private citizen, he in fact became a member of RUNA (Reale Unione Nazionale Aeronautica) and obtained a civilian pilot’s license. In the meantime, after graduating, he also enrolled at the Royal University of Florence. The call to arms for military service marked a turning point in Michele Fonseca’s life: he passed the selection process and managed to enter the Regia Aeronautica as an auxiliary reserve officer pilot cadet. Based on his flying style, his psychophysical qualities, and not least on the need for pilots in that specialty at the time, once he was qualified the training unit assigned him to bomber units.

It is thus that we find him some time later based in Sardinia at Decimomannu, with the 228th Land-Based Bomber Squadron (B.T.), 89th Group, 32nd Wing. At the outbreak of the war, his squadron could count on eight Savoia Marchetti S.79 “Sparviero” aircraft, out of the fifteen assigned to its group and the thirty to its wing. Few aircraft, and already somewhat outdated, these trimotors that during the Spanish Civil War had aroused the admiration and envy of air forces across half the world. From that point on, however, we Italians had largely come to a standstill in the development of new aircraft, while the rest of the world had moved ahead. Very often it was the skill of the pilots that had to compensate for the limitations of the equipment, so much so that many S.79s would be converted into torpedo bombers, a new specialty capable of offering greater chances of striking enemy shipping, but one that also entailed enormous risks for the crews and required pilots of exceptional ability. Although all Sparvieros were configured for torpedo release, the unit of the young Tuscan pilot remained for the time being dedicated to conventional bombing, employing free-fall bombs of various types and sizes.

The first missions and the war in the Mediterranean

On 12 June 1940, just two days after Italy’s entry into the war against France, twenty-one aircraft of the 32nd Wing bombed the naval air base of Bizerte, in Tunisia. According to what was recorded by the Italian Armistice Commission, which inspected the site at the end of hostilities, the destruction of five enemy aircraft was noted, along with the sinking of the merchant vessel Finisterre, the destruction of 40,000 liters of fuel and severe damage to the infrastructure.

Once the brief campaign against France was concluded, the operational commitment of the Sardinia-based Air Force was redirected against the British fleet, and in particular against the sea lanes linking Gibraltar, Malta, and Alexandria in Egypt. From the summer of 1940 onward, the 32nd Wing took part in several combat sorties against the Royal Navy, and it is reasonable to assume that Second Lieutenant Michele Fonseca participated in a large number of them.

He certainly took part on 9 July in the naval air battle of Punta Stilo, for which he was awarded the Croce al Valor Militare. In this first sea clash between Italian and British forces, which would end essentially in a draw, the 32nd Wing went into action with twenty aircraft, while the 8th sent twenty-eight on the mission. The action of the Italian bombers caused damage to the destroyer Escort, which would then be sunk a couple of days later by the submarine Marconi.

On 1 August, the 8th and 32nd Wings intervened again with seventeen S.79s to attack a convoy carrying twelve Hurricane fighter aircraft destined for the defense of Malta (Operation “Hurry”). In this attack, which proved unsuccessful, Brigade Commander General Stefano Cagna was killed in action, a legendary aviator for having taken part in the rescue mission of Umberto Nobile’s airship Italia in the Arctic and in the transatlantic flights with Italo Balbo.

1940–1941: experience, sorties, and attrition

Il 9 novembre 1940 gli Sparviero units based at Decimomannu were once again called into action: about twenty aircraft took off. The objective on this occasion was also the Royal Navy, on the return route after having bombed the Cagliari–Elmas airfield with nine Swordfish of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, with largely negligible results. The Italian bombers, lacking fighter escort, were immediately intercepted by carrier-based fighters Fulmar and taken under anti-aircraft fire, which inflicted serious damage: as many as 18 S.79s were hit, more or less severely. On return, three dead and seven wounded were reported among the crew members. The formations nevertheless managed to drop their ordnance load, consisting of eighty 250-kg bombs, on the enemy ships. Italian reports claimed that an aircraft carrier and a cruiser had been hit, but nothing to that effect appears on the British side. It can therefore be inferred that the damage actually inflicted was very slight, if not nil.

On 9 January 1941 theAeronautica della Sardegna was called upon to counter Operation Excess, whose purpose was to transport large quantities of supplies destined for Malta and Greece. The 228th Squadron took part in the engagement with five aircraft. At 12:25 they took off together with an equal number of aircraft from the 229th Squadron, under the command of Major Antonio Fadda. After about an hour and a half of flight, a powerful enemy naval formation was sighted, composed of one aircraft carrier, four battleships, eight cruisers, and eleven destroyers, although there was no sign of merchant ships, which would have been the true objective of the mission. At 14:00 the attack began, immediately opposed by five enemy fighters. Fulmar of 808 Squadron, which managed to shoot down two bombers of the 229th. The eight surviving S.79s, although almost all damaged, nevertheless managed to drop their 100-kg bombs. The Italian side estimated that the battleship Malaya and a cruiser had been hit, although British reports went no further than “near miss”—bombs that exploded in the immediate vicinity of the ships in question and, at worst, caused only limited damage¹. For this mission, Second Lieutenant Fonseca was recommended for a Bronze Medal for Military Valor. The decoration was granted, but because of the proverbial bureaucratic delays that have long afflicted the Belpaese, it reached the family fully two months after the pilot’s death.

