The F.A.B. which bore the “Senta a pùa” symbol on its fuselage.
The Força Aerea Brasileira received from the U.S. 88 brand new Republic P47D RE Thunderbolt aircraft that mounted the 2535 c.v. Pratt and Whittney engine, armed with six 12.7 mm Browing wing machine guns with 425 rounds per gun, as well as 10 127 mm. rockets and under the wings two 454 kg bombs and one 227 kg bomb under the fuselage.
The pilots were all Brazilian officers.
One day in the mid-autumn of 1944, I was with my mom in a somewhat elevated area of Gaggio Montano, between the Grilla bridge (the one that goes from the center of the village towards Bombiana)and the cemetery. At a certain moment we saw an airplane peeking out from behind the mountain west of the village, surely it was from the F.A.B.
Under the nacelle was attached a large bomb, it was yellow in color, had numbers and letters written in black, which I later remembered only for a few years.
The plane went very low allowing me to see the pilot.
By now he was less than a few dozen meters above the ground in the direction of the bridge.
He dropped the bomb above us and I read the markings.
The bomb went over the target and fell into the ground, exploding with a loud noise and raising a huge dust cloud.
For a few minutes the nearby Grilla Houses, inhabited by my uncles and cousins, and Mrs. Liduina's house were shrouded in dust.
When the wind moved it away we were able to see that the houses were still intact.
A doubt has always remained in me and that is: either the pilot made a mistake in his aim, or if seeing us he preferred not to involve us in the explosion.
Anyway, thank you brasileiro pilot!
On another occasion, in the second half of February 1945, towards the late evening already, an FAB squadron flew over the Ronchidos/Monte Castello/Bombiana area.
The P47D planes did a crazy carousel around Monte Castello, dropping many flares that brightly lit up the mountain.
The planes were in support of the Pracinhas. Then a determined bombardment began.
All the inhabitants of the Poggio houses fled, gathering in the Cà del Ponte park. They were all frightened, some women were crying.
The only ones already accustomed to being subjected to aerial bombardment were us, since in Bologna we lived only a few hundred meters from the train station.
Shortly after mid-February 1945 from the window of my room, located to the north and from which we could see Monte Castello, we heard the bursts of machine-gun fire and the explosions of cannon fire.
It was February 21, 1945.
I was told by the soldiers stationed in my house that at noon the Brazilian flag would fly over Monte Castello.
The Gothic Line had been broken!
I have always worn the badge of the “Smoking Cobra.”
Those who know me ask me if I have been to Brazil, perhaps as a tourist, but I answer that it was the Brazilians of the FEB, who came to Italy in excess of 25,000, who helped us regain freedom and democracy for our country.