The Superga air disaster occurred on 4 May 1949, when a

Fiat G.212 The Fiat G.212 was an Italian three-engine airliner of the 1940s. An enlarged development of Fiat's earlier G.12 transport, it was used in small numbers in commercial service and by the Italian Air Force. Development and design The first prot ...

Avio Linee Italiane Avio Linee Italiane (ALI) was an Italian independent airline owned by the Fiat Group, which operated between 1926 and 1952. It was ultimately acquired by Linee Aeree Italiane (LAI). ALI was the country's only pre-World War II airline not to be n ...

(Italian Airlines), carrying the entire

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team (popularly known as the ''

Grande Torino The Grande Torino was the historic Italian football team of Torino Football Club in the 1940s, five-time champions of Italy, whose players were the backbone of the Italy national team and died on 4 May 1949 in the plane crash known as the Super ...

''), crashed into the retaining wall at the back of the Basilica of Superga, which stands on a hill on the outskirts of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. All thirty-one people on the flight died.

Background

The Avio Linee Italiane Fiat G.212CP was carrying the team home from

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, where they had played a friendly match with S.L. Benfica in honour of the Portuguese

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, Francisco Ferreira. In the incident, the whole active Torino team (almost all of the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing b ...

) lost their lives. Club officials including the manager,

Ernő Egri Erbstein Ernő Egri Erbstein (''Hungarian: Erbstein Ernő''), also known as Ernest and Ernesto Erbstein (13 May 18984 May 1949), was a Hungarian football player manager from Nagyvárad, now known as Oradea, in Romania. He carried out his footballing acti ...

, a Hungarian refugee, and the coach, Englishman

Leslie Lievesley Leslie Lievesley (July 1911 – 4 May 1949) was an English football player and manager. During his playing career, his regular position was at full-back. Born in Staveley, Derbyshire, Lievesley started his career as an amateur with Rossington ...

, also perished in the accident, as well as the crew and three well-known Italian sports journalists: Renato Casalbore (founder of ''

Tuttosport ''Tuttosport'' is an Italian sport newspaper published in Turin, Italy. History and profile ''Tuttosport'' was first published on 30 July 1945. Renato Casalbore (who later died in the 1949 Superga air disaster alongside the Il Grande Torino fo ...

''); Renato Tosatti (the '' Gazzetta del Popolo'', father of Giorgio Tosatti), and Luigi Cavallero (''

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

''). The task of identifying the bodies was entrusted to the former manager of the Italy national team,

Vittorio Pozzo Vittorio Pozzo (; 2 March 1886 – 21 December 1968) was an Italian football player, manager and journalist. The creator of the '' Metodo'' tactical formation, Pozzo is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and is the only man ...

, who had called up most of Torino's players to the ''Azzurri''. The full-back Sauro Tomà did not take part in the trip due to an injured meniscus, nor did the reserve

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

, Renato Gandolfi (the third goalkeeper, Dino Ballarin, took his place). Radio commentator Nicolò Carosio,

Luigi Giuliano Luigi Giuliano (; born November 3, 1949) is a former Italian Camorrista who was the boss of the powerful Giuliano clan based in the district of Forcella, Naples. He had multiple nicknames including ''"'o rre"'' (the king) and ''"Lovigino"'', whic ...

(captain of the Torino youth team), and former manager of the Italy national team Vittorio Pozzo, were excluded for various reasons. Torino's president, Ferruccio Novo, did not go on the trip because of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

Crash

The three-engined Fiat G.212, with

aircraft registration An aircraft registration is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by international convention to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and functions much lik ...

I-ELCE, of Avio Linee Italiane, took off from Lisbon at 09:40 a.m. on Wednesday, 4 May 1949. The commander of the aircraft was Lieutenant Colonel Meroni. The flight landed at the airport in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

at 13:00. While the aircraft was refuelled during the stopover, Torino met for lunch with

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, who were on their way to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. At 14:50, I-ELCE set off for the

Turin-Aeritalia Airport Turin-Aeritalia Airport ( it, Aeroporto di Torino-Aeritalia, ) also known as Edoardo Agnelli Airport, built in 1916, is the historical airport of Turin in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. It is located off Corso Marche, some to the west of ...

. The flight's route was to take it over

Cap de Creus The Cap de Creus (Cabo de Creus in Spanish) is a peninsula and a headland located at the far northeast of Catalonia, some south from the French border. The cape lies in the municipal area of Cadaqués, and the nearest large town is Figueres, ...

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

, Albenga, and

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

. Above Savona, the plane turned north, in the direction of the capital of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, where it was expected to arrive in 30 minutes. The weather in Turin was poor; at 16:55, the airport of Aeritalia communicated the weather situation to the pilot: clouds almost touching the ground, showers, strong southwest wind gusts, and very poor horizontal visibility (). At this point, the tower asked for the pilot's position. After a few minutes of silence (at 16:59) came the reply: "Quota . QDM on Pino, then we will cut at Superga". At Pino Torinese, which is located between

Chieri Chieri (; pms, Cher) is a town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont ( Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Tor ...

and Baldissero Torinese, southeast of Turin, there was a VDF radio station (VHF direction finder), to provide a QDM (magnetic course to be taken on a head on approach as a radio aid) on request. On approach, the plane lined up with the runway at Aeritalia about away to the west, at above sea level, with Pino at 290° off its nose. Just north of Pino Torinese was the Basilica of Superga, situated on a hill at above sea level. One theory for the deviation is that due to the strong left crosswinds, the plane could have suffered a drift to starboard, which shifted from the axis of descent and lined up with the hill of Superga. Recent investigations also suggested the possibility that the altimeter had malfunctioned and locked at , which led the pilots to believe that they were at a higher altitude. At 17:03, the plane made a turn to the left, returned to level flight, and had aligned to prepare for landing when it crashed into the back of the embankment of the Basilica of Superga. The pilot, who likely believed that the Superga hill was off to his right, would have seen it suddenly emerge directly in front of him (speed , visibility ) and been unable to react. The wreckage did not give any indication of an attempt to go around. The only part of the aircraft which remained partially intact was the

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...

