Rivolto Air Base is an

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

(''Aeronautica Militare'') air base located in

Codroipo Codroipo ( fur, Codroip) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southwest of Udine. Codroipo borders the following municipalities: Basiliano, Bertiolo, Camino a ...

, province of

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

). It is the home base of the

Frecce Tricolori The ''Frecce Tricolori'' (; literally "Tricolour Arrows"), officially known as the ''313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN) Frecce Tricolori'' ("313th Acrobatic Training Group, National Aerobatic Team (PAN) Frec ...

aerobatic display team. Besides a military airport it is an important air force Meteorological Service station. Rivolto Air Base was founded after the Italian Royal Decree N. 2207 of 1923, authorised the establishment of new airports and expropriate land for their construction.

Description

The airport is managed by the Italian Air Force and on the basis of the Ministerial Decree of 25 January 2008, published in the Official Gazette of 7 March 2008, the airport is classified as MOB (Main Operating Base) of the first group and as such performs exclusively military, not being open to commercial traffic. The airport is known above all because it is the seat of the Frecce Tricolori, the Italian national aerobatic team (PAN) and constituting the 313rd Acrobatic Training Group. Seat of the 2nd Wing is named after

Mario Visintini Mario Visintini, MOVM, (26 April 1913 – 11 February 1941) was an Italian military pilot, the first Regia Aeronautica flying ace of World War II. In recognition of his flying skill and meticulousness, Visintini was nicknamed ''cacciatore scientif ...

, the first of the

flying aces 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 ...

of the Regia Aeronautica, decorated with the

Gold Medal of Military Valour 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 ...

, the pilot with the highest number of kills in East Africa among all the belligerent forces and the ace of fighter biplanes with the highest number of kills 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 ...

. The 14th Group with AMX International AMX fighter-bombers was also based in the Rivolto military airport until 2004. Since 2011 the base has become a national missile hub, while since January 2016 the Rivolto airport has been the reference point for the Integrated University Hospital of Udine for night flights in favor of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Transplant Center. In 2016, thanks to the night activation of the airport, 16 lives were saved. There is also an important meteorological station of the air force Meteorological Service, part of the

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Intern ...

(WMO), at the airport.

References

External links

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Italian Air Force Italian airbases Udine {{Italy-airport-stub