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40-800: The airport is managed by the Italian Air Force and on the basis of the Ministerial Decree of 25 January 2008, published in the Official Gazette of 7 March 2008, the airport is classified as MOB (Main Operating Base) of the first group and as such performs exclusively military, not being open to commercial traffic. The airport is known above all because it is the seat of the Frecce Tricolori, the Italian national aerobatic team (PAN) and constituting

80-541: A Vickers Wellesley bomber K7747 of No. 223 Squadron RAF (crewed by F/O Ross & Cpl. Stevenson, the plane returned but crashed when landing). It was the first of his 16 air victories during the conflict, in Eastern Africa Two days later, on 14 June 1940, he intercepted a pair of Vickers Wellesleys from No. 14 Squadron RAF , en route to bomb Massawa . Visintini shot down aircraft K7743, flown by Pilot Officer Reginald Patrick Blenner Plunkett. Plunkett fell in

120-552: A first Medaglia d'Argento al valor militare (Silver Medal for military valour). In September 1939, he was promoted to Servizio Permanente Effettivo . In April 1940, Visintini, was transferred to 412ª Squadriglia . This unit had, in its ranks, a good number of ex-4° Stormo (the Royal Italian Air Force's elite unit) pilots and - after only one year of operations - produced five aces. On 12 June, two days after Italy entered World War II, flying from Gura , he claimed

160-557: A gallant attempt to help his comrades, made Visintini a legend at the time. In 1942, a volume of the series Eroi della nostra guerra (Heroes of Our War), entitled Il Pilota solitario ("The Lonely Pilot"), was dedicated to him. Postwar, the Gruppo Giovanile Mario Visintini named in honour of Visintini was a youth group in Eritrea that operated from 1950 to 1957. The Aeroporto di Rivolto "MOVM Cap. Mario Visintini"

200-528: A greater number of Wellesley bombers, almost certainly three Gladiator fighters and a Hurricane , plus 32 enemy aircraft (alone and shared with others pilots) destroyed on the airfields of Gedaref , Goz Regeb (Sudan) and Agordat . Visintini was posthumously awarded a Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare ( Gold Medal of Military Valor ), one of Argento ( Silver ) (one more in Spain) and one of Bronzo ( Bronze ). His successes, his charm and his demise, during

240-450: A number of kills. At least two of his victories are confirmed. On 24 August 1938 he shot down a Russian Polikarpov I-15 fighter aircraft, while, on 5 September 1938, he claimed a Polikarpov I-16 of 1ª Escuadrilla Chatos , over Venta de los Campesinos. In October 1938, after 330 hours of combat, Visintini returned to Italy, rejoining 4° Stormo . For his service in Spain, he was decorated with

280-646: A reconnaissance mission. The crew was MIA . On 12 December 1940, five CR.42s of 412ª Squadriglia and a Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 attacked the Goz Regeb airstrip (west of river Atbara , in Sudan), the home base of No. 237 Squadron RAF B Flight. They destroyed four Hawker Hardys (K4053, K4308, K4055 and K4307) parked on the ground, but the Sudan Defence Force defending the base hit the Fiat of Capitano Antonio Raffi, who

320-521: A third Ju 52 and a Heinkel two-seater to crash-land. No losses were reported among the Soviet pilots. During the next two days, Chato pilots claimed 12 more victories, at the cost of two I-15s lost. On 16 November, while dogfighting with Fiat CR.32s over Madrid, future ace Rychagov was shot down and four days later the number of combat-ready Polikarpov in the central area had fallen to 15 aircraft: seven had been lost in combat, two had force-landed and one

360-519: Is a small regional civil airport located four km southwest of Udine, Italy. Polikarpov I-15 The Polikarpov I-15 ( Russian : И-15 ) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed Chaika ( Russian : Чайка , "Seagull") because of its gulled upper wings, it was operated in large numbers by the Soviet Air Force, and together with the Polikarpov I-16 monoplane,

400-638: Is also an important meteorological station of the air force Meteorological Service , part of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), at the airport. This article about an airport in Italy is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mario Visintini Mario Visintini , MOVM , (26 April 1913 – 11 February 1941) was an Italian military pilot, the first Regia Aeronautica flying ace of World War II . In recognition of his flying skill and meticulousness, Visintini

