Italy in WWI

Dear Friends,

Recently I found out that one of my father's cousins was a fighter pilot for Italy in early WWII. The day my father was born, my grandmother received the telegram her nephew was shot down over the Strait of Messina and killed (which was about 50 miles away from where he lived). Anyway, it sparked my interest about Italy's involvement (specifically aerial) in WWI. Can someone tell me where I can find out this information? Thank you.

One great work is Air Aces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by the late Dr. Martin O'Connor. It covers Italy's main enemy and therefore covers much of Italy's fight as well. Fascinating stories and victory lists.

One small suggestion - I'm sure there will be many others......

Best Wishes,
John

Forgot another good one - Above the War Fronts by Franks, Guest and Alegi. This has ace records for Austria-Hungary as well as Italy - nice capsule summaries of the aces, their careers and victory list. There is also a short summary of the Italian air effort. This book includes other material - Belgian aces and British two seater crews but fascinating info.

BW,
John

[leo]

The events on the Italian Front are often considered to be of lessor importance. Italy had some fine aviators, Francesco Baracca was the best known, I believe he is credited with 34 victories. The Geography of the Italian Front was formidable with many impassable mountains and fast rivers. Baracca's emblem was a prancing stallion, later adopted by Enzo Ferrari for his line of great cars.

leo

There are two excellent books, albeit in Italian :
- La Grande Guerra Aera 1915-1918 (Alegi, Curami, Degli Esposti, Garello, Longoni, Massignani, Rastelli),
- I reparti dell'aeronautica italiana nell Grande Guerra" (Gentilli, Varialle),
Not very expensive, but very comprehensive

Thanks for your interest in the Italian air effort in WW1. As Leo correctly pointed out, the Italian front was probably the most difficult one as far as environmental conditions were concerned. The front was VERY important for the actual outcome of the entire war and it is the opinion of several renowned historians that the Italian intervention saved the Entente from defeat. However, it is also a front usually neglected by several historians and by most enthusiasts and the gallantry of all those who fought on that front is usually underrated. Hopefully, the publication of widely available and good quality references will help redressing the balance.
As for available publications on this topic, most of the best ones have already been mentioned. I may add that the excellent "The Units of the Italian Air Force in WW1", by Roberto Gentilli and Paolo Varriale, will be available in English, too, in the not too distant future. Also, a comprehensive book on the Italian Aces of WW1 is under preparation and should be out by the end of the year...look out for this !

I think that it is the Italian bombers that would be of the greatest interest to many enthusiasts. Italians were the pioneers (along with russians) of the bomber aviation, I guess?

A good book about all the Capronis should be a sure hit, IMO.

Is there any around in Italian and if there is, where can I get them?

Apart from the recent Windsock Datafile on Caproni bombers, written by Gregory Alegi, a good book on Caproni bombers was published some 20 years ago and was titled "Caproni nella Prima Guerra Mondiale". It was co-authored by Giorgio Apostolo and Rosario Abate. It is very difficult to get it, however....

[leo]

I seem to ecall there were plans to build a Liberty 12 powered Caproni in the US. Does anyone have any information?

leo

leo,
can you read Italian ? If so, I can send you a xerox copy of the relevant section in the book by Giorgio Apostolo and Rosario Abate "Caproni nella Prima Guerra Mondiale". Please reply off-list.

In short, 50 Caproni 5s were ordered in February 1918 to Standard Aircraft Corp. (Elizabeth, New Jersey). In July 1918 further contracts were signed with Curtiss (Buffalo) and with Fisher Body Corporation (Cleveland) for the production of 500 Capronis with Liberty engines.
Test flight of the first production Ca.5 with such engines took place successfully on the 4th July 1918 from the Mineola airfield. In the early days of september 1918 comparison tests between a Ca.5 and a Handley Page 0/400 showed without any possible doubt that the Caproni was superior in all respects. At the end of hostilities only 5 Capronis had been built in the USA.