![AS42-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/AS42-1.gif)
The Auto-Saharan Companies (''Compagnie Auto-Avio-Sahariane'') were
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
military units specialised in long range patrols of the
Sahara Desert
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
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. The units operated from the late 1930s to the
Italian surrender in 1943.
History
The Saharan companies were first formed in 1923 with the purpose of patrolling the space among the Italian forts in the Libyan Sahara desert in
Italian Libya
Libya ( it, Libia; ar, ليبيا, Lībyā al-Īṭālīya) was a colony of the Fascist Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica ...
. In 1938 the five existent companies were reorganized as motorized units with their own aerial support. The companies received new off-road vehicles and a light aircraft section (manned by ''Regia Aeronautica'' personnel). In March 1941 five new ''Compagnie Sahariane'' were formed.
Two aircraft sections (''Sezioni Aeroplani'') were formed in order to operate together with the Saharan companies. Each section had four planes for reconnaissance and liaison, the most effective of which was the twin engined
Caproni Ca.309 ''Ghibli''.
In concept, the Auto-Saharan Company was similar to the British
Long Range Desert Group
The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War.
Originally called the Long Range Patrol (LRP), the unit was founded in Egypt in June 1940 by Major Ralph Alger Bagnold, acti ...
(LRDG) which was created (as a partial copy) in 1940, except that the Company also had the support of its own air arm to assist in long range reconnaissance and ground attack.
On January 31, 1941, the British LRDG were encountered near the oasis of
Kufra
Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...
, in southeastern
Italian Libya
Libya ( it, Libia; ar, ليبيا, Lībyā al-Īṭālīya) was a colony of the Fascist Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica ...
. The British were intercepted by the ''Compagnia Autosahariana di Cufra'' in the
Gebel Sherif valley. The LRDG had one man killed and three men captured, including Major Clayton, and three trucks destroyed during the battle. The Italians losses were five killed and three wounded, and one truck was abandoned.
The "Auto-avio-Sahariane Compagnie" fought against the LRDG in 1941 and 1942, but their activity was reduced because of lack of gasoline. Under Del Pozzo leadership these units made an incursion inside Egypt and in November 1942 defeated the British raiders in two small skirmishes. After
El Alamein they lost their Libyan troops, but they were enlarged to 5000 men (all Italians) in Tunisia as "Raggruppamento Sahariano" under the orders of General
Alberto Mannerini.
The Mannerini Raggruppamento fought hard in the area of Mareth and Sfax (
Battle of the Mareth Line), until the final Italian surrender in Africa in May 1943.
Organisation
In 1940, a ''Compagnia Sahariana'', according to regulations, was composed of four platoons (one HQ, two motorized and one machine guns), the strength was 4 officers, 7 NCOs and 32 Italian enlisted together with 77 Libyan enlisted totaling 120 men. The company operated with 16
AS.37 off-road cars and 3 trucks (
FIAT 634). One of the AS.37 in the HQ platoon was equipped with radio in order to maintain real time liaison with the aircraft during operations.
In 1942, the organisation of the companies was revised, other than the HQ platoon, a company was made up with one infantry motorized platoon, one machine guns motorized platoon, one 20mm cannons motorized platoon and one 47/32 anti-tank cannons motorized platoon. They could rely on 7 off-road vehicles (AS.37 or
AS.42) and 10 trucks (
LANCIA 3 RO). A single company was manned by 5 officers, 3 NCOs, 2 Italian enlisted and 133 Libyan enlisted.
Weapons
The most common and versatile weapon used by Auto-Saharan Companies was the
''Cannone-Mitragliera Breda'' 20mm mod.35. Following the successful experience made by Italian units operating together with the nationalists in the
Spanish civil war
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
, the installation of 20mm Breda machineguns on medium trucks began in 1939. The gun-carriage, without its legs, was fixed to the vehicle with a pin. During the war the 20mm Breda machine-guns used different kinds of ammunition, initially HE air defence and HE piercing. At the end of 1942 armor-piercing incendiary ammunition was also in use. The standard Italian anti-tank cannon
Ansaldo-Bohler 47/32 was used by Saharan motorized units, mainly mounted on revolving platforms on
LANCIA 3 RO lorries but also on AS.37 or AS.42. The 47/32 was able to fire various kinds of HE, piercing and piercing-exploding ammunition. Maximum useful range as an anti-tank gun was , the piercing power at with 30 degrees impact angle was 40 mm, at the piercing power was reduced to only 30 mm. Since the beginning of the war, due to the progress in tank design, the usefulness as an anti-tank weapon of the 47/32 was very limited, and it proved effective only against light tanks and armoured cars.