440-576: The Chinese Air Force (CAF) in its defensive war against Japan. More than 250 Soviet pilots volunteered to fly the 255 I-15s supplied to China in autumn 1937. By 1939, the total number of Polikarpov biplanes delivered to CAF reached 347 I-15/I-15bis. The I-15bis also saw a great amount of action in the Soviet–Japanese border conflicts along the China–Mongolia border . From 1938 to 1941, I-15s in

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480-867: The Fiat CR.32 . By 1 January 1939, 197 Polikarpovs had been lost: 88 shot down by enemy aircraft and nine by anti-aircraft artillery, 27 destroyed on the ground and 67 written off in accidents. More than 1,000 I-15bis fighters were still in Soviet use during the German invasion when the biplane was employed in the ground attack role. Many were destroyed in the opening hours of the invasion sitting in neat rows on their runways. By November 1943, all examples still in service had been relegated to second line duties. Data from Of Chaika and Chato… General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists The initial version of this article

520-676: The Khalkha River in Dornod Province . The battles were fought during 11 May–16 September 1939, and involved more than 600 planes. When hostilities commenced, the only I-15bis in the area were 14 aircraft of 70th IAP. Their number increased in the following weeks: on 23 May, 35 I-15bis from 22nd IAP arrived from the Trans-Baikal region. However the Mongolian Polikarpov pilots had been hastily trained and they suffered heavy losses against

560-652: The Nationalist Air Force of China , fought many major battles, and skirmishes against invading and occupying Japanese forces, including the Battle of Taierzhuang , the Battle of Wuhan , the Battle of South Guangxi , the Battle of Chongqing-Chengdu , etc. The tough biplane was quite clearly outmatched during the debut dogfight against the new Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter over Chongqing on 13 September 1940, although I-15bis pilots Maj. Zheng Shaoyu , Lt. Gao Youxin , and Lt. Xu Jixiang were able to target and damage some of

600-773: The Spanish Civil War and proved to be one of the best fighter biplanes of its time. The Nationalists called the fighter "Curtiss", apparently believing it to be the Curtiss F11C Goshawk . The first batch of 25 Polikarpovs arrived in Cartagena , Spain, on 28 October 1936, with 15 pilots, led by future ace Pavel Rychagov . A few days later a further group of 10 pilots and 15 aircraft arrived in Bilbao . The Soviet pilots first went into action 4 November, when I-15s shot down two Junkers Ju 52 /3ms and two CR.32s over Madrid, and forced

640-628: The Spanish Civil War serving in the Aviazione Legionaria . Mario Visentin (later changed to "Visintini") was born in Parenzo d'Istria , now Poreč in Croatia , on 26 April 1913. His father was an agricultural expert. Visintini tried to enter the Regia Accademia Aeronautica but did not pass the medical examination because he was declared "too weak and susceptible". So he enrolled in

680-701: The 313rd Acrobatic Training Group. Seat of the 2nd Wing is named after Mario Visintini , the first of the flying aces of the Regia Aeronautica , decorated with the Gold Medal of Military Valour . Visintini was the top scoring pilot of all belligerent air forces in Eastern Africa (Africa Orientale) and the top biplane fighter ace of World War II; he achieved all his air victories flying the Fiat CR.42 biplane .The 14th Group with AMX International AMX fighter-bombers

720-504: The 515 kW (691 hp) Shvetsov M-25 engine (a license-built, metricified Cyclone) in late 1936. A total of 671 I-15s were built, 284 in the Soviet Union and a further 287 under license by CASA in Spain. The gulled upper wing of the I-15 was unpopular with some pilots, as it was felt to restrict visibility, so Polikarpov's design bureau produced a revised version, again powered by

760-673: The British aircraft clashed with Fiat CR.42s, and Lieutenant S. de K. Viljoen had to force-land his stricken fighter. After the combat, Visintini landed on his airfield, refuelled and took off again, searching for his faithful wingman, Luigi Baron (an ace with a score of 12 kills, at the end of the war), who had been forced down by a storm. Because of the same inclement weather, Visintini's Fiat crashed into Mount Bizen, near Nefasit , about 24 kilometres from Asmara, Eritrea. According to Shores in 1983, Visintini shot down 20 enemy aircraft. During 50 air battles, he downed at least five Blenheim bombers,

