Vittorio Sanseverino (September 29, 1917 – November 30, 2010) was an Italian pilot. Besides his combat experience in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he is known for having test-flown a large part of the aircraft built by

FIAT Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

for the postwar

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

, including the

Fiat G.91 The Fiat G.91 is a jet fighter aircraft designed and built by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione, which later merged into Aeritalia. The G.91 has its origins in the NATO-organised NBMR-1 competition started in 1953, which sough ...

, the Fiat G.222, the

North American F-86D Sabre The North American F-86D/K/L Sabre (initially known as the YF-95 and widely known informally as the "Sabre Dog") is an American transonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor. Developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s, it was ...

and the

F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all ...

Biography

Early training

After leaving the Gymnasium he was admitted into the "Nunziatella" Royal Military Academy and into the ''Sparviero'' (Sparrow) course of the Royal Italian Air Force Academy in

Caserta Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...

. He was trained to fly on Breda Ba.25s and I.M.A.M. Ro.41s at

Capua Capua ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, located on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan ''Capeva''. The ...

airfield. He first flew solo on 7 February 1938. Having committed an act of indiscipline in flight, he was moved to 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 ...

Bombardment School as a punishment measure. There he flew Fiat BR.20s and Savoia-Marchetti S.M.81s. In 1940 he was assigned to 65 ''Squadriglia'', 31 ''Gruppo'' of 18 Stormo based at

Aviano Aviano (; ) is a town and (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone at the foot of the Dolomites mountain range in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northeast Italy. Aviano is home to the C.R.O. (''Centro di Riferimento Oncologico ...

airfield.

World War II

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he received his

baptism of fire The phrase baptism by fire, baptism of fire or baptism with fire is a Christian theological concept originating from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11. It also has related meanings in military history and popular culture. Christiani ...

on 8 April 1941 in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

n skies, at the controls of a BR.20. He became the commander of a bomber squadron and also flew Fiat CR.42s and CANT Z.1007s. After the

Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces The Armistice of Cassibile (Italian language, Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Kingdom of Italy, Italy and the Allies of World War II, Allies, marking the end of hostilities between It ...

(8 September 1943) he sided with the Allies and was an instructor on both Martin 187 Baltimores and

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

s. On 24 August 1944 he witnessed the death of

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

ace

Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia (22 September 1915 – 24 August 1944) was an Italian aviator, and one of the most famous Italian pilots of World War II. Biography Buscaglia was born in Novara, Piedmont, in 1915 and entered the Italian ''Accadem ...

, who crashed on take-off from Campo Vesuvio airfield with a Baltimore bomber.

Post-World War II

At the end of the war he was assigned to the ''Reparto Sperimentale Volo'' (Experimental Wing) of the re-established

based at Guidonia. On 23 July 1952 he flew the first Italian

de Havilland DH.100 Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

, built under licence by Fiat and Macchi. In 1953 he left the Air Force with the rank of ''Colonnello'' (

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

), and was hired by ''

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

Aviazione'' where he worked as a test pilot for

Vittorio Valletta Vittorio Valletta (28 July 1883 – 10 August 1967) was an Italian industrialist and president of Fiat S.p.A. from 1946 to 1966. Early life Born at Sampierdarena near Genoa, he was the son of Federico Valletta, of Brindisi origin (Pale ...

and Giuseppe Gabrielli. He tested the first all-Italian jet aircraft, the Fiat G.80, and later the Fiat G.82 and the licence-built North American F-86K. He also flew the Aeritalia G-91Y for the first time, as well as all the Italian-made

s. On 18 July 1970 he participated in the maiden flight of the Aeritalia G.222 prototype with co-pilot Pietro Paolo Trevisan. He remained in service until 1977 when the early tests of the

Panavia Tornado The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multi-role combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. There are three primary #Variants, Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS ...

began.

Bibliography

References