Vehicles
The vehicles most commonly used by Saharan Companies were the following:
* ''Trattore Leggero''
SPA TL.37 “Libia”. The TL.37 was a four-wheeled artillery tractor with all-wheel steering. The vehicle, designed in 1937, was powered by a four-cylinder gasoline engine, the 52 hp SPA 18R. It had a maximum speed of and could carry . It could carry six passengers in two front seats and four back seats. The “Libia” variant differed from the basic
TL.37 artillery tractor in having a larger fuel tank and specially designed Pirelli tires. Some TL.37 “Libia” variants were armed with a 20mm Breda cannon or
Cannone da 47/32 M35 anti-tank gun.
* ''Autocarro Sahariano''
SPA AS.37
The SPA AS.37 was an Italian military light truck, used during World War II. The AS.37 Autocarro Sahariano was developed from 1937 on the frame of the TL.37 artillery tractor and was especially conceived to be employed in the North African des ...
. This vehicle, based on the TL.37, was capable of higher speed (50 km/h); the cargo capacity was also increased about 25% to 4,190 kg. The AS.37 had a flat truck bed with two benches facing each other. Starting in 1941, some of them were armed with a 20mm Breda cannon.
* ''Camionetta Desertica''
SPA-Viberti AS.42. A four-wheel-drive car specifically designed to operate in the desert, that entered into service with Saharan units in November 1942. It was built on the same chassis as the
AB.40/41 armoured car but it was not armoured. It was powered with a 100 hp gasoline engine and reached a maximum speed of 85 km/h. It had racks on the sides to carry 24
jerrycan
A jerrycan (also written as jerry can or jerrican) is a robust liquid container made from pressed steel (and more recently, high density polyethylene). It was designed in Germany in the 1930s for military use to hold of fuel, and saw wides ...
s (mostly fuel) and carried a spare tire on the front hood. It could accommodate a crew of six and weapons such as the 20mm Breda cannon, the
Cannone da 47/32 M35, the 20mm
Solothurn S-18/100
The Solothurn S-18/100 20 mm anti-tank cannon was a German and Swiss anti-tank rifle used during the Second World War. It had a semi-automatic action in a bullpup configuration. As a result of its large, powerful ammunition, the gun had a tr ...
anti-tank rifle, and up to three Breda mod. 37 machineguns. The AS.42 was 1.49 meters high, 5.20 meters long and 1.80 meters wide.
* ''Camion''
FIAT 634. The military variant of the civil FIAT 632 truck, was 3.24 meters high, 7.43 meters long, and 2.40 meters wide. It had six wheels, two on the front axle and four on the rear axle. It had a maximum load of 7640 kg and a maximum speed of 40 km/h and was powered by a diesel engine. It was used by Saharan units to transport troops or supplies.
* ''Camion''
Lancia 3 RO. A six-wheeled truck like the FIAT 634. More than 12,000 were built for the
Regio Esercito
The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfr ...
. It was powered by a 5-cylinder, 93 hp diesel engine, giving it a speed of 50 km/h. It was 3 meters high, 7.25 meters long, and 2.35 meters wide. It was able to carry up to 8 tons of cargo. The 3 RO used by Saharan companies had a 20mm Breda cannon or 47/32 anti-tank gun on a rotating platform on the flatbed.
Air support
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-786-0344-17A, Flugzeug Caproni Ca 309](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-786-0344-17A%2C_Flugzeug_Caproni_Ca_309.jpg)
Every "compagnia" was supported until November 1942, by 3
Caproni Ca.309 aircraft, nicknamed "
Ghibli" (Desert Wind). In Tunisia the "Raggruppamento sahariano" had no air support but a Ca.309, left in Libya because of damage, was repaired and remained active in Africa until May 1943.
History of the Caproni Ghibli (in Italian)
/ref> The Ca.309 (with a 3 crew) was a low-wing cantilever monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
with a piston engine fitted to each wing, and was intended to serve as a reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
and ground-attack aircraft. It had 3 × 7.7 mm (.303 in) Breda SAFAT machine guns and could carry bombs up to 330 kg.
See also
* Operation Salaam
* Western Desert Campaign
* Long Range Desert Group
The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War.
Originally called the Long Range Patrol (LRP), the unit was founded in Egypt in June 1940 by Major Ralph Alger Bagnold, acti ...
Notes
References
* Gross, Kuno; O'Carroll, Brendan and Chiarvetto, Roberto. ''Incident at Jebel Sherif''. Berlin: Kuno Gross, 2009.
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{{Authority control
Special forces units and formations
Military units and formations of Italy in World War II
Italian Libya