800-634: The British forces in Sudan launched an offensive against the Italian Gallabat and Metemma Forts, just across the border. The CR.42s led by Capitano Raffi and "ace" Mario Visintini from 412ª Squadriglia clashed with No. 1 SAAF Squadron Gloster Gladiators and shot down 24-year-old Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Howard Savage (RAF no. 37483) (L7614), Pilot Officer Kirk (K7969) and forced Pilot Officer J. Hamlyn to crash-land his aircraft (L7612). Meanwhile, Major Schalk van Schalkwyk (N5855) of No. 1 SAAF Squadron

840-548: The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at " Università di Bologna ". Subsequently, in spring 1936, he entered the air training centre at Caproni di Taliedo . Transferred to Lecce , Visintini followed the usual training program. He gained his civilian pilot's licence on 30 May 1936 and his military wings in September 1936. Two months later, he qualified as a military pilot at Grottaglie , Taranto , on Breda Ba.25s and Fiat CR.20s . With

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880-625: The M-25, with a longer span un-gulled upper wing. This version, the I-15bis, commenced production in 1937, a total of 2,408 I-15bis' being delivered by the time production finished in 1940. In August 1937, the Chinese Kuomintang Government signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR, and in autumn of the same year, the Soviet Union commenced to ship I-15s as a part of a programme of military aid to

920-794: The Red Sea and was never found despite a search mission undertaken. During a reconnaissance flight over Dekemhare (Italianized as Decamerè ), on 3 July 1940 (according to other authors, on 4 July), Visintini shot down another Wellesley (L2652), from No. 14 Squadron, flown by 26-year-old Flying Officer Samuel Gustav Soderholm (RAF No. 40194), who was killed in the crash. In July 1940, Visintini shot down several aircraft. On 12 July, 11 Wellesleys from 14 and 47 Squadrons attacked Massawa airfield. Mario Visintini and Sergente Luigi Baron intercepted them, and Visintini shot down Sergeant Frederick “Freddy” Nelson (RAF No. 516778) of 47 Squadron, in K8520 at 15:00. The pilot

960-650: The Zeroes, with Lt. Gao believing he had shot one down (all Zeroes returned to base in Wuhan , with four Zeroes suffering some damage); all three of those pilots survived the battle. Pilot Captain Shen Tse-Liu is credited with 4 victories in his I-15bis, the most with the aircraft in the war. In 1939 Polikarpov fighters were extensively used during the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought around

1000-573: The bombers' defensive fields of fire and shot down both in a matter of seconds. The two Blenheims fell near Sageneyti, a hamlet some 15 kilometres East of Dekemhare. All the crews were killed: 25-years-old Flight Officer Gordon Cyril Butler Woodroffe (RAF No. 39837), 24-years-old Sergeant Eric Bromley Ryles (RAF No. 581161), Sergeant Albert Alfred Meadows (RAF No. 612422), and 28-years-old Pilot Officer George Angus Cockayne (RAF No. 41779), 24-years-old Sergeant Trevor Ascott Ferris (RAF No. 566370), Sergeant Robert William Reader (RAF No. 548764). On 6 November,

1040-676: The fuselage was of mixed steel and duralumin construction, with a fabric covered rear fuselage. Production started in 1934, initially being powered by the Shvetsov M-22, a licence-built version of the Bristol Jupiter radial engine . While less powerful than the Cyclone, the M-22 powered aircraft were still superior to the I-5 which it replaced, demonstrating excellent manoeuvrability. Production switched to

1080-404: The island of Dessei. The aircraft (R3593) of Flight Officer MacKenzie was so damaged that he had to force-land on the coast north of Massawa. The air victory seems to have been credited to Visintini. On 4 December, Tenente Visintini claimed to have shot down a Blenheim over the Red Sea. This was Blenheim IV R2770 of 14 Squadron, piloted by Flying Officer Thomas G. Rhodes, that failed to return by

1120-400: The kill of another Vickers monoplane with two other pilots. The downed aircraft was a Wellesley (L2669) from No. 14 Squadron, flown by Sergeant Norris on a photographic reconnaissance sortie over Harmil Island, when it was intercepted and attacked by Fiat fighters, scrambled from Massawa . The Wellesley crash-landed on the island, the crew being taken prisoner. According to other sources that

1160-564: The more experienced Japanese pilots. During this conflict, the Soviet Union, Mongolia and Japan lost more than 200 aircraft each. 10 aircraft were delivered to the Mongolian People's Army Air Force in mid-July 1939 and flight personnel were trained for rear air defence. Afterwards, they received more than 30 aircraft in March 1942. The I-15 was used extensively in combat by the Republicans in

