Italian Aviation Units in the First World War Volume 1

Little known abroad, Italian aviation during the Great War grew from just 80 airplanes to a powerful force with 3,000 airplanes in service, and some of its men, like ace Francesco Baracca and the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio, are well known in Italy. This work presents all its basic units, the Squadriglie, squadrons, chronicling their histories, their accomplishments, victories and also problems, and reporting all actions, known serial numbers of airplanes and names of the pilots, observers and gunners that served in them, presenting their names, over 4,750, in a final index. It is the men, almost 600 of whom were killed in service, that this works strives to highlight. All units are presented, including the squadrons of the Italian Royal Navy, the minor units and the squadrons under formation near the end of the war. A general introduction with many orders of battle presents the evolution of the Army and Navy air components, while over 1,380 photographs, most of them published for the first time, and color profiles by Bob Pearson give a dazzling look at the camouflage, insignia and personal markings of Italian aviators.

Volume 1 (of 5) has 262 pages, 277 photos, 25 in color, and 62 color profiles.