It occured to me that it's been quite a while since we've had a post about fighter pilots from WWI or WWII. Since nobody else seemed to be overly concerned about this shocking lack of attention, I decided to personally remedy the situation by making a post about Sergente Maggiore Teresio Martinoli, Italy's ace of aces during WWII.
Now, modern Italy is not a nation who's accolades rest upon it's martial exploits. It seems that their favorite battlefield tactic was to confuse the enemy by surrendering en masse. But this reputation was not wholly deserved as there were many men who served with valor and distinction during the course of the war. Teresio Vittorio Martinoli was one such man.
Born on March 26, 1917, Martinoli began flying at an early age. He gained a glider pilots' license in 1937 before graduating on to powered aircraft. When Italy mobilized its forces Martinoli was drafted into the Regia Aeronautica and began training as a fighter pilot.
Like many Italian pilots he began the war flying the outdated Fiat CR.42 biplane fighter, inwhich he scored his first victory in North Africa. He scored two more victories while flying the antiquated CR.42 before his squadron was shipped home and re-equipped with the much superior Macchi C.202 in autumn 1941.
From his base in Sicily he scored many victories in combat against the RAF in operations over Malta, including one two week period where he shot down three Spitfires. He then returned to North Africa, flying in support of Rommel's offensive and subsequently back to Sicily when the Allies invaded that island. The last Allied plane he shot down was another Spitfire, on August 15, 1943.
After Italy surrendered, Martinoli joined the Aeronautica Co-Beligerante, and flying for the Allies he shot down one German Junkers Ju-52. Finally, on August 25, 1944, Martinoli was killed in a training accident when his squadron was re-equipping with US supplied P-39 Aircobras. He had completed 276 combat missions and had shot down 22 enemy planes. He was awarded two Silver Medals, the German Iron Cross (2nd class), and a posthumous Gold Medal for Military Valor.
Fellow ace Giulio Reiner remembered; "Behind his discreet and closed character was a fighter pilot who possessed exceptional eyesight, making him an unfailing marksman. In fact, it seemed as if Martinoli had a sixth sense when it came to detecting the enemy's presence, for he would usually spot his position in the sky well before any of us could."
So there you have it. Sergente Maggiore Teresio Vittorio Martinoli, Italy's ace of aces.
Link to an image of the Macchi C.202 below:
http://hsfeatures.com/images/c202mb_004.jpg
Sources:
Italian Aces of World War 2 by Osprey Publishing
Combat Aircraft by Salamander Books, Ltd.
Originally posted by rwingettInteresting article....thanks 😵
It occured to me that it's been quite a while since we've had a post about fighter pilots from WWI or WWII. Since nobody else seemed to be overly concerned about this shocking lack of attention, I decided to personally remedy the situation by making a post about Sergente Maggiore Teresio Martinoli, Italy's ace of aces during WWII.
Now, modern Italy i ...[text shortened]... Aces of World War 2[/i] by Osprey Publishing
Combat Aircraft by Salamander Books, Ltd.