115 years since the first combat use of aviation

 October 23 marked the 115th anniversary of the first combat use of aviation in history. On that day in 1911, the Italians used an airplane to reconnoiter enemy positions.

 This took place during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912. A year before the war began, Italy formed an aviation section of the Royal Army. In October 1911, nine disassembled French- and German-made aircraft were shipped to the theater of operations in Libya: two Blériot XI, three Nieuport IV, two Farman III, and two Etrich Taubes. All except the “Farman” were monoplanes. These light and still highly imperfect aircraft were not originally intended for military operations, and tactics for their use were merely guessed at. In fact, everything happened on the fly and thanks to the enthusiasm of the aviators themselves, many of whom had enlisted as volunteers.

 In total, 11 pilots arrived at the camp southwest of Tripoli, and Captain Carlo Piazza took command of the makeshift squadron. On October 23, he carried out the historic combat mission—conducting aerial reconnaissance of Turkish positions in his “Blériot.”

 That same day, Captain Riccardo Moizo carried out another reconnaissance flight in a “Newport.” Although the Turks were surprised by the appearance of such exotic aircraft on the enemy’s side, they did not lose their composure and opened fire on the plane with rifles. Three bullets struck the wing—and so Moizo went down in history as the first pilot to return in an aircraft that had sustained combat damage.

 On November 1, another historic event took place. Second Lieutenant (a rank equivalent to lieutenant in the Armed Forces of Ukraine) Giulio Gavotti manually dropped three 2-kilogram grenades on Turkish positions in two oases near Tripoli.

 In Benghazi, Derna, and Tobruk, the Italians gradually deployed three more aviation units, which together had 11 aircraft. By the end of the war, various types of combat aviation operations had been tested, including fire control for field and naval artillery. And on February 23, 1912, Captain Piazza conducted the first-ever aerial photographic reconnaissance, using a Zeiss “Bebe” camera.

 Piero Manzini became the first pilot to die during a combat mission. On August 25, 1912, he crashed during a photographic reconnaissance flight while attempting a forced landing on the sea.

 In total, by October 1912, Italian aviators had flown 712 combat sorties, dropped several hundred bombs, and contributed to the victory over Turkey.