''Atlantic Flight'' (AKA ''Lo Stormo Atlantico'') is a 1931

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made by the '' Regia Aeronautica Italiana'', based on the pioneering 1930 transatlantic formation flight made by 12

Savoia-Marchetti S.55 The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 was a double-hulled flying boat produced in Italy, beginning in 1924. Shortly after its introduction, it began setting records for speed, payload, altitude and range. Design and development The S.55 featured many in ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

s, commanded by General Italo Balbo. ''Atlantic Flight'' is notable as the first Italian

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film.

Synopsis

The film is a brief account of a very successful Italian aviation feat: the flight of a seaplane squadron led by General Italo Balbo, Minister of Aviation, from Italy to Brazil (December 1930-January 1931)from

Orbetello Airfield Orbetello Airfield ''Agostino Brunetta'', is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Central Italy, which is located approximately 5 km north-northeast of Orbetello in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany). Built from the Regia Marin ...

, Italy to

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between 17 December 1930 and 15 January 1931. Italian Air Force cinematographers filmed the entire expedition, beginning with early preparations at Ortobello Airfield. At Ortobello, the Italian aviators chosen for the flight, lined up in a seaplane hangar, singing a nationalistic song led by General Balbo, singing alongside other officers including General Valle and Lieutenant Colonel Maddalena. After the takeoff, a typhoon forced some of the seaplanes to land on the Spanish coast, and find shelter in a Spanish port near Cartagena. The flight continues to the Strait of Gibraltar with its headlands, then onto a stretch of Mediterranean and African coast. On reaching Kenitra on the coast of French Morocco and after visiting the areas around Villa Cisneros, Western Sahara, and Bolama Bay, Balbo planned out the longest long-distance leg, from Bolama-Natal harbor up to Rio de Janeiro. After successfully completing the transatlantic flight, the crews are feted by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

Cast

As appearing in screen titles: * Italo Balbo * General Giuseppe Valle * Lieutenant Colonel Umberto Maddalena

Production

''Atlantic Flight'' was shot as a silent film and was released in Europe and the United States with Italian titles in the Spring of 1931. Aeroflot Savoia-Marchetti S

Reception

Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo in ''Aviation in the Cinema'' (1985) dismissed the film, despite its historical value, as a "routine, uninspired documentary". Aviation film historian Michael Paris in ''From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema'' (1995) shared a similar perspective on the film. "Although the flight itself was hailed in Italy as a 'modern epic',Balbo 1934, p. 277. the cinematic version lacks drama and a proper sense of the achievement ..."Paris 1995, p. 96.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Balbo, Italo. ''My Air Armada''. London: Hurst & Blackett, Ltd., 1934. * Paris, Michael. ''From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema.'' Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. . * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. .

External links

SAVOIA-MARCHETTI S-55

Lo Stormo Atlantico
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic Flight (1931 film) 1931 films Italian black-and-white films 1930s action films 1920s Italian airliners 1920s Italian patrol aircraft S.55 Flying boats Twin-fuselage aircraft Twin-engined push-pull aircraft High-wing aircraft Transatlantic flight Aircraft first flown in 1924 Documentary films about military aviation