Sempre rimanendo nell’orbita degli impegni a cui assolve il 10° RMV mi sembra doveroso passare ad un argomento meno impegnativo sotto l’aspetto tecnico, ma che secondo me ricopre un ruolo di primaria importanza nel contesto storico del panorama aeronautico, patrimonio storico che sarebbe inevitabilmente perso se non ci fossero delle persone che dedicano il loro tempo (soprattutto al di fuori del normale orario di lavoro) al restauro di velivoli che hanno plasmato la storia della nostra Aeronautica Militare contemporanea e della Regia Aeronautica di allora, per questo mi sono permesso di riportare il presente testo per intero come recepito dalla documentazione avuta in concessione dal 10° RMV.

Recupero Velivoli Storici

Accanto alle attività quotidiane, fatte come visto da tecnologia e procedure di lavorazioni ferree, c’è però un settore del Reparto dove invece il tempo sembra essersi fermato, dove si parla di antico, dove si parla la lingua della storia.
C’è infatti un gruppetto di specialisti, sia militari che civili, che, con la propria dedizione e soprattutto con la propria passione, ha voluto raccogliere e ridare vita ad una tradizione che ha per anni visto questo reparto (quando ancora aveva il nome di 3° RTA) protagonista nell’attività di recupero dei velivoli storici in Forza Armata, tanto da essere l’artefice del restauro di oltre l’ottanta per cento dei cimeli esposti nel museo storico di Vigna di Valle alle porte di Roma.
Il primo importante lavoro di restauro di questo nuovo corso è stato indubbiamente il FIAT G 46 (MM53286), una macchina degli anni ’60 progettata per essere utilizzata come addestratore e che da alcuni decenni invecchiava inesorabilmente in uno dei tanti magazzini dell’Aeronautica.
L’entusiasmo per l’ottimo lavoro eseguito, che ha consentito di rimettere a nuovo il velivolo a tal punto da consentirne il rullaggio in pista in occasione di una memorabile cerimonia, ha poi determinato l’affidamento al reparto di una seconda emozionante avventura: il restauro di alcune parti dello Jahù.
Quel che amichevolmente (e storicamente) viene da tutti conosciuto come Jahù è in realtà l’ultimo velivolo rimasto al mondo della prestigiosa serie SM 55 che, oltre alle trasvolate in solitaria, come quella di De Pinedo e di Barros appunto, è stata la protagonista delle storiche trasvolate di massa di Italo Balbo.
Le parti del velivolo, dichiarato patrimonio del Governo brasiliano, sono state restaurate o parzialmente ricostruite (fedeli all’originale in materiali e tecniche di lavorazione) e, successivamente, riconsegnate al Brasile e sono ora esposte presso il Museo di San Paolo.
Ora questa articolazione cosi particolare del reparto è alle prese con il restauro di altri due pezzi di inestimabile valore anche perché unici al mondo: il Reggiane Re.2001 ed il suo successore il Re.2002, mentre numerosi altri velivoli attendono pazientemente di ricevere le stesse cure.
Per quanto fatto và indirizzato a tutto il personale interessato un particolare ringraziamento da parte di tutti gli addetti ai lavori e appassionati del mondo aeronautico.
Tornando al 10° RMV non mi resta che dare un cenno su quale sarà il futuro dell’Ente manutentivo, ormai la linea MB 339A-MLU è arrivata quasi al capolinea della sua vita operativa, inoltre è stata ridotta drasticamente sul numero totale di velivoli, la linea MB 339CD II è pienamente operativa, e comunque rimane una linea di volo con un numero esiguo di macchine (30 sono i velivoli consegnati). Tra l’altro una nota di servizio per dire che l’ultimo MB 339CD del lotto uno (CD I) e ora convertito al lotto due (CD II) è stato ultimato presso lo stabilimento Aermacchi di Venegono, e appena consegnato al 61° Stormo, mentre il nuovo velivolo M 346 Master arriverà l’anno prossimo al Reparto Sperimentale di Pratica, una volta terminata la sperimentazione e l’accettazione quindi al Gruppo di Volo, dopo questo iniziale passaggio subentra il 10° RMV, per adesso l’Ente fa parte solo dell’Ufficio Programmazione ma presto sarà chiamato ad essere un riferimento per lo sviluppo e la pianificazione del nuovo sistema d’arma.

