Date:	Wednesday 1 January 1941
Time:	13:30
Type:	Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79
Owner/operator:	Regia Aeronautica
Registration:	MM22565
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Ain el Gazala/North airfield, Cyrenaica -   Libya
Phase:	Standing
Nature:	Unknown
Departure airport:
Destination airport:

Narrative:
On 1 January 1941 nine Blenheim of 45 Sqn RAF took off from their Egyptian base at 1128 hrs under the leadership of Sqn Ldr Ray and attacked the no.2 LG of Ain El Gazala from 16,500 feet, claiming to have hit two S.79s. They encountered no AA fire and no Italian fighter. In fact the Italians reported that the airfield Z1 near Gazala was attacked at 1330 hrs and that the SM.79silurante MM22565 of the 278s Sqa was destroyed and another was damaged.

"Desert Prelude, vol 2: Operation Compass", by Hakan Gustavsson and Ludovico Slongo. ISBN 978-83-61421-18-4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazala
http://ww2.dk/Airfields%20-%20Libya%20and%20Egypt.pdf
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/libya/map/m4458454/ain_el-gazala.html]

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
03-Jan-2017 05:02	Laurent Rizzotti	Added
04-Jan-2017 11:55	Laurent Rizzotti	Updated [Aircraft type]
12-Mar-2019 07:52	TB	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Other fatalities]
30-Sep-2019 17:30	TigerTimon	Updated [Aircraft type, Other fatalities, Location, Source]