Vittorio Sanseverino (September 29, 1917 – November 30, 2010) was an Italian pilot. Besides his combat experience in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he is known for having test-flown a large part of the aircraft built by FIAT for the postwar

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

, including the Fiat G.91, the

Fiat G.222 The Aeritalia G.222 (formerly Fiat Aviazione, later Alenia Aeronautica) is a medium-sized STOL military transport aircraft. It was developed to meet a NATO specification, but Italy was initially the only NATO member to adopt the type. The Unite ...

, the North American F-86D Sabre and the F-104 Starfighter.

Biography

Early training

After leaving the Gymnasium he was admitted into the "Nunziatella" Royal Military Academy and into the ''Sparviero'' (Sparrow) course of the Royal

Italian Air Force Academy The Accademia Aeronautica is the Italian Air Force Academy, the institute for the training of Air Force officers. It's located in Pozzuoli in the province of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. Among the oldest aviation academies in th ...

Caserta Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial, and industrial '' comune'' and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Ca ...

. He was trained to fly on

Breda Ba.25 The Breda Ba.25 was an Italian two-seat biplane trainer designed and built by the Breda company. It was the most widely used Italian basic trainer of the 1930s. Design and development The first flight took place near Milan in 1931. Initially de ...

s and

I.M.A.M. Ro.41 The IMAM Ro.41 was an Italian light biplane fighter aircraft, serving in the Regia Aeronautica in the 1930s-1940s, mainly as a trainer. It was a singular aircraft, being obsolescent as a fighter when it first appeared in 1934, but despite this ...

s at

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...

airfield. He first flew solo on 7 February 1938. Having committed an act of indiscipline in flight, he was moved to the Malpensa Bombardment School as a punishment measure. There he flew Fiat BR.20s and Savoia-Marchetti S.M.81s. In 1940 he was assigned to 65 ''Squadriglia'', 31 ''Gruppo'' of 18 Stormo based at

Aviano Aviano ( fur, Davian; cim, Pleif) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pordenone at the foot of the Dolomites mountain range in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy. Aviano is home to the C.R.O. (Oncological Referral Center), a cancer rese ...

airfield.

World War II

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he received his

baptism of fire The phrase baptism by fire or baptism of fire is a Christian theological concept originating from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11. It also has related meanings in military history and popular culture. Christianity The term ''bapti ...

on 8 April 1941 in

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

n skies, at the controls of a BR.20. He became the commander of a bomber squadron and also flew Fiat CR.42s and CANT Z.1007s. After the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces (8 September 1943) he sided with the Allies and was an instructor on both

Martin 187 Baltimore The Martin 187 Baltimore was a twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company in the United States as the A-30. The model was originally ordered by the French in May 1940 as a follow-up to the earlier Martin Maryland, then ...

s and Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. On 24 August 1944 he witnessed the death of

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

ace Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia, who crashed on take-off from Campo Vesuvio airfield with a Baltimore bomber.

Post-World War II

At the end of the war he was assigned to the ''Reparto Sperimentale Volo'' (Experimental Wing) of the re-established

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

based at Guidonia. On 23 July 1952 he flew the first Italian de Havilland DH.100 Vampire, built under licence by Fiat and Macchi. In 1953 he left the Air Force with the rank of ''Colonnello'' (

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

), and was hired by '' Fiat Aviazione'' where he worked as a test pilot for

Vittorio Valletta Vittorio Valletta (28 July 1883 in Sampierdarena – 10 August 1967 in Foccette di Pietrasanta) was an Italian industrialist and President of Fiat from 1946 to 1966. Born at Sampierdarena, near Genoa, Valletta was a lecturer in economics b ...

and

Giuseppe Gabrielli Giuseppe Gabrielli (26 February 1903 – 29 November 1987) was an Italian aeronautics engineer. He is famous as the designer of numerous Italian military aircraft, including the Fiat G.50 Freccia and G.55 World War II fighters. He was born in ...

. He tested the first all-Italian jet aircraft, the Fiat G.80, and later the

Fiat G.82 The Fiat G.80 was a military jet trainer developed in Italy in the 1950s, and was that country's first true jet-powered aircraft. It was a conventional low-wing monoplane with retractable Tricycle gear, tricycle undercarriage and engine air inta ...

and the licence-built North American F-86K. He also flew the Aeritalia G-91Y for the first time, as well as all the Italian-made F-104 Starfighters. On 18 July 1970 he participated in the maiden flight of the Aeritalia G.222 prototype with co-pilot Pietro Paolo Trevisan. He remained in service until 1977 when the early tests of the

Panavia Tornado The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS ( in ...

began.

Bibliography

References