MACCHI 202 VS. P-38L

Gen. Francesco Fagiolo, then Sottotenente of the Italian 360a Squadriglia CT, was the first fighter pilot in his unit to engage the P-38. Stationed in North Africa in November of 1942, the Italians knew nothing of the soonto-be-famous Lockheeds until the 14th FG arrived over their field. From a series of interviews and the private diaries of Gen. D. A. Francesco Fagiolo.

That morning, I had already been on a low CAP of the field and of the harbor of Tunis. In the afternoon I took off for a high CAP, the operative altitude was 6,000 meters. I remember that the specialist helped me to climb up and enter into the cockpit; all wrapped up in the flight gear and restrained by the various safety belts, it was not easy to move and I was regularly making mistakes by inserting my foot in the wrong pedal.

In the air, the movement of my head is continuous: instruments, sky, terrain, up, down, right, left, behind … every dark spot in the blue light generates a reaction and heightens the senses. A thousand meters, 1,500 meters, and I meet the first airplane, the low CAP that passes by on my left; 2,000 meters, 3,000 meters, and a nod to the pilot of the second plane, the intermediate CAP; a movement of the plane and I keep climbing. The usual annoyances start, the life boat slightly inflates and, despite the straps, pushes my head up against the canopy. Breathing in the mask is difficult, and the fur collar of the Marus jacket starts to be a nuisance despite the silk scarf. Speed, climb, maneuverability: with this