'' Sergente'' Giovanni Nicelli was an Italian World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

. He was credited with eight or nine confirmed aerial victories (sources vary), and died in service to his nation on 5 May 1918.

Early life

Nicelli was born on 27 October 1893 in

Lugagnano Val d'Arda Lugagnano Val d'Arda ( Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna. Geography It's located about northwest of Bologna and about southeast of Piacenza, on the Arda stream. Lu ...

, Province of

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

, the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

.Franks et al 1997, pp. 147-148.

World War I

First records available of Nicelli show him as a ''

Caporale Caporale is a surname. Notable people with the surname: * Corky Caporale, ''Sopranos'' character played by Edoardo Ballerini * Geraldo Scarpone Caporale (1928–2016), Honduran Roman Catholic bishop * Justin Caporale, Director of Operation, Even ...

'', piloting a

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 ...

for ''

79a Squadriglia ''79a Squadriglia'' was one of Italy's first fighter squadrons. It served in combat during World War I from 13 January 1917 though war's end. It was credited with 47 aerial victories. History 79a Squadriglia of the ''Corpo Aeronautico Militare'' ...

'' in April 1917. His first aerial victory claim was reported for 14 June 1917. He would post 11 more claims before his death. As ''79a Squadriglia'' was drawn into the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...

towards the end of 1917, Nicelli forced down two

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

airplanes and won his first Silver award of the

Medal for Military Valor The Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: ''Medaglia al valor militare'') is an Italian medal, originally established as a Sardinian award. It is awarded to military personnel, units above the level of company, and civilians for exceptio ...

. On 30 January 1918, he claimed his sixth victory and was once again awarded the Silver Medal for Military Valor. He continued his successes until 4 May 1918, when he tackled seven enemy aircraft singlehandedly, and was credited with downing one of them. He was also credited with a second victory that day, in a separate action. The following day, 5 May 1918, Giovanni Nicelli's

Nieuport 27 The Nieuport 27 (or Nieuport XXVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a World War I French sesquiplane fighter aircraft designed by Gustave Delage. The 27 was the last of the line of Nieuport "V-strut" single seat fighters that began with the Ni ...

broke up while in flight, killing him.

List of aerial victories

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. , . 1893 births 1918 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Italy Italian World War I flying aces Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1918 Italian military personnel killed in World War I {{Mil-hist-stub