1200-496: The rank of Sottotenente , he was posted to the 91ª Squadriglia , 10° Gruppo , 4° Stormo , at Gorizia , in northeast Italy, where he trained on Fiat CR.30s and Fiat CR.32s . In November 1937, Visintini volunteered for service in the Spanish Civil War. He was attached to 25ª Squadriglia of XVI° Gruppo "La Cucaracha", then equipped with Fiat CR.32s. In Spain, Visintini distinguished himself as an outstanding pilot, claiming

1240-411: Was a solo kill, qualifying Visintini as an ace. Visintini had his first double kill, on 13 October. At 16:30, two Bristol Blenheim MkI bombers of 45 Squadron went to bomb Dekemhare , but were soon attacked by him. After having placed himself, for mere challenge, exactly between the bombers, so that neither of them could fire at him without hitting its companion, he soon moved to a blind spot outside

Rivolto Air Base - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-618: Was also based in the Rivolto military airport until 2004. Since 2011 the base has become a national missile hub, while since January 2016 the Rivolto airport has been the reference point for the Integrated University Hospital of Udine for night flights in favor of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Transplant Center. In 2016, thanks to the night activation of the airport, 16 lives were saved. There

1320-455: Was attacked by Fiat biplanes that put his aircraft in flames and forced him to bail out but he did not survive. Captain Brian Boyle took off to van Schalkwyk's assistance but was himself immediately attacked and wounded, being forced to crash-land. That day, around midday, while trying to attack Caproni Ca.133 bombers, another flight of Gladiators was intercepted. Flying Officer Haywood (K7977)

1360-570: Was forced to land to the east of Aroma . Visintini landed and helped Raffi aboard. With both pilots tightly packed into the cockpit, Visintini flew back to the Barentu base. Visintini was promoted to Capitano and Commander of 412ª Squadriglia on 16 January 1941 and on 11 February 1941, he claimed a Hawker Hurricane , over Keren . The Hawker monoplane was probably an aircraft from the No. 1 SAAF Squadron that had 11 fighter aircraft on patrol that day. Two of

1400-663: Was handed the I-14A project. When both the I-14 and I-14A were ordered into production, Polikarpov's design, a development of the I-5 fighter became the famous I-15 . The first flight was made in October 1933 with V.P. Chkalov at the controls, powered by an imported Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine. The I-15, also known by its development name TsKB-3 , was a small biplane fighter with a gulled upper wing. The single bay wings were of wooden construction, while

1440-476: Was hit and crashed in flames. South Africans claimed to have shot down two Fiats, but only Sottotenente Rosmino's aircraft was hit, returning with his parachute pack riddled with bullets. Two or three of these victories were credited to Capitano Visintini. On 26 November, six Blenheim IV bombers of 14 Squadron went to attack the railway station at Nefasit , a town near Asmara on the road to Massawa. Visintini, with two more pilots, intercepted them at 08:30, over

1480-489: Was killed, while the rest of the crew was taken prisoner. Visintini and Baron were credited with another "probable" but in fact, the Wellesley I (L2667) of 47 Squadron managed to return to its base, but was so damaged that it was considered written off. On 29 July, he was decorated with a second Medaglia d'Argento al valor militare . He claimed another Wellesley, possibly on 26 August (K7731). On 1 September 1940, Visintini shared

1520-481: Was nicknamed cacciatore scientifico (scientific hunter). Visintini was the top-scoring pilot of all belligerent air forces in Eastern Africa ( Africa Orientale ) and the top biplane fighter ace of World War II; he achieved all his air victories flying the Fiat CR.42 biplane . He is credited with 16 confirmed air victories (20, according to other sources) and five probables, plus two victories achieved during

1560-630: Was one of the standard fighters of the Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War , where it was called Chato (snub-nose). The design for the 14th fighter for the VVS , the I-14, started as an advanced (for the era) monoplane under the direction of Andrei Tupolev . He grew concerned that the design would not mature, and ordered two backup biplane designs as the I-14A and B just to be safe. Polikarpov had just been released from prison in August 1932, and

1600-504: Was undergoing repair. In December 1936 and January 1937, two more shipments of 30 aircraft arrived in Spain, making it possible to form four full-strength I-15 squadrons. Until the spring of 1937, central Spain was the main war theatre for I-15s. And in May 1937, another batch of 31 Polikarpov landed in Spain, taking the total number of I-15s delivered to 116. Chato losses in the Spanish Civil War were comparable to those of its principal rival,

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