''79a Squadriglia'' was one of Italy's first

fighter squadron A squadron in an air force, or naval or army aviation service, is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, ...

s. It served in combat during World War I from 13 January 1917 though war's end. It was credited with 47 aerial victories.

History

79a Squadriglia of the ''

Corpo Aeronautico Militare The Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare (Military Aviation Corps) was formed as part of the Regio Esercito (Royal Army) on 7 January 1915, incorporating the Aviators Flights Battalion (airplanes), the Specialists Battalion (airships) and the Ballon ...

'' was one of Italy's original fighter squadrons. It was founded in November 1916 at the Central Flying School in

Arcade, Italy Arcade is a comune in the province of Treviso, Veneto, northern Italy. Arcade borders the following municipalities: Giavera del Montello, Nervesa della Battaglia, Povegliano, Spresiano, Villorba. History Inhabited at least since Roman times, a ...

. On 13 January 1917, it was deployed to

Istrana Istrana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italy, Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about west of Treviso. As of 31 December 2022, it had a population of 9,141 and an area of .All demograph ...

, with its area of operations being the

Asiago Plateau Asiago (; Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) with the title of ciin the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' or '' Sette Comuni, Altopiano dei Se ...

near the ongoing

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (also known as the Isonzo Front by historians, or the Soča Front - ) were a series of twelve battles between the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-d ...

. The new unit flew its first combat mission on 20 January 1917.Franks et al 1997, pp. 124-125. On 28 March 1917, ''3a Sezione'' was detached for city defense duties. On 10 April 1917, the squadron was attached to ''10o Gruppo''. A month later, it was transferred to ''7o Gruppo''. On 2 June 1917, Antonio Reali scored his first aerial victory for the squadron's initial success. On 3 December 1917, the squadron was posted to the ''15o Gruppo''. In June 1918, it was assigned to the ''Massia da Caccia'' (Fighter Mass) before passing to control of the ''23o Gruppo''. The squadron served through war's end. Its wartime record was 4,411 combat

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 warf ...

s flown, with 47 victories achieved in 227 aerial combats. The squadron had suffered five killed.

Commanding officers

* ''Capitano'' Francesco Chimirri: November 1916 until injured in takeoff accident on 15 June 1917 * '' Tenente'' (later ''Capitano'') Cesare Bartoletti * ''Tenente'' (later ''Capitano'') Umberto Mazzini: 3 December 1917 - 3 September 1918 * ''Tenente'' Eugenio Mossi (temporary): 3 September 1918 - 3 October 1918 * ''Capitano'' Arturo Freddi Cavallotti: 3 October 1918 to war's end

Duty stations

: November 1916 *

: 20 January 1917 * Nove di Bassano: 2 November 1917 * San Lucia: March 1918

Notable members

* Marziale Cerutti * Antonio Reali * Giovanni Nicelli * Attilio Imolesi

Aircraft

Squadron insignia was a silhouette of a black female wolf looking forward along the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

Nieuport 11 The Nieuport 11 (or Nieuport XI C.1 in contemporary sources), nicknamed the ''Bébé'', is a French World War I single seat sesquiplane fighter aircraft, designed by Gustave Delage. It was the primary aircraft that ended the Fokker Scourge in 1 ...

Nieuport 17 The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) is a French sesquiplane fighter aircraft, fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little large ...

Nieuport 27 The Nieuport 27 (or Nieuport XXVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a World War I French sesquiplane fighter aircraft designed by Gustave Delage. The 27 was the last of the line of Nieuport "V-strut" single seat fighters that began with the Nie ...

* Hanriot HD.1

Endnotes

References

* 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. , . {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Italian Air Force Military units and formations of Italy in World War I Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Italy Squadriglie of Italy