71a Squadriglia of the '' Corpo Aeronautico Militare'' was one of the original

fighter squadron A squadron in air force, army aviation, or naval aviation is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, dependi ...

s of the Italian military. Founded on 30 January 1916 to fight in World War I, the squadron served until war's end. It flew almost 3,000 combat sorties in defense of Italy at a cost of six pilots killed, scored 17 victories, and produced two aces from its ranks.

History

''71a Squadriglia'' was founded in Torino on 30 January 1916 as ''2a Squadriglia Caccia''. The new unit initially lacked armament, but once machine guns were supplied for their craft, flew their first operational sorties on 18 February 1916. On 2 March 1916, the squadron began to redeploy to Cascina Farello; foul weather stretched the redeployment to almost a month's travail. On 2 April 1916, a squadron Nieuport 10 two-seater flew the new unit's first interception, with inconclusive results.Franks et al 1997, p. 121. On 15 April 1916, the squadron was redesignated as the ''71a Squadriglia''. It was transferred to

Villaverla Villaverla is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is west of SP349 and south of A31. Origins From Roman times, the original name of the nearby village that eventually became Villaverla was "Roveredum." The center of that first vi ...

on 23 May. It was subordinated to ''3o Gruppo'' on 8 July 1916. In September and October, the squadron supported the Italian Army's 45th Division, protecting the

Asiago Plateau Asiago (; Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) in the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' or '' Altopiano dei Sette Comuni'', Asiago plateau) in ...

from attack. In December 1916, the unit began to upgrade with

Nieuport 17 The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier N ...

s. The squadron changed commanders on 17 January 1917, with Chiaperotti moving up to command the group, and being replaced by Amerigo Notari. On 10 May 1917, the squadron was transferred to the newly formed ''9o Gruppo''. Late May saw the arrival of the unit's first

Spad VII The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and r ...

fighter; this first example was equipped for long range photo reconnaissance. As time passed, the squadron was drawn into the burgeoning Battle of Caporetto (see below). As a result, on 26 October the squadron was temporarily seconded to ''3o Gruppo''. It also lent four pilots to ''82a Squadriglia'', and received a section of SAML two-seater reconnaissance craft brought on strength. As the front moved south from Caporetto toward the Piave River, ''71a Squadriglia'' came within enemy artillery range. As a result, on 23 November 1917, the unit relocated to Sovisso. On 16 December, it was reassigned, to the newly formed ''16o Gruppo''. Early 1918 saw several changes of commander for the squadron, including Ettore Croce's three days in charge that was terminated by his fatal accident. On 28 July, Salvatore Breglia settled into the post, and served through war's end. A

Hanriot HD.1 The Hanriot HD.1 was a French World War I single-seat fighter aircraft. Rejected for service with French squadrons in favour of the SPAD S.VII, the type was supplied to the Belgian Army′s (Belgian Military Aviation) and the (Military Aviatio ...

section detached from ''75a Squadriglia'' joined the ''71a Squadriglia'' on 28 August 1918. On 20 October 1918, ''71a Squadriglia'' was bisected, with one of its sections staying put while the six

s of the other section moved to

Quinto di Treviso Quinto di Treviso is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about southwest of Treviso. In the church of Santa Cristina, a ''frazione ''of Quinto, is a Lorenzo ...

to join a section from ''75a Squadriglia'' in an ad hoc squadron. On 23 October, ''71a Squadriglia'' became part of ''17o Gruppo''. On 31 October 1918, ''Capitano'' Breglia was wounded, but remained in command. The squadron remained active through war's end. During its wartime existence, it had flown 2,994 combat sorties. It had fought 203 combats in the sky, claimed 17 aerial victories, and lost two of its own aircraft in combat. The blood cost for the squadron was two killed in action, four killed in accidents.

Commanding officers

* ''Capitano'' Giorgio Chiaperotti: 30 January 1916 – 17 January 1917 * ''Capitano'' Amerigo Notari: 17 January 1917 – 5 January 1918 * ''Capitano'' Palli: 5 January 1918-March 1918 * ''Tenente'' Aldo Anesini: March 1918-28 May 1918 * ''Capitano'' Ettore Croce: 28–31 May 1918 (killed in flying accident) * ''Tenente'' Aldo Anesini: 1 June 1918 – 16 July 1918 * ''Capitano'' Salvatore Breglia: 16 July 1918 – 6 November 1918.

Duty stations

* La Comina: From February 1916 * Cascina Farello: From 2 March 1916 *

: From 23 May 1916 * Sovizzo: From 23 November 1917 * Castelgomberto: From mid-May 1918.

Notable members

Antonio Amantea Sottotenente Antonio Amantea was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He lived to become the last surviving Italian ace of the war.

Sebastiano Bedendo Maggiore Sebastiano Bedendo (18 July 1895-24 August 1935) was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. After completing his education postwar, he rejoined Italian military aviation. He set several world aviation flying records ...

Aircraft

* Founded with

Nieuport 10 The Nieuport 10 (or Nieuport XB in contemporary sources) was a French First World War sesquiplane that filled a wide variety of roles, including reconnaissance, fighter and trainer. Design and development In January 1914, designer Gustave Delag ...

s and

Nieuport 11 The Nieuport 11 (or Nieuport XI C.1 in contemporary sources), nicknamed the ''Bébé'', was a French World War I single seat sesquiplane fighter aircraft, designed by Gustave Delage. It was the primary aircraft that ended the Fokker Scourge in ...

s *

s: From December 1916 *

: From May 1917. *

: From 28 August 1918

Endnotes

References

* * * Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell; Alegi, Gregory. ''Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918: Volume 4 of Fighting Airmen of WWI Series: Volume 4 of Air Aces of WWI''. Grub Street, 1997. , . {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Italian Air Force Military units and formations of Italy in World War I Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Italy Squadriglie of Italy