English translation by Frank McMeiken

The origins of this maintenance unit housed at the Lecce-Galatina base date from the era of the Second World War: it was in September 1943, with Italy in turmoil following the announcement of the Armistice, that many of the units of the reformed Regia Aeronautica were ordered to gather in Puglia. The SRA (Squadra Riparazione Aeromobili – Aircraft Repair Teams) at Brindisi, Manduria and Monserrato had been placed under the dependence of the 4°, 5° and 51° Stormo, but subsequently were gathered into a newly constituted Servizio Tecnico Caccia (Fighter Technical Service) within the Raggruppamento Caccia at Lecce airfield. It was this event that would be the genesis of the 10° RMV of today.
The STC also included the Officina Revisione Motori (Engine Overhaul Workshop) at Brindisi and the Officina Riparazione Automezzi (Vehicle Repair Workshop) at Galatone (Lecce). In 1944 the STC was re-designated as the 1° Reparto Tecnico Unità, and subsequently became the 1° Reparto Tecnico Caccia.
In October 1945, with the arrival of the first P 38 Lightning ceded to Italy by their “new” allies, and based at Lecce, a new RTA (Reparto Tecnico Aeromobili)was created. Subsequently, with the redistribution of the P 38 twins to various units around national territory, Lecce continued to house the Gruppo Efficienza Velivoli (Aircraft Maintenance Gruppo) and the 3° RTA, their roles being to support the T-6 Texan fleet with first line and second line maintenance (GEV) and third level overhaul (RTA).
For many subsequent years the 3° RTA was also involved in the recovery and restoration of the aircraft destined for the Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare at Vigna di Valle, while the GEV supported the MB.326 fleet of the SVBIA (Scuola Volo Basica Iniziale Aviogetti – Basic Initial Jet Flying School).
On 1 August 1981, with the arrival of the first MB 339A at the SVBIA, the two entities were fused into the newly constituted 10° RMV, the unit being tasked with the role of providing maintenance and logistical support to the MB 339, and was placed into the structure of the 61^ Brigata Aerea, another newly created unit constituted from the remains of the SVBIA. The final step in the evolution of the 10° RMV occurred on 31 July 1998, when in accordance with DL 459 of 28.11.1997, which restructured the technical aspect of the Italian defence structure, the unit became autonomous.
The present 10° RMV reports to the 2^ Divisione of the Comando Logistico, and remains at its historic base at “Francesco Cesari” airfield, Lecce-Galatina. The unit is commanded by an officer with the grade of Colonnello. During my visit, I was fortunate to have as a guide the Director of the Unit, Colonnello Filippi, aided by Capitano Raimondo, Technical Director, who explained to me the functional and managerial roles of the maintenance unit.
As already stated, the unit is tasked with delivering technical and logistical support to the units operating the MB 339A-MLU, CD II and PAN. Today, the A-MLU and CD II versions serve with the 61° Stormo, while a small number of MB 339A-MLU and a CD II are on charge of the Squadra Aerea to assign as necessary. This High Command maintains a number of them at the Amendola base to permit those pilots serving with the 28° Gruppo (Predator) to practice ‘normal’ flying , while all the PAN versions remain assigned to the much loved Frecce Tricolori (313° Gruppo Autonomo). There are, in addition, aircraft assigned to the Reparto Sperimentale Velivoli (RSV) at Pratica di Mare (Roma), which usually operates a fleet of at least one Alpha MLU, one in Bravo version (the prototype of the CD), and a CD II.
The unit is structured into the following constituent parts, which I will attempt to describe as succinctly as possible:
+ Direzione Tecnica (Technical Direction), subdivided into two branches:
-Ufficio Tecnico (Technical Office): Management of the fleet configuration and planning of the aircraft fleet usage programme.
-Ufficio programmazione lavori e programmazione scorte (Work planning and spares planning office): manages the spares for the fleet, the associated contracts, and the distribution of the spares on a national level.
+ Direzione Lavori (Work Direction)
- 2nd and 3rd level maintenance on all the aircraft, equipment, and engines.
-Installation and maintenance of the cable and net arrestor barriers.
+ Direzione Rifornimenti (Supply Direction):
- Management of the the supplies for the MB 339 and SF 260EA fleets and the arrestor barriers, Depots for the entire systems, and Magazzino MSA (Materiali Speciali Aeronautici – Special Aviation Materials)
+ Direzione Addestramento (Training Direction)
- Trains personnel for the MB 339 fleet and arrestor barrier support.
+ SLPP (Servizio Locale Prevenzione e Protezione – Local Prevention and Protection Service)
- Accident Prevention and Safety at Work.
+ Sezione Amministrazione (Administration)
- Manages the technical records, and contracts for spare parts and tools.
+ SCQM (Sezione Controllo Qualità Manutenzione Maintenance Quality Control)
- Audits the maintenance programmes against the requirements of ISO 9001/2008 certification, and performs test flights, calibrates specially certificated tools, and verifies working practices and processes.
