Gorrini opened fire immediately before the two British aircraft reached the airstrip N 1 on Ftheja, where his 85ª Squadriglia was based.

[5] Repatriated with his unit, on 29 August he was on Caselle Torinese airfield to start the training on the new monoplane fighters, the Fiat G.50 and Macchi C.200.

On 17 December, in the air space around Argostoli port, in Kefalonia island, Gorrini intercepted two Bristol Blenheims, painted in black.

On the morning of 26 February 1943, he took off from El Hamma, to escort, with other pilots of his Squadriglia, Stukas attacking Allied armoured forces in Ksar Ghilane (an oasis of southern Tunisia located on the eastern limit of the Grand Erg Oriental), then he strafed the enemy troops.

[17] When Gorrini recovered, he was posted as a flying instructor to 3° Gruppo C (Complementare), based at Venaria Reale airfield.

[18] Later, Gorrini served as a ferry pilot to transfer captured French Dewoitine D.520 fighters from France to Italy, for Italian home defence.

"[19] Gorrini, who had, by February 1943 achieved four confirmed victories and one unconfirmed, was given, at the beginning of the summer of 1943,[20] one of the three Macchi C.205 Veltro assigned to the 3° Stormo as a special favour (the other two were allotted to the ace Tenente Franco Bordoni Bisleri and to Maresciallo Guido Fibbia).

[21] On 19 July, during a single sortie west of Rome, Gorrini destroyed a four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber and a Lockheed P-38 Lightning (another P-38 was damaged).

Gorrini recalled: "After 25 July, despite the arrest of Mussolini, the morale of my unit, 85a Squadriglia and my personal readiness for action remained high.

Despite all the reverses that Italy had suffered by the time, our 3° Stormo was the only one still fully ready for combat: my section was detailed to defend Rome.

The larger part of the Regia Aeronautica was uninterested in politics or parties, they were men infatuated with flying and determined to defend the land of their birth and to give their lives if necessary in the attempt to stop the bombing of Italian towns.

"[22] On 13 August, Gorrini claimed a B-24 off the coast at Ostia, in the Lazio region, but he was also shot down by defensive fire from the bomber, bailing out safely.

The next day, the whole Stormo scrambled to intercept four-engine bombers which were attacking Cerveteri, on the Latium coast in central Italy.

On 30 August, Gorrini claimed another B-17 Flying Fortress over Frascati and the same day he was mentioned on Bollettino di Guerra: "Sergente Maggiore Luigi Gorrini da Alseno (Piacenza) of 3° Stormo Caccia has distinguished himself during the aerial battles of the 27th and 29th, during which he has shot down two four-engined bombers and a twin-engined fighter."

On 31 August, 85a Squadriglia, with Gorrini in a C.205V, took off from Palidoro airfield (Rome) at 12:00, flying in the direction of Naples to engage enemy bombers.

Gorrini shot down one Spitfire (his 15th air victory) and damaged a P-38, but his aircraft was badly hit by machine gun fire and he made a forced landing away from his airfield at 12:50.

On 12 October 1943, Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Botto, the newly appointed Undersecretary of the New Republican Air Force, appealed over the radio for airmen to enlist.

Responding to this, Gorrini rejoined in combat against the Anglo-American forces: "After flying for three years side by side with the German pilots, on the English Channel, in North Africa, Greece, Egypt, Tunisia and finally over my own homeland, I had made friends with some of them, particularly from JG27… I did not want to hang my coat in the wind, so to speak, and perhaps fire on my German friends.

"[24]On 23 December 1943, Gorrini joined the Italian Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR) where he was assigned to 1a Squadriglia, 1° Gruppo Caccia and continued to fly C.205 fighters.

Gorrini left his B-24 on fire after his first pass, but two escorting P-47 Thunderbolts bounced his leader and shot him down, killing Lieutenant Satta.

"[30] After the war, Gorrini enlisted in the newly formed Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana) but, due to Allied opposition, he was kept in the rank of warrant officer.

Gorrini was awarded the Medaglia d'oro al Valor Militare (in 1958), the Bronzo twice and the First and Second Class German Iron Cross.