The fuselage of the Breguet Atlantic was based on the concept to match the upper pressurized compartment for the 13 personnel crew, with the large payload bay and other equipment bays on the lower half. The resulting cross section shaped like an 8, combined with a mid position of the wing, gave also a good floatability to the airframe. No one of the Italian aircraft was ever lost for accidents. But a Dutch Marine Atlantic that ditched in the Atlantic Ocean on 15 January 1981 demonstrated the goodness of this design.

A nice elevated shot from the windows of Elmas Tower! This aircraft sports the initial low viz unit codes, but still on the original two colours livery. Aircraft parked "with everything down and open". Note also the lifted speed brakes on the wings and the extracted access ladder on the back of the fuselage.

This airframe was the first Italian Atlantic to receive the ALCO modification, that included a new suite of electronic equipment. It is characterized by the prominent antenna on the upper mid fuselage and by the lower one installed at the rear of the bay doors. Now preserved in Vigna di Valle, it performed the last flight of the Italian Atlantic fleet on 22 November 2017 flying from Sigonella to Pratica di Mare. Then stored and partially disassembled, the complete fuselage "flew" hanged below an Ericksson S-64F helicopter to the Museum of Vigna di Valle in October 2018.

This is the aircraft now preserved in Vigna di Valle that performed the last flight of the Italian fleet. Here in its original initial livery with big unit codes and not yet ALCO modified. The individual code of this aircraft (-03) was among the first ones to break the tradition of using the construction number for individual coding.

Returning from a patrolling mission this aircraft is equipped with a photographic pod that hosted a front and a side Omera cameras. To point to the target the side camera the right seat pilot (the mission commander) used a small "gunsight" installed on the right frame of the bubbled side window of the cockpit.

Sitting on the ramp out of the Maintenance Center hangar, the aircraft shows all hydraulically actuated moving parts in resting postion, including the lowered radar dome. Main bay doors and other service doors where usually left open. Aicraft with original initial livery and unit codes.

The first eight italian Atlantic wore an individual code equal to the construction number. At the time of this photo the codes of this aircraft were still the original and big high visibility ones. On the background the Atlantic that sits on the ramp is MM40113 c/n 75 and unit codes 30-75

This airframe is the last of the 18 Atlantics delivered to the Italian Air Force. Still with the initial big unit codes, at the time of this photo the aircraft was stationed in Lorient for some days during a squadron exchange. Italian Atlantics were operated by a mixed crew of Air Force and Navy Aviation personnel. Management of sea and surveillance operations was responsibility of the Italian Navy, while technical and logistic management, other than the property of the aircraft fleet, was in charge to the Italian Air Force.

The flight line in Elmas in front of the Maintenance Center hangar. When 30 Stormo was disbanded 31 July 2002, the 86 Gruppo and its Atlantics were transferred to Sigonella, becoming part of the 41 Stormo. Since this Stormo already hosted the 88 Gruppo equipped with the other half of the Atlantic fleet, the 86 Gruppo was mainly tasked with training duties for new assigned pilots.

Author: Daniele Mattiuzzo of VMAS (Veneto Military Aviation Society). This is a rare photograph of an Atlantic equipped with an underwing pod. We made some research and this one could be a recce pod built by Alkan, hosting Omera 35 cameras, and possibly modified to drop chaffs during the operations over Balkans. It seems also from the research that the Atlantic could be equipped with a searchlight pod to help during SAR operations, since the fuselage bay could host a lifeboat that could be dropped on the sea. Any information on these two kinds of pods will be highly appreciated.

International Air Tattoo 1979. Operated by 30 Stormo - 86 Gruppo.

Delivery flight from Sigonella to Cagliari Elmas, home base of 86 Gruppo, after 3rd level maintenance at Sigonella Atlantic's RMV. In July same year it participated to Fairford IAT. Photo taken from MM40125 when leaving Sicily's coast