''80a Squadriglia'' was an Italian fighter squadron founded in 1917 to serve in support of the

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (known as the Isonzo Front by historians, sl, soška fronta) were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and the remaind ...

in northern Italy. By war's end, it had been credited with 21 aerial victories without suffering any of its own personnel casualties.

History

80a Squadriglia of the '' Corpo Aeronautico Militare'' was founded in February 1917 at the

Arcade, Italy Arcade is a comune in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy. Twin towns * Bernières-sur-Mer Bernières-sur-Mer (, literally ''Bernières on Sea''), in the arrondissement of Caen, is a commune in the Calvados department of Normand ...

Central Flying School. It was assigned to ''1o Gruppo'' on 28 February, with a strength of five pilots and five aircraft. By 10 March 1917, it had bulked up to ten

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 on strength.Franks et al 1997, p. 125. On 15 March 1917, it flew its first combat

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...

s. The squadron's first combat victory was scored on 24 April 1917. Six days later, it began six months of operations from a base at Aiello del Friuli. It would be dislodged from there as a result of the Battle of Caporetto. On 27 October 1917, the squadron set fire to five aircraft it was forced to abandon, and evacuated to La Comina. It would eventually settle into Marcon on 10 November 1917. The squadron would upgrade to

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 ...

s in 1918. They would fight on until war's end. Their wartime record tallied 4,637 combat sorties, 167 aerial battles, and 21 accredited victories. They suffered no casualties.

Commanding officers

* ''Capitano'' Mario Gordesco: February 1917 - promoted out ca. 1 November 1917 * ''Capitano'' Raoul Da Barberino: ca. 1 November 1917 - ca. 7 November 1917 (injured) * ''

Tenente A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often su ...

'' Guido Sambonet: ca. 7 November 1917 * ''Tenente'' Georgio Zoli: 6 February 1917 - 30 April 1917 * ''Capitano'' Umberto Gelmeti: 30 April 1917 - 7 June 1917 * ''Capitano'' Achille Pierro: 7 June 1917 through war's end

Duty stations

* Arcade Central Flying School: February 1917 * Santa Maria la Longa: ca. 28 February 1917 * Aiello: 30 April 1918 * La Comina: 27 October 1917 * Arcade: 1 November 1917 * Marcon: 10 November 1917

Notable members

Alvaro Leonardi '' Tenente colonnello'' Alvaro Leonardi (16 November 1895 – 1 January 1955) was a World War I '' Sottotenente'' from Italy and a flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. Early life and service Alvaro Leonardi was born in Terni, Kingdom ...

scored all eight of his victories with the squadron. Other aces who served in the squadron and scored victories included Michele Allasia,

Giovanni Ancillotto ''Lieutenant'' Giovanni 'Giannino' Ancillotto (15 November 1896 – 18 October 1924) was an Italian World War I flying ace credited with 11 confirmed aerial victories. Rather unusually, he served solely with aviation while he was in the military, ...

, and Ernesto Cabruna.

Aircraft

The actual colors of the squadron markings depended on an aircraft's basic color. However, the squadron insignia was typically a red star superimposed on a white circle within a black border. *

* Hanriot

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 1917 1917 establishments in Italy