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 ...

'' (later General) Mario Fucini was a World War I flying ace who claimed credit for 13 aerial victories during the war; seven of these were confirmed in 1919. He would remain in the Italian air force after World War I, rising through squadron commands to head up the Castiglione Fighter School.

Biography

Mario Fucini was born on 1 February 1891 in Empoli. As World War I began, he volunteered for military service in the engineers. He was appointed as a '' Sottotenente'' on 9 May 1915. After a transfer to the '' Corpo Aeronautico Militare'', he earned a pilot's license on 13 March 1916.Franks et al 1997, pp. 140-141. The following month, he qualified to fly Voisins. On 12 April 1916, he was assigned as a pilot to ''5a Squadriglia Voisin'' (later to become ''25a Squadriglia''). On 28 July 1916, he completed a bombing

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. ...

despite constant attacks by a pair of enemy fighters; he was awarded a Silver Medal for Military Valor for this feat. On 16 February 1917, he brought back his flaming Voisin to a landing at Monfalcone; he received a bronze medal for Military Valor for saving the craft and himself. The next month, he underwent conversion training to the Pomilio PC. This was followed by a May stint in gunnery school in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

. It was about this time that he was promoted to ''

''. On 1 July 1917, he was assigned to a fighter squadron, ''84a Squadriglia''. A fortnight later, he was appointed to command the

Grottaglie Grottaglie (; scn, label=Salentino, li Vurtàgghie; la, Criptalium) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, in southern Italy. Geography Grottaglie is located in the Salento peninsula, dividing the Adriatic sea from Ionian ...

Defense Section. Here he flew a Nieuport. In September 1917, he reported to

Malpensa Milan Malpensa Airport is the largest international airport in northern Italy, serving Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria, as well as the Swiss Canton of Ticino. The airport is northwest of Milan, next to the Ticino river dividing Lombardy and Pie ...

for conversion training on the Ansaldo SVA. On 27 September, he was posted to the nascent ''87a Squadriglia''. Towards the end of 1917, he moved on to ''76a Squadriglia'', with the official date of transfer being 5 December. However, he submitted two victory claims with the squadron prior to that date. At any rate, by year's end he was known to be flying 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 ...

, which he used through war's end. On 18 February 1918, he was transferred to ''78a Squadriglia''. He would continue to post victory claims, tallying 13 before war's end. His diligence was rewarded with a second silver medal for Military Valor, received 15 August 1918. On 3 November, even as the

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 ...

foe surrendered, Fucini was admitted to hospital. A week later, he was assigned to the Technical Section in Turin. On 1 February 1919, the Bongiovanni military intelligence commission credited Mario Fucini with seven confirmed aerial victories.Franks et al 1997, pp. 167-168. He remained in aviation as the ''Corpo'' became the ''

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...

'', rising to successive commands of ''29a Squadriglia'' and ''78a Squadriglia''. In 1931, he was promoted to '' Tenente Colonnello''. In 1932, he published ''Voli sul nemico'', his memoirs. He was given command of the Castiglione Fighter School in 1933. From December 1933 through August 1925, Fucini edited the official journal of the ''Regia Aeronautica'', the ''Rivista Aeronautica''. He retired from active duty on 15 September 1937. However, in April 1953, he was promoted to General in the reserves. Mario Fucini died in Rome, Italy on 1 September 1977.

References

;Other sources * 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. , .

Biography

References

Further reading