Page 101 - La Grande Guerra dei Carabinieri

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Il caccia Spad VII appartenuto all’asso dell’aviazione italiana Ernesto Cabruna esposto alla Scuola Ufficiali Carabinieri a Roma.
The Spad VII fighter that belonged to the Italian Air Force ace Ernesto Cabruna exhibited at the Scuola Ufficiali Carabinieri in Rome.

Carabinieri aviation pioneers
Carabinieri aviation pioneers

he recruitment of airmen for
the Army Aviation Corps
T initially did not include Ca-
rabinieri, even though they pos-
sessed all the particular require-
ments . After considerable time
and on the basis of the aspirations
of many, recruitment was finally
opened to the members of the Ca-
rabinieri Corps. Soon after, 173
Carabinieri volunteered to join
the “Sky Cavalry,” and were em-
ployed as pilots; they wore Ca-
rabinieri braids on their aviator
jackets. The Carabinieri were se-
lected based on their skills as well as meeting physical, medical, psycho-aptitude, and education requirements
based on the various machines that the Aviation Corps adopted during the First World War. Carabinieri pilots
received 20 military awards for valour: one gold medal, eleven silver medals, seven bronze medals and one War
Cross, as well as numerous minor awards. However, there were also many casualties among the Carabinieri in
air service, mainly in combat. However others perished due to the shortcomings, sometimes structural, of some
aircraft despite the pilots’ valorous attempts to recover the planes mid-flight. Of the Carabinieri pilots, the most
famous was Brigadier Ernesto Cabruna, later promoted to Lieutenant for outstanding service, who was award-
ed the Gold Medal of Military Valour. His most famous feat, that on 29 March 1918, was featured on the cover
of the Italian magazine “Domenica del Corriere” with an illustration by Achille Beltrame. In the battle, Cabru-
na single-handedly faced an enemy air squadron, shot down the squadron leader’s plane and put the other 10
aircraft to flight.