+ Ufficio Comando (Headquarters)
- Manages the personnel and IT systems.
This, in a nutshell, it the structure that reports to the Direttore of the RMV, and which involves the 350 personnel distributed amongst the various sections. The “mission” assigned to the unit is subdivided into two distinct activities, the first, the more involved, is the maintenance of the MB 339 fleet in its various version, while the second is the installation and maintenance of the arrestor systems, either wire or net, on all the military airfields of the Aeronautica Militare.
We will commence with the activity which engages the majority of the unit’s efforts, the maintenance of the MB 339 aircraft. The 10° RMV undertakes second level interventions (at 300 hours) or IPP (Ispezione Periodica Programmata – Periodic Programmed Inspections), those known as “2° Livello Tecnico Rinforzato” (reinforced second level, at 900 hours) or IPS (Ispezione Periodica Supplementare – Supplementary Periodic Inspections), and finally third level technical operations on some of the aircraft’s accessories and engine components: deep level IRAN (Inspect and Repair As Necessary) maintenance at 1,800 flying hours is performed by Alenia Aermacchi at Venegono (Varese). The infrastructure required to undertake the maintenance comprises seven workstations, each of which is staffed by a team of engineers drawn in the main from military personnel plus a small level of civilians from the Ministero della Difesa. One of these teams is, however, entirely composed of personnel (5-6) provided by Alenia Aermacchi, whose decision to maintain operational personnel in the field guarantees continuity for the manufacturer.
During my visit to the various sections, I was able to gain a more in-depth understanding of the various aspects of the maintenance:
- Equipment hall:
In this section all the safety equipment carried by the aircraft is overhauled: ejector seats, parachutes, survival packs, oxygen bottles and canopies. All the components are subjected to programmed checks, while those parts with a built in life are replaced. For example, the rockets which drive the seat from the cockpit in the case of an ejection are completely replaced every two years, while in respect of the canopy, the system for emergency opening on the ground is overhauled. This comprises an explosive charge which like an invisible wire runs the length of the forward and rear glazed sections. The charge can be activated from both within and outside the aircraft with a single control which sets off the explosives in both sections.
- Engine hall:
In this hall test bed first and second level inspections are performed on the Viper MK632-43 engines, operations performed after every functional 150 hours., The parts most involved in the maintenance activity are the first and second stages of the compressor, the combustion chamber, and the turbine (again first and second stage). In respect of the compressor, the blades from the first stage are generally those which have been subjected to the most wear, frequently connected to the ingestion for foreign bodies. Once removed, if they no longer comply with the tolerances specified by the manufacturer, they are replaced, and the replacement of one or more blades required the re-balancing of the entire stage. This work, which is third level technical, is conducted using a machine which is very similar in function to that utilised for balancing replacement car tyres: unfortunately the classic wheel rim weights cannot be applied, but the solution is to intervene by balancing against the opposing blade, playing with blades of different weights until the desired result is achieved. This type of work cannot be performed by the RMV on the further stages of the compressor. As for the turbine, work is not conducted on single blade, but on groups composed of four blades, and the maintenance system is almost identical for the stages of the compressor. For the con combustion chamber, if anomalies are discovered the chamber is replaced, and in the case of replacement, the engine test bed is fundamental for the verification of the engines power output, and possible adjustments in the case that, for example, an exhaust outlet with a slightly reduced diameter delivers the same level of thrust. Also on the engine, maintenance practises extend to the replacements of parts from the Viper’s Gear Box, and in particular those that guarantee its lubrication. In the event that the engine needs to be subjected to a Revisione Generale (general overhaul) or third level intervention, operations outside the capacity of the RMV, it is sent to the Piaggio facility at Finale Ligure.
- Avionics and Instrument Hall:
The RMV possesses a laboratory within which a mixed component of military and civilian (Ministero della Difesa) personnel are engaged in third level maintenance of instruments such as: ADI (attitude indicator), HSI (horizontal situation indicator), fuel level indicator, magnetic compass, altimeter, and others. The maintenance of the equipment requires the replacement of defective or out of date components, both mechanical and electronic, and, once the necessary testing is complete, the instruments are placed into a store for future installation into an operational aircraft. In the avionics section the engineers work on all the instrumentation for the MB 339A-MLU, which is entirely analog, while for the digital equipment used in the 339CD the checks are conducted expressly by the supplier. In this latter case, the decision to assign the maintenance of the digital equipment to the manufacturers enables the conservation of working capacity, but in parallel works against the Aeronautica, as it is denied the opportunity to acquire the necessary technical awareness. The duties of the section are not limited, however, to just the training aircraft (MB 339), but also extends to the instruments from the AMX fleet, and is expanding to include those from the HH 3F, NH 500E and MD, AB 212AM and ICO helicopters.
