Sergente Attilio Imolesi was a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with six aerial victories.''The Aerodrome''
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Biography

Attilio Imolesi was born in

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

on 11 October 1890. His date of entry into military service is unknown, but he was accepted by the

Malpensa Milan Malpensa Airport "Silvio Berlusconi" is an international airport in Ferno, in the Province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It is the largest airport in northern Italy, serving Lombardy, Piedmont, and Liguria, as well as the Swiss canton of T ...

flying school 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 ...

'' on 31 December 1915. He qualified as a pilot on a Maurice Farman 12 on 1 May 1916, and took a more advanced license on a Maurice Farman 14 on 1 July 1916. His original assignment as a pilot was to the Rimini Defense Flight, which was near his home. However, he applied for training as a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

. He was accepted for training on the

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 ...

at Cascina Costa on 2 September. He qualified on the Nieuport as of 25 November. On 30 November 1916, he was posted to ''

79a Squadriglia ''79a Squadriglia'' was one of Italy's first fighter squadrons. 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'' ...

'' in the rank of '' caporale''.Franks et al 1997, p. 141. Imolesi made his first combat flight on 21 January 1917. He staked his first victory claim on 2 April 1917, only to have it unconfirmed. On 26 April, he joined

Francesco Baracca Count Francesco Baracca (9 May 1888 – 19 June 1918) was Italy's top fighter ace of World War I. He was credited with 34 aerial victories. The emblem he wore side by side on his plane of a black horse prancing on its two rear hooves ins ...

and another Italian pilot in a triumphant attack on an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

Hansa-Brandenburg C.I; however, Imolesi's victory claim was disallowed. In May, he was briefly sent to ''43a Squadriglia'' for escorting their reconnaissance craft with his

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 ...

fighter. It would not be until 26 August that he won a shared confirmed victory. He received the Bronze

Medal for Military Valor The Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: ''Medaglia al valor militare'') is an Italian medal, originally established as a Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinian award. It is awarded to military personnel, units above the level of Company (milita ...

that same day. He scored his second victory on 14 September. After a double victory on 26 September, he was awarded a Silver Medal for Military Valor. After a fifth victory on 13 December, Imolesi ended 1917 as an ace. Imolesi was promoted to '' Sergente''. He scored his sixth and final victory on 14 January 1918, shared with Antonio Reali. In March, Imolesi would suffer serious injuries, though whether the cause was combat-related or accidental is uncertain. On 11 March 1918, Attilio Imolesi died in the

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...

Marostica Marostica (; ), is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. It is mostly famous for its live chess event and for the local cherry variety. History Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the locality was greatly ...

References

1890 births 1918 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Italy Italian Air Force personnel Italian military personnel killed in World War I Italian World War I flying aces People from Cesena Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1918 {{Italy-mil-bio-stub