Here's the last part to the interview with Luigi Gorrini.
Here is Part III.
Have a good read!
Q. So, there were just sixty airplanes to defend Rome?
A. Yes, there were just us and some other night fighter at Centocelle, only this little. There was Rotondi who flew with a Lightning captured from the American and I almost shot him down, this idiot... At Cerveteri we had to wait the order from the Ministry before taking-off, but Falconi, as soon as he knew there was a bomber formation flying towards Rome, gave us the order to go. I had the 202, and we headed towards Ostia. That was the day of the famous bombardment of Rome, the 18 July 1943 and it was said that to the famous star Clark Gable was participating to the operation: I tried in vain to spot the figure characterizing his aircraft.
Q. Is there any combat in particular that you want to speak about?
A. Well... one day, just after the bombing of Rome, came the news that a new airplane was going to be delivered to our group, it was a Macchi MC. 205. We had a sort of meeting to decide who was going to pilot that new machine and, due to the number of air victories I already had, I got it. They gave me a travel permission and I went to the North to get this new aircraft; when I saw it, I asked for information and explanations. "What do I have to tell you?" said the test pilot, a Roman, "this is still the 202. Only one thing: if you have to shoot, don't fire all weapons at the same time, otherwise the recoil is too strong. Either you fire the 20 mm cannons, either you fire the 12.7 mm machine guns." However, I never followed that advice and I always shot all the weapons together: if it goes, it goes... "This is the 202, come on, go!"... Instead, as soon as I was up I realized that the engine was more powerful. I arrive in Cerveteri and Maj. Camarga (?) says: "Gorrini, tomorrow you'll be resting". And I: "As long as I haven't done a combat with this one, I'll be in full alert every single day". That aircraft lasted 48 hours!
The commander ordered me to take-off after all the others, since I had the most powerful and better armed aircraft and I was supposed to be his left wingman, while all the others were on the left wing. He was Capt. Giuntella, today a General. They leave and the I leave too, at last, in the middle of a big dust cloud; we arrive offshore Ostia and we spot a huge formation of enemy bombers. We had no clue about where they were directed, we believed over Rome again, but later we learnt that the objective was Sulmona where there was, hidden in the forest, the armored division of Herman Göring. A big formation, just there before my eyes: the commander signaled me to keep calm, since we were on radio silence, but at the end Capt. Giuntella, since I was insisting, let me go. I went up, and while climbing I attacked the last on left, aiming between the wing and the fuselage: it was a B-17, a "flying fortress". I did a looping and came back, just in time to see the wing literally torn off, with the two engines still turning and her (the fortress) spinning down. The airplane fell on the airport of Nettuno: I was at 7,000 m, but I could feel the air blast and I saw two or three parachutes opening and I did the same old stupid mistake who all pilots do when they shot down an enemy aircraft, that is turning to look where the aircraft falls. An escorting fighter, a P-38 Lightning, bounced me, I saw its bullets passing over my head, it just missed me by one inch and then it did a stupid thing coming into may line of fire: I hit it squarely, it exploded and if I didn't hold the stick I would have passed inside the explosion. I saw the pilot who had the time to bail. Then I go back to pursuit the formation, crossing all Italy and intercepting it on the objective, where I attacked the last B-17. I did several attacks and after a while I saw 9 parachutes descending, but the airplane kept flying normally on his course. I attacked it again and I did something that I've done only few times, that is shooting the cabin, but there was nobody, they activated the autopilot. The airplane started to lose altitude and, once again, I followed it to see where it was going to fall. Twelve Lightning attacked me, 6 on one side, 6 on the other. I kept the aircraft turning and, since I was continuously shooting long bursts, the weapons were overheated and the left cannon exploded perforating my wing. I was trying to escape, I was horribly scared, around 3,000 m the canopy fled off and broke the antenna and damaged the tail section. In such conditions, with my only map that had been blown away by the wind, I kept pulling the stick to the point I even bent it. I descended to 1,500 m and I saw he sea, I tried the radio. I called, I called... no way. Finally I got an answer. I was over Pescara, I remember the port; they gave me advices to orientate myself, but I was running short of gasoline. Moreover, they told me not to land in Cerveteri since the airstrip had been destroyed by a bombing. The first formation we intercepted had been followed by a second one that attacked Cerveteri. They told me to land at the Strisce (literally, "the stripes"), near Ostia, close to the tower where, later on, Salvo d'Acquisto was fusilladed. Fuel kept decreasing, I couldn't see Cerveteri coming, I couldn't see the Strisce coming: finally I was over them, but suddenly the propeller got stuck, there was not a drop of gasoline left. I remember the high voltage cables of the railway, and that I pointed the ground to try to make some speed and pass them, it was the force of despair that saved me, also the landing gear didn't work properly. I landed and the Major came to me, furious, I was afraid he was going to eat me alive. The aircraft was a wreck. "Commander, I've got two 4-engines and a fighter!" "Don't tell me bull****!" was his answer. "That's no bull****, they didn't fall in the sea, they fell behind our lines. I'm not a commissioned officer, let's go and check". We had a Fieseler Storch, a German reckon airplane. We left, even if I had never piloted it before, and we arrived in Nettuno. There was a huge crater, the flak guys told us that the two pilots could bail out and were captured by the Carabinieri (Italian MPs) together with the Germans.
