Mario de Bernardi

Pilots of the 91 Squadriglia . De Bernardi is fourth from the right.

Mario de Bernardi (born July 1, 1893 in Venosa , † April 8, 1959 in Rome-Urbe ) was an Italian fighter pilot of the First World War . After the war he became known as a test pilot , record pilot and stunt pilot .

Life

De Bernardi participated as a volunteer in the Italo-Turkish War in North Africa, where he observed the first use of military aircraft and then decided to become a pilot. He completed his flying training at the Aviano flight school , where he received his pilot's license in early 1914. After training as an officer at the Accademia Militare di Modena , he was deployed as a fighter pilot from 1916, first in the 75ª Squadriglia , then in 1918 in the 91ª Squadriglia Francesco Baraccas . De Bernardi recorded four confirmed kills. In addition to combat missions, he also worked as an aerobatic pilot. As such, he was soon noticed by his superiors, who used him as a test pilot for Pomilio aircraft . In 1917 he also carried out mail flights between Turin and Rome, setting records for speed and altitude.

After the war, de Bernardi commanded a test unit in Guidonia near Rome with branches in Furbara and Vigna di Valle . In 1923 he acquired a seaplane pilot license . In 1926 he won the Schneider Trophy as a major on a Macchi M.39 in Hampton Roads . On the 350 km long sightseeing flight, he set a new speed record with an average speed of almost 400 km / h. At the race held in Venice the following year , he retired with his Macchi M.52 due to engine failure, but set a new record at 479 km / h. In 1929 he was able to fly faster than 500 km / h for the first time with an M.52R. After de Bernardi had won an international aerobatic competition in Milan at the end of 1929, he retired from active military service in 1930 and became a test pilot and consultant at Caproni . As such, he continued to take part in international flight competitions.

In 1940 de Bernardi was involved in the development of the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 remote-controlled bombers , a project that could not be brought to a successful conclusion. From 1940 he also tried out the "jet-powered" Campini-Caproni CC2 .

In April 1959, de Bernardi took part in an air show near Rome. He had a heart attack during his performance but still managed to land his plane. Shortly after his death, the Pratica di Mare military airfield near Rome was named after him. His daughter Fiorenza de Bernardi became Italy's first female commercial pilot.

See also

• History of the Italian Air Force

literature

• De Bernardi, Mario. In: Massimiliano Pavan (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 33:  D'Asaro – De Foresta. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1987.

Web links

Commons : Mario de Bernardi  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• De Bernardi, Mario. In: Enciclopedie on line. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
• Presentation on alieuomini.it (Italian)
• Website fiorenzadebernardi.it (Italian)