By early May, Michele Fonseca could already consider himself a veteran. He had been serving in a combat unit for several months by then, having participated in numerous missions. Having become a Crew Commander, four lives in addition to his own now depended on him, on his piloting skills, and on the tactical decisions made during operations. On his chest, he wore the ribbon of the Croce al Valor Militare (War Cross for Military Valor), earned ten months earlier at Punta Stilo, while rumors circulated that another medal was on its way. Yet, alongside the pride of performing his duty to the best of his ability, there was certainly the awareness of the meager results achieved thus far—despite the efforts and great risks taken, which had already claimed the lives of many crews

8 May 1941: the final mission and death

On May 8, 1941, Second Lieutenant Michele Fonseca took off from Decimomannu flying S79 serial number 21454. It was not a very new aircraft, produced between September 1938 and April 1939 by SIAI, and must have already taken part in numerous war missions.². His co-pilot is Warrant Officer Goffredo Crippa, the flight engineer is Senior Airman Giovanni Speciale, the radio operator is Senior Airman Brenno Chiatti, while the armorer is First Airman Armando Sclippa. This time the task is to counter operation Tiger, the goal of which is to transport a substantial quantity of aircraft and armored vehicles to Egypt. Five merchant ships are crossing the Mediterranean protected by the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and by a heavy naval escort group. Intercepting it, once sighted by reconnaissance aircraft, is a force composed of twenty bombers from the 8th and 32nd Wings, each armed with ten 100 kg bombs, and five torpedo bombers from the 280th Independent Squadron. They are escorted by twenty-one CR.42 fighters belonging to the 3rd Group. Due to the terrible weather conditions, it is decided to dispatch the aircraft in small groups, so as to increase the chances that some might manage to locate the enemy amidst the clouds. The first to find the British ships are the torpedo bombers, which release their weapons but without managing to cause any damage. The bombers arrive shortly after, towards 16:20 hours. They attack at a relatively low altitude (1500 meters) to stay below the clouds and have better visibility, but are met with an intense anti-aircraft response. The formation to which Second Lieutenant Fonseca’s Sparviero belongs, composed of three aircraft, also manages to locate the convoy but is immediately intercepted by fighters from 808 Squadron of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. Two Fulmar, flown by Lieutenants A.T.J. Kindersley and R.C. Hay attack the Tuscan pilot’s aircraft at 17:10 hours and shoot it down in flames ahead of the fleet³.

On the same day another four aircraft are lost, one CR.42 and three S.79s; among these are the S.79 flown by Captain Armando Boetto of the 49th Squadron and the S.79 of Second Lieutenant Franco Cappa of the 280th Torpedo Squadron. Already recognized as skilled pilots, both will receive the Gold Medal for Military Valor posthumously. The British, on the other hand, lose two aircraft (one of which certainly shot down by an escort CR.42) and a merchant ship, sunk after striking two mines. Despite the sacrifice of the Italian airmen, the four ships that reached their destination succeed in unloading as many as 238 tanks and 43 fighter aircraft in the port of Alexandria.

Reserve Pilot Second Lieutenant Michele Fonseca is not immediately reported dead, but together with his crew is declared missing in action. Only a long time later, based on a complex bureaucratic process and passing through the drafting of a “report of unavailability”, would the officer's presumed death finally be decreed. The comrades of his squadron, following an unfortunately well-established practice, appoint a committee charged with collecting and shipping the fellow soldier's personal effects and valuables to his family. Every item is accurately listed in a three-page inventory, placed in the trunk or in one of the two suitcases belonging (or having belonged?) to the missing man and sent, a month and a half after the shoot-down, to his brother Ferdinando. The money instead, which is a rather considerable sum for the time, in accordance with the laws in force is temporarily held at headquarters and will be paid out only subsequently, via money order, after six months have passed since the disappearance or following the drafting of the report of unavailability.

The bitter appendix

To the sad epilogue, it is necessary to add a bitter postscript which, in a certain respect, makes the love for one’s country, pushed to the ultimate sacrifice, appear vain and undeserved. Unfortunately, the Motherland is often quicker to take the lives of her servants than to render them the honors they deserve. The Bronze Medal for the engagement of January 9 is awarded fully six months later, on July 11, 1941, while it is only on January 20, 1942, that the family receives official notification that their relative has also been awarded the Silver Medal, with the order published on the previous November 8.

The relevant certificates would be dispatched at a leisurely pace, to say nothing of the additional stipend provided for valor decorations due to the mother as his heir: despite repeated requests to obtain it, on April 19, 1951, almost ten years after her son’s death, Mrs. Fonseca had not yet seen a single penny.

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Footnote
1. “Il 9 – 10 e 11 gennaio 1941 nel Mediterraneo Centrale”, Piero Faggioli, in Storia Militare No. 49, October 1997. 
2. https://www.alieuomini.it/catalogo/dettaglio_catalogo/savoia_marchetti_sm_sparviero,8.html
3. The British Operation “Tiger”, Francesco Mattesini, Military Library: https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/docs/l_operazione_britannica_tiger_5_13_maggi/s/25737709