Ascari paratroopers or Ascari del cielo (sky Ascari). Libya, 1938. Note the paratroopers uniform, very first kind: just an aviation flying suit, and the paratropeers helmet model '40 is still to come. The stripes, like in every Ascari troop, indicate the battalion. DVX
There it is! Thanks DVX, very interesting!
The Ascari of Sky were the first paratroopers of the Italian Armed Forces.
With Ascari paratroopers would be born the initial core of the Italian skydiving.
The first launch of those pioneers was in fact made in 1938, in the Jebel Cyrenaic, 800 Libyan paratroopers from the trained by Italian officers and NCOs in the school of this new specialty that in the same year the governor of Libya, Italo Balbo, had set up in Tripoli …
In Libya in 1938 were created two battalions of paratroopers Ascari Libyans who, along with a battalion of paratroopers Italians created soon after, formed the 1st Parachutists Regiment.
March 22, 1938 was officially formed the Cadet Battalion Paratroopers "Infantrymen of air" formed by about 300 Libyan Ascari, popularly known as the Ascari of Sky and led by about thirty Italian officers and NCOs. They were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Tonini and stationed at the Castel Benito airport near Tripoli.
After four weeks of training the entire battalion was launched simultaneously with the use of 24 three-engine monoplanes Savoia-Marchetti SM81, preparatory to the launching of a few days later carried out at night; an experiment never tryed by other similar departments before.
In 1940 these Ascari formed the "Gruppo Mobile Tonini" assigned to El Fteiah with 850 men and 8 47/32mm guns, 8 Fiat M35 machine guns, 30 Breda 30 LMGs and 12 Breda 20mm guns.
On 15 January 1941 the British, having occupied and Bardia and Tobruk, attack Derna where is the mobile group Tonini, reinforced by three tanks, three armored cars, a motorcycle company riflemen and a group of artillery. On February 3, after resisting at Australian the attacks by implementing hard defensive operations, the Group "Tonini" is assigned to the rear of the Italian 10th Army in retreat toward Sirte. On 6 February the Italian column is attacked and destroyed by about 170 British tanks.
Of the 850 paratroopers, 200 fall in combat, 200 are injured and 100 are captured; the 350 survivors, learned that the command intends to dissolve the department, ask the transfer to the new school of skydiving in Tarquinia, near Viterbo, where Folgore division is goingo to bear.