. At 17:05, Aeritalia Torre called I-ELCE, but received no response. Of the 31 people on board, none survived.

Victims

Players

Valerio Bacigalupo Valerio Bacigalupo (; 12 February 1924 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Vado Ligure, he began his career with Savona. After a brief spell at Genoa, he moved to Torino in 1945, where he won four Serie ...

Aldo Ballarin Aldo Ballarin (; 10 January 1922 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as a defender. Club career Ballarin played for five seasons (166 games, three goals) in Serie A for U.S. Triestina Calcio and Torino. With Torino, he won fou ...

* Dino Ballarin *

Émile Bongiorni Émile Bongiorni (19 March 1921 – 4 May 1949) was a French association football striker of Italian descent. He played for RC Paris where he was capped 5 times for France. In 1948, he moved to Torino F.C., with another Frenchman of Italian ...

* Eusebio Castigliano * Rubens Fadini *

Guglielmo Gabetto Guglielmo Gabetto (; 24 February 1916 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. Aside from goalkeeper Alfredo Bodoira, he is the only player to win the Italian championship with both Torino F.C. and cross-city rivals ...

* Ruggero Grava * Giuseppe Grezar *

Ezio Loik Ezio Loik (; 26 September 1919 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as midfielder. Born in Fiume, Loik began his career with Fiumana. He made his Serie A debut with Milan in 1937, and after three seasons, moved to Venezia. In Ve ...

* Virgilio Maroso * Danilo Martelli *

Valentino Mazzola Valentino Mazzola (; 26 January 1919 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Considered one of the great number 10s in the history of football and, according to some, the best Italian footba ...

* Romeo Menti *

Piero Operto Piero Operto (20 December 1926 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian football player, who played as a defender. Career Operto came from Casale in the summer of 1948, after two good seasons with four goals. He was not yet 22 years old when he joined t ...

Franco Ossola Franco Ossola (23 August 1921 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. With 85 goals, Ossola is the ninth highest scorer in the history of Torino behind Adolfo Baloncieri (100). He died on 4 May 1949 in the Superga air ...

* Mario Rigamonti *

Július Schubert Gyula Subert (better known as Július Schubert or Giulio Schubert; 12 December 1922 – 4 May 1949) was a Slovak- Hungarian footballer who played as a midfielder. He played twice for the Czechoslovakia national football team and played club foo ...

Coaching staff

* Ottavio Corina, massage therapist *

Egri Erbstein Egri can refer to following: * Agriș ( hu, Egri), a commune in Romania * Lajos Egri Lajos N. Egri (June 4, 1888 – February 7, 1967) was a Hungarian-American playwright and teacher of creative writing. He is the author of ''The Art of Dramat ...

, manager *

, coach

Club officials

* Arnaldo Agnisetta, general manager * Andrea Bonaiuti, travel organizer * Ippolito Civalleri, travel escort

Journalists

* Renato Casalbore * Luigi Cavallero * Renato Tosatti

Flight crew

* Cesare Biancardi, co-pilot * Celestino D'Inca, engineer * Pierluigi Meroni, pilot * Antonio Pangrazi, radio operator

Aftermath

At the request of rival teams, Torino were proclaimed winners of the 1948–49 Serie A season on 6 May 1949, and the opponents, as well as Torino, fielded their youth teams in the four remaining games. On the day of the funeral, half a million people took to the streets of Turin to give a final farewell to the players. The following season, the other top Italian teams were asked to donate a player to Torino. The shock of the crash was such that the following year, the Italy national team travelled to the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

in Brazil by ship. The crash is commemorated annually. Remains of the aircraft, including a propeller, a tire, scattered pieces of the fuselage, and the personal bags of Mazzola, Maroso, and Erbstein, are preserved in a museum in Grugliasco near Turin. The ''Museo del Grande Torino e della Leggenda Granata'', located in the prestigious Villa Claretta Assandri of Grugliasco, was opened on the 4 May 2008, the anniversary of the tragedy. Eight of the 18 players (as well as two coaches and the journalist Renato Casalbore) are buried at the ''Cimitero Monumentale'' of Turin.

Bibliography

* Roberto Thoeni, ''L'ultimo urlo per il grande Torino'', Abaco Editori * Dino Buzzati, in ''La nera di Dino Buzzati'', Oscar Mondadori * Vincenzo Baggioli (a cura), ''Il Torino. Oltre la vita!'', Milano, I.P.L.

References

External links

Memorial museum page
(in Italian) {{Aviation accidents and incidents in Italy Aviation accidents and incidents in 1949 1949 in Italy Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather Alitalia accidents and incidents Aviation accidents and incidents in Italy Aviation accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain Aviation accidents and incidents involving professional sports teams Torino F.C. Sport in Turin 1940s in Turin 1948–49 in Italian football May 1949 events in Europe Superga