"That's the first!" We went to look for them (the 2 B-17 pilots) and they told us they'd been attacked by a single airplane, extremely fast and without insignias. "Ok, let's go on" and we went searching for the Lightning over the Nemi lake... Finally we landed on a grass field and two kids told us that they'd seen an engine in the surroundings and that the pilot had been captured by the Carabinieri. We went to see him, the pilot was French and he told us that he had a fight against an aircraft without insignia. Then we had to go to Sulmona, and the major hesitated since we had to cross the Apennines and we got inside a thunderstorm that shook us for forty minutes. He wanted to go back, but back was darker than forward, water was entering the cockpit. Then we arrived in Sulmona and we went to the German HQ where there were some prisoners, among who stood a huge guy. He was the flying fortress commander, an Australian. He told the same thing the others did: fast fighter, no insignias, isolated. "I'd like to met the pilot", he added, and the major pointed me. The guy offered his hand and he held mine so hard that I was almost going to kick him. Then he wanted to give me a gift, he opened one of his boot, took a 7.65 mm pistol that offered me.
Some days later they shot me down over Frascati, after I had shot down a Spit and I was attacked by four of them.
Q. The 25 of July Mussolini fell, did people realize what was going to happen later on?
A. Look, our morale always stayed very high. We were good, we lived I the Hotel Margerita of Ladispoli, near Cerveteri. There were many cinema artists from Cinecittà, escaped from Rome: many actresses. In the evenings, after dinner, we went to take a coffee in the only bar of the town, where we could be with all of them.
And who had shot down an airplane had a bottle of spumante offered (sort of Italian Champagne), it was fun, can you imagine?
What happened on June 25th didn't affect us. We went on like nothing happened. We knew that in Fregene, close to us, there was Ettore Muti, if he had came with us he would maybe have his life saved and instead they killed him.
One day they sent us to defend Naples, we did already many times and we arrived that the bombing was already done. We started to pursuit the enemy formation and we got attacked by Spits. I was hit by a cannon shot, I was over the Volturno (river) and luckily I was over 8,500 m; my group kept following me, but the engine was still running and by radio they told me to keep calm. I had been hit in the radiator and, keeping a low speed, I managed not to burn the engine. I not even hoped to arrive to Cerveteri, which had been repaired, but at least to Ciampino: but I couldn't do this also because I was scared to crash on the Colli Albani (hills East of Rome). Radio kept telling me to be calm and, finally, I saw on my left an airport, that was the one of Pratica di Mare, where Germans were. I started to loose altitude and I lowered the landing gear: the engine suddenly stopped and I had to raise the wheels in order to pass over the fencing. Then, the landing gear didn't want to go down again since it was connected with the engine, thus I had to work the emergency hand pump. I landed on a wing, I got a tremendous shock and the only thing I remember is that the Germans were very quick to rescue me and avoid the airplane to get upside-down. They transported me to the Celio (a military hospital in Rome) that was completely full and refused me; so they transported me to the Littorio hospital, where also Lt. Cavatore was, since was shot by a cannon shell of a Lightning who met face-to-face, he had been hit on the left hand, the controls torn off from his hands, he was piloting a Messerschmitt and he managed to land at the third try holding the stick with his legs and the throttle with the good hand, and I saved his life by shooting down that Lightning. Cavatore saw me on the stretcher held by two Germans who just dropped me on the first free spot. He gave no sign of life and nobody knew if I was Italian, German or even English: my suit was covered with oil and I had no personal ID tag. It was Cavatore who recognized me: "That's Gorrini", he said, "he saved my life ten days ago..." And, since after the shooting down over Sulmona I became famous, I had been cited on the war bulletin and on the cover of the Domenica del Corriere (a famous newspaper) designed by Beltrame, other people recognized me. They cured me and I was attended by Susanna Agnelli who was a nurse in the Littorio hospital (she is the sister of Giovanni Agnelli, son of the guy who founded FIAT). There even was some tender between us and... we had to get married, but I told her "You are the FIAT, I'm just a little sergeant..."
We're still good friends, and we're still in touch.