The other particular speciality of the 10° RMV is the installation and maintenance of all the fixed and mobile field arrestor systems, both cable (Bliss Bak) and net (Safeland), which are present on all the military airfields in Italy. The specialist personnel overhaul all the components which make up the barriers, providing spare parts, and instruct locally based personnel from the airfields. They additionally operate outside Italian territory, such as, for example, in Herat in Afghanistan, where personnel of the 10° RMV have installed a field arrestor barrier, and keep it serviceable through periodic checks.
This particular activity could seem to be of minimal importance, but it should be underlined that any runway in use at a military installation cannot be declared operational if the arrestor barrier is unserviceable. The reason for this requirement is fairly clear: in fact, the arrestor hook fitted to nearly all military jets is utilised to catch the arrestor barrier in the case of a catastrophic brake failure, and, for those who are not overly familiar with military aircraft, it should be remembered that in the majority of cases the arrestor hook is the sole emergency stopping option available to the aircraft: there are some exceptions, such as the Tornado, which is fitted with thrust reversers, while some aircraft from the seventies (F 104S Starfighter, F 4 Phantom, F 5E Tiger and some versions of the F 16) also possessed a brake parachute.
Returning to the 10° RMV, it is worth examining what the future has in store for the unit. The MB 339A-MLU is clearly approaching the conclusion of its operational life, and the total number of aircraft in service is rapidly reducing. The MB 339CD fleet is fully operational, and a considerable number of aircraft remain operational (30 aircraft were delivered). The final MB 339CD from batch one (CD I) has recently been converted to a batch two (CD II) at the Aermacchi factory at Venegono, and has been delivered to the 61° Stormo, while the new M 346 Master will arrive at the Reparto Sperimentale at Pratica di Mare next year: once the trials and acceptance activity is complete, the aircraft will join the Gruppo di Volo. After this initial period the 10° RMV will being to play a part, but for now the unit is only part of the Ufficio Programmazione (Planning Office). It will soon be called to be a point of reference for the development and planning for the new weapon system.
Remaining within the orbit of the undertakings absolved by the 10° RMV, I must move on to a subject that is less demanding from the technical aspect, but one which I think fills a role of primary importance in the historical context of the aviation panorama, a historical heritage that would be inevitably lost if not for those people who dedicate their time (and, above all, outside their normal working hours) to the restoration of aircraft which have formed the life blood of the present Aeronautica Militare and the Regia Aeronautica before. To do this, I have been given permission to reproduce in its entirety the following documentation provided for me by the 10° RMV.

Historic Aircraft Recovery

Alongside the routine daily activities, conducted using state of the art technologies and advanced working practices, there is a sector of the Reparto where in time seems to have stood still, where the talk is of antiques, and where the language spoken is history.
There is, in fact, a small group of engineers, both military and civilian, who, with dedication and, in the main, passion, have sought to gather together and bring to life again a tradition which for years characterised the unit (when it was still known as the 3° RTA): the unit was active in the recovery of historical aircraft of the armed service, and was behind the restoration of perhaps eight per cent of those relics on display today at the Museo Storico at Vigna di Valle on the outskirts of Roma. The first important restoration work in this new phase was undoubtedly the FIAT G 46 (MM53286), an aircraft from the 1950s designed initially to be utilised as a trainer, and which for some decades had been slowly decaying in one of the many depots of the Aeronautica Militare.
The enthusiasm for the excellent work performed, which resulted in the aircraft looking as new, to the point that it was able to taxi along the runway during a memorable ceremony, determined that a further emotional adventure would be entrusted to the unit: the restoration of some parts of Jahù.
The aircraft that is familiarly (and historically) known by all as Jahù is, in reality, the last remaining example in the world of the prestigious SM 55 series which, apart from its individual solo flights, such as those by De Pinedo and Barros, was the aircraft used in the historical mass Atlantic crossing by Italo Balbo.
The parts from the aircraft, declared as State Treasures by the brasilian government, were restored or partially rebuilt (faithful to their origins in terms of materials and working techniques) and, subsequently, returned to Brasil, where they are on display at the Museum in San Paolo.
At present, this highly specialised section of the unit is involved with the restoration of another two objects of inestimable value, as they are unique in the world: the Reggiane Re 2001 and its successor, the Re 2002, while numerous other historic aircraft are patiently waiting to receive the same care.
For the results achieved, all the personnel involved deserve particular thanks from all those who work in or passionately follow the aviation world.