L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, My M a r c h m i n e - strone of Italian c o n n e c t i o n s i s served: Aerospace is not general- ly associated with Italy but t h e h i s t o r y o f I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n c o o p e r a t i o n i n aerospace goes back to the p i o n e e r i n g f l i g h t s o f t h e Wright brothers. In 1909 Wilbur Wright was invited to Rome by the city's Flyer's Club, and the first Italian pilots, L.t. Mario C a l d e r a l a a n d U m b e r t o Savoia, earned their licenses on a Wright biplane. A year later, Curtiss flew in many air rallies organized in Italy; his hydroplanes were among the first flying machines adopted by the Italian Navy. Italy reciprocated during World War I when starting in 1 9 1 7 , s e v e r a l h u n d r e d A m e r i c a n p i l o t s w e n t t o Foggia in southern Italy for flight training on the big t h r e e - e n g i n e C a p r o n i bombers. The contingent was led by Captain Fiorello LaGuardia, later three-term mayor of New York City (1933-1945). Americans flew Caprioni planes during the war from bases in Italy, and Lts. D. Coleman and J. Bahl, killed i n a c t i o n , w e r e a w a r d e d Italy's highest military deco- rations. Italian-American coopera- tion on industrial projects also began during World War I, when New Jersey based Standard Aircraft Company, acquired the manufacturing license for a variant of the Caproni bomber powered by Liberty engines. In a similar arrangement, the Pomilio firm arranged for US produc- t i o n o f i t s s i n g l e e n g i n e reconnaissance aircraft. During the "Golden Age of Aviation" many air events linked the two countries. In 1 9 2 6 , M a j o r M a r i o D e Bernardi of the Italian Air Force won the prestigious Schneider Trophy competi- tion in Norfolk, Virginia. De Bernardi flew a Macchi M39 f l o a t p l a n e , w h i l e t h e American team flew Curtiss R-3C biplanes. In 1927 another Italian p i l o t , F r a n c e s c o D e Pinedo together with copilot Carlo Del Prete, stopped at several US cities during the course of a 27,300 miles fly- ing tour of North and South America. That same year, two Americans set a world record by flying 3,192 miles from New York to Germany in the Columbia, a single engine aircraft designed by Giuseppe Bellanca. This Italian-born engineer emigrated to the United States and established a successful aircraft compa- ny. U n d e r t h e l e a d e r s h i p o f I t a l o B a l b o , t h e Italian Air Force had already successfully undertaken sev- eral mass flights, expeditions of several planes traveling in a group. In July 1933, the last of these epic journeys took 24 Marchetti S.55X seaplanes to the United States. Departing from Orbetello, the formation led by Balbo flew in stages across the North Atlantic to participate in the Chicago World's Fair before return- ing to Rome via New York, the Azores and Portugal. T h e s e e v e n t s h a v e a deservedly important place in world aviation history and partly on the strength of these ear l y achievements, Siai- Marchetti established a sub- sidiary in Port Washington, New York. C a l l e d t h e A m e r i c a n Aeronautical Corporation, from 1929 to 1931 it built S.55 and S.56 flying. boats. Three S.56 were used by the New York Police. The only surviving S.56 was lovingly restored by a col- lector in Minnesota and is now the oldest Italian air- plane still flying. During the years between the World Wars, Italian pilots a n d a i r c r a f t s h e l d m a n y world records. The long-dis- t a n c e r e c o r d w a s s e t b y Arturo Ferrarin and Carlo Del Prete who in 1928 flew their Siai S.64 from Italy to Brazil, c o v e r i n g 4 , 4 4 0 m i l e s . I n 1938, Pezzi in his Caproni Ca.16 Ibis biplane reached 46,000 feet to set a world altitude record inn the cate- gory of piston-engine piloted a i r c r a f t , w h i c h r e m a i n s unbeaten to this day. In 1934 F r a n c e s c o A g e l l o f l e w a M a c c h i M C . 7 2 f l o a t p l a n e r a c e r a t o v e r 4 4 0 m p h t o Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. establish the absolute speed record. After World War II the United States played a major role in the rebirth of Italian civil and military aviation. Initially, assistance took the form of supplying aircrafts, b u t i t s o o n e v o l v e d i n t o important transfers of tech- nology. Italian manufacture of the US F-86K and the F- 1046 fighter, Hawk missile and DC-9 commercial jet all contributed to the develop- ment of Italy's new aerospace industry today. Since it was Leonardo Da Vinci who first studied scien- tifically the possibility of human flight, it should come as no surprise that the spirit of discovery continues today via the Italian Space Agency ASI (Italy's NASA) and with m o d e r n I t a l y ' s a e r o s p a c e achievements. Italy has come "a long way Baby" since the days of Da Vinci and the days of Italy as a tourist paradise p e r s p e c t i v e , o f s o n g s , spaghetti and pizza. *** B a b y B o o m e r s a n d unemployed youth in Italy today are in no hurry to take the first job offer that comes their way in order to forestall poverty. First because most dis- d a i n e d , d a n g e r o u s , d i r t y work in Italy today is done by Africans and East Europeans. Secondly, because unem- ployment in Italy rarely is synonymous with poverty. The majority of unemployed young Italians have an acade- mic diploma or degree and choose to rely on their par- ents for support while they are in search of a job that cor- responds to their educational level and career expectations.

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