Teresio Vittorio Martinoli, MOVM, (26 March 1917 – 25 August 1944) was an Italian World War II fighter pilot in the Regia Aeronautica and in the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force (ICBAF). During the war, he fought over

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, on

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, and was involved in the defence of the Italian mainland. Martinoli has been credited with 22 air victories and 14 shared destroyed in 276 sorties. Flying the Fiat C.R.42 biplane and Macchi C.202 and C.205

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

s, he shot down: a

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

Curtiss P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s, a

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and a Junkers Ju 52, the last after the Armistice of Cassibile. He lost his life in a flying accident on 25 August 1944, while converting from the C.205 to the

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

.Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 65.

Before World War II

Martinoli gained a glider pilot's licence in 1937. The following year, he was enlisted in the Regia Aeronautica, and after a military flying course at

Ghedi Ghedi ( Brescian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on November 24, 2001. Ghedi is known for a base of the Italian Air Force, Ghedi Air Bas ...

, was assigned to 366ª ''Squadriglia'' of 151° ''Gruppo'' (53°''Stormo'') with the rank of ''Sergente Pilota''.Massimello and Apostolo 2000, p. 48. Subsequently, he was posted to the 384ª ''Squadriglia'', 157° ''Gruppo'', stationed in

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

.Massimello and Apostolo 2000, p. 48.

Theatres of war

North Africa

He claimed his first air victory, just three days after Italy entered the war, on 13 June 1940. His apparent first victim was a bomber, most probably a French

Potez 630 The Potez 630 and its derivatives were a family of twin-engined, multirole aircraft developed for the French Air Force in the late 1930s. The design was a contemporary of the British Bristol Blenheim (which was larger and designed purely as a ...

, shot down over

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, while flying his Fiat CR.42. This encounter is unverified from any other source however Martinoli's own log book has a precise attesting entry in it.Massimello and Apostolo 2000, p. 59 Then he was posted to 78ª ''Squadriglia'', 13° ''Gruppo'' of 2° ''Stormo'' and on 13 October he claimed a Gloster Gladiator (most probably from No. 112 Squadron RAF), while escorting a Savoia-Marchetti S.79, to

Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...

, Egypt. Having transferred to 4° ''Stormo'', Martinoli claimed a Bristol Blenheim shot down in the

Bardia Bardia, also El Burdi or Barydiyah ( ar, البردية, lit=, translit=al-Bardiyya or ) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called ''Bórdi Slemán''. ...

zone on 5 January 1941.Massimello and Apostolo 2000, p. 59

Malta

After he had transferred to 4° ''Stormo'' (which became his permanent unit), in autumn 1941 Martinoli flew fighter sweeps over

, from

Comiso Comiso ( scn, U Còmisu), is a comune of the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. As of 2017, its population was 29,857. History In the past Comiso has been incorrectly identified with the ancient Greek colony of Casmene. Under the Byza ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Flying the Macchi C.202, in just two months, he claimed three Hurricanes (two on 19 October 1941) and a Blenheim. Still over Malta, he was credited with the destruction of three Spitfires (plus one probable) between 4 and 16 May 1942.Massimello and Apostolo 2000, p. 59. Back in North Africa, during the Battle of Bir Hacheim, on 9 June 1942, he shot down two P-40 fighters and damaged a third.Duma 2007, p. 288. On 29 June, in

Marsa Matruh Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...

area, along with three more 73ª ''Squadriglia'' Macchi C.202s, he attacked a formation of 12 P-40s, downing a Curtiss fighter (while his fellow pilots shot down two more).Duma 2007, p. 299. Martinoli's final kill in the North Africa theatre was over

El Daba EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

on 23 October 1942. Officially, this was identified as a

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by t ...

but was more likely a Curtiss Kittyhawk from No. 260 Squadron RAF.Massimello and Apostolo 2000, p. 59

Home Defence

During the summer of 1943, he took part in the defence of Sicily and Italy. On 4 July, he claimed a

and a shared Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress over Sicily.

''Aeronautica Co-Belligerante''

After the armistice of 8 September, he joined the ''Aeronautica Co-Belligerante'' ( Co-Belligerent Air Force), fighting alongside the Allies. He flew, with other 4° ''Stormo'' pilots, sorties to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, attacking the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

and

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

. He shot down a

Junkers Ju 52/3m Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Germ ...

over

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...

, on 1 November 1943, after a dogfight with two Messerschmitt Bf 109s. It was his last air victory. He was killed in a flying accident on 25 August 1944, at Campo Vesuvio air base, while training on one of the second-hand Bell P-39s that had just been delivered to the Co-Belligerent Air Force.Dimensione Cielo 1972, p. 78.

Awards

Martinoli was posthumously awarded the ''Medaglia d'oro al Valor Militare'' (

Gold Medal of Military Valor The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

). He had been previously decorated with two silver medals and the German Iron Cross Second Class.

Notes

Bibliography

* "Caccia Assalto 3." ''Dimensione Cielo Aerei italiani nella 2° guerra mondiale '' (in Italian). Rome: Edizioni Bizzarri, 1972. * * Lioy, Vincenzo. ''Gloria senza allori'' (in Italian). Roma: Associazione Arma Aeronautica, 1953. * Lazzati, Giulio. ''Ali nella tragedia'' (in Italian). Milano: Mursia, 1970. * Lazzati, Giulio. ''I soliti Quattro gatti'' (in Italian). Milano: Mursia, 1965. * * Massimello, Giovanni and Giorgio Apostolo. ''Italian Aces of World War Two''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2000. . * Neulen, Hans Werner. ''In the Skies of Europe.'' Ramsbury, Marlborough, UK: The Crowood Press, 2000. . * Palermo, Michele, ''Eagles over Gazala - air battles on North Africa May–June 1942'', Roma: IBN Editore, 2014. . * Pesce, Giuseppe and Giovanni Massimello. ''Adriano Visconti Asso di guerra'' (in Italian). Parma: Albertelli editore s.r.l., 1997. * Sgarlato, Nico. ''C.202 Lo chiamavano il Macchi'' (in Italian). Parma: Delta Editrice, 2008. * Sgarlato, Nico. "Macchi Folgore" (in Italian). ''Aerei Nella Storia'' 1998 (8): 8-20. Parma, Italy: West-Ward sas. * Shores, Christopher. ''Air Aces''. Greenwich, CT: Bison Books, 1983. .

External links

Italian biplane fighter aces - Teresio Martinoli

Scheda sul sito dell'ANPI

Motivazione del conferimento della M.O.V.M. da quirinale.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinoli, Teresio 1917 births 1944 deaths People from the Province of Novara Regia Aeronautica personnel of World War II Italian World War II flying aces Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd class Italian military personnel killed in World War II