Leonardo Ferrulli

Leonardo Ferrulli (1 January 1918 – 5 July 1943) was an ace of the ''Regia Aeronautica'', and a recipient of the ''Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare'' (Gold Medal of Military Valor). He was credited with 22 air victories, one during the Spanish Civil War and 21 during World War II. He shot down Hurricanes, P-40s, P-38 Lightnings, Spitfires and B-17s, flying Fiat C.R.42 biplanes and Macchi C.200/202 monoplanes. His unit was 91a ''Squadriglia'', 10° ''Gruppo'', from 4° ''Stormo'', one of the top-scoring fighter units of Regia Aeronautica.Dunning 2000, p. 216.Spick 1999, p. 106.

Early life

Ferrulli was born in Brindisi on 1 January 1918. In 1935, he enrolled in the air force, entering flight training at the Benevento Flight School before the age of 18 years. After completing his training as a military pilot, he was assigned to the 4° Stormo.

Spain

In February 1937, Ferrulli volunteered to fight in Spain as part of the ''Aviazione Legionaria''. He served in the 101a Squadriglia of X Gruppo Caccia Baleari. On 7 October 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, Ferrulli shot down a Tupolev SB flying a Fiat CR.32. The Republican bomber fell into the sea off Palma de Mallorca. For this victory he was awarded the ''Medaglia d'Argento al Valore militare'' (Silver Medal of Military Valor).

World War II

In World War II, Ferrulli was in North Africa when he achieved his first air victory on 19 December 1940. That day, his unit (10° ''Gruppo'', flying Fiat CR. 42s) was escorting some Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s of 41° ''Stormo'' in the sky above Sollum, when a formation of Hawker Hurricanes attacked the bombers. In the dogfight that followed, ''Sergente Maggiore'' Ferrulli was credited with a Hurricane destroyed (one of the rare individual victories assigned by 10° ''Gruppo'') and another damaged, but his Fiat was hit in the engine and he had to make an emergency landing near Bardia. Ferrulli was unhurt and returned to his unit on 22 December.Gustavsson, Håkan
URL "Italy Sottotenente Leonardo Ferrulli Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare."
''Biplane fighter aces'' on Håkan's aviation page. Retrieved: 12 November 2009. In North Africa he shot down five more Hurricanes and a Bristol Blenheim, still flying the nimble Fiat biplane.Gustavsson and Caruana 2009, p. 47.

After the attack against Yugoslavia, Ferrulli, along with 10° ''Gruppo'' (now equipped with the Macchi C.200s delivered by 54° ''Stormo''), moved to Sicily for operations against Malta.

On 11 July 1941, with fellow pilots of his ''Gruppo'', Ferrulli took part in the attack against the Maltese base of Mqabba. He was one of the ''Comandante'' Romagnoli's wingmen. Flying above the sea after strafing the airfield, Ferrulli saw fellow pilot Devoto being pursued by two Hurricanes. He and Franco Lucchini turned back to give help but four or five more Hurricanes arrived on the scene and a violent dogfight ensued. The three Macchis were forced to disengage by flying very low over the sea, chased by the British fighters for about 30–40 km. Ferrulli's Macchi was hit many times and was heavily damaged, but he was unscathed. The attack on Mqabba was regarded as a success and mentioned in the ''Bollettino di Guerra'' (War Bulletin) n.402.Duma 1981, pp. 199–200.

At the end of 1941, 4° ''Stormo'' was equipped with the new and more effective Macchi C.202. During 1942 Ferrulli shot down eight P-40s and a Spitfire, and on December of that year was promoted ''Sottotenente'' ( Second Lieutenant) for war merits.Massimello and Apostolo 2000, pp. 63–64.

Death

Ferrulli made his two last kills on the very day of his demise, 5 July 1943, in the sky of Sicily. At 14:20, few hours after the death of his friend (and fellow "ace") Franco Lucchini, Ferrulli, '' Tenente'' Giorgio Bertolaso and ''Sergente'' Giulio Fornalé, also from 91a Squadriglia, took off from Sigonella to intercept a squadron of B-17s escorted by P-38s and Spitfires. He was seen shooting down a four-engined American bomber from which three men bailed out, and then a twin-engined P-38 fighter. However, immediately thereafter, Ferrulli was attacked by Spitfires. His Macchi was hit and he bailed out; too low for his parachute to open. Ferrulli was killed, hitting the ground near Scordia (Catania).

The identity of the Allied pilot who shot down the then-top-scoring Italian ace is unknown; it was possibly Pilot Officer Chandler (JK139/V-X), who claimed to have damaged a Macchi during that combat, or Flight Sergeant F. K. Halcombe (JK368/V-J) from 1435 Squadron, who claimed to have hit a Messerschmitt Bf 109 (the two Axis fighters looked very similar to one another), or Flying Officer Geoff White (JK611/MK-M) from 126 Squadron that shot down a Macchi, but his victim was more likely ''Sergente Maggiore'' Corrado Patrizi from 84a ''Squadriglia'' who parachuted successfully from his damaged Macchi C.205.

Awards

Ferrulli was awarded a posthumous Medaglia d’oro al valor militare and three Silver medals.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Duma, Antonio. ''Quelli del Cavallino Rampante – Storia del 4° Stormo Caccia Francesco Baracca''. Rome: Aeronautica Militare – Ufficio Storico, 1981. NO ISBN.
* Gustavsson, Håkan and Richard Caruana. ''Fiat CR.42 Aces of World War 2.'' Oxford, UK: Osprey, 2009. .
* Lazzati, Giulio. ''I soliti Quattro gatti'' . Milan: Mursia, 1965. .
* Massimello, Giovanni and Giorgio Apostolo. ''Italian Aces of World War Two''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2000. .
* Neulen, Hans Werner. ''In the Skies of Europe.'' Ramsbury, Marlborough, UK: The Crowood Press, 2000. .
* Pagliano, Franco. ''Storia di 10.000 aeroplani'' . Milan: Longanesi, 2003. .
* Spick, Mike: ''The complete fighter ace - All the World's Fighter Aces, 1914-2000''. London: Greenhill Books, 1999. .

External links

Sottotenente Leonardo Ferrulli Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare Håkans aviation page



{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrulli, Leonardo
1918 births
1943 deaths
Aviators killed by being shot down
Aviazione Legionaria personnel
Italian World War II flying aces
Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor
Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor
Regia Aeronautica personnel killed in World War II