Tullio Covre

Tullio Covre (born November 7, 1917 in Cittadella Padovana , † July 2, 1961 in Messina ) was an Italian flying ace in World War II , as well as a military and civilian flight instructor. He was killed in an accident with his private plane when he had to ditch an overcrowded beach so as not to endanger anyone. For this he was posthumously honored by several organizations.

Military career

From 1935 to 1945 he was active as a military pilot in the Italian Air Force, where he was able to record five enemy kills. Other sources attribute 7 and 8 enemy kills to him. After the war he trained sports pilots at the flight school in Boscomantico near Verona.

He signed up as a volunteer with the Royal Italian Air Force at the age of 17 . On August 24, 1935, he passed the pilot's examination (“pilota d'areoplano”) and was accepted into the Royal Italian Air Force (“Regia Aeronautica”). After his specialization as a flight instructor for fighter pilots at the Aviano Fighter Flying School (Pordenone Province) on January 16, 1936, Covre was transferred to Addis Ababa in 1937 with the 116th Squadron (attack squadron), later to Jimma and Gondar (East Africa). There he fell ill with malaria and had to return home. In 1938 he reported back to active service. In 1939 he was stationed in Puglia, later in Hungary, where he trained a total of 60 fighter pilots. He was awarded the renowned St. Stephen's Eagle (Hungarian pilot badge) and the St. Stephen's Cross.

In February 1940 he was promoted to sergente maggiore. At the same time he joined the 54th Fighter Squadron ("54 ° Stormo Caccia"). After Italy entered the war in June 1940, Covre took part as a fighter pilot in the 51st Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, 353rd Fliegerstaffel (51 ° Stormo, 20 ° Gruppo, 353ª Squadriglia), in the CAI's short mission in Belgium ( Corpo Aereo Italiano ). The CAI was supposed to support the German Air Force in the "Battle of Britain" in the last months of 1940. In addition to the Fiat CR.42 biplanes (18th group, 56th squadron), and Fiat BR.20 light bombers (13th and 43rd squadrons), Covre's 20th fighter group flew the Fiat G.50 monoplane , which was used by the Spitfires and Hurricanes were far inferior to the RAF in speed, range, armor, and armament. Covre had to make an emergency landing in Brittany after being hit in a gas tank during an aerial battle. The CAI was soon dissolved, not least because of this technical inferiority (in April 1941 Covres 353ª Squadriglia was withdrawn from Belgium together with the 352ª Squadriglia as the last two seasons of the CAI).

His 20th hunting party was transferred to Libya. There the Italian air force fights together with German forces in the so-called Africa campaign against the Allies. Covre flew a total of 110 combat missions there, including patrol flights, bomber escorts, interception missions or attack flights. It is certain that Covre met a group of British hurricanes in an aerial battle on September 3, 1941 near Sidi Barrani (Egypt), where he was able to shoot down an RAF Hawker Hurricane in his FIAT G.50bis. The author Roberto Besutti also credits Covre with kills totaling 3 Curtiss P-40s in the period from December 3 to 7, 1941 in the course of the British counterattack (" Operation Crusader ") . According to the author, a fourth downing of a P-40 on December 9th is "very likely".

The technical inferiority of the Italian aircraft, but especially the constant physical and mental strains during this time, forced Covre back home to recover in early 1942 due to health problems. Because of his flying successes, but also his courageous efforts during the fighting in North Africa in 1941, Covre were awarded the Cross of Valor (“Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare”) and the silver medal for bravery (“ Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare ”) of the Italian military in 1942 awarded.

His final recovery dragged on until the summer of 1943, when on August 16, 1943, he resumed his service as an instructor in the fighter pilot school ("1 ° Nucleo Addestramento") in Campoformido. At this point in time, the organization of the Italian Air Force, the technical equipment and the morale of the pilots were in a desolate state. In the first days of September, entire squadrons deserted into nearby hills. Covre felt the condition and resignation of his comrades on site as unworthy and untenable. After the armistice agreement between the Italian Empire and the Allies (September 8, 1943), he decided to join the National Republican Air Force of Italy ( ANR ) on the side of the Axis powers.

There he flew a modern Messerschmitt Bf 109 G with the "Red Devils" ("Diavoli Rossi"), the second season of the Second Hunting Group ( 2º Gruppo caccia "Gigi Tre Osei" ) near Milan, where he was in combat almost every day for over a year denied. He had several enemy contacts and had to make an emergency landing more than once. On October 31, 1944, Covre reported a confirmed downing of a P-47 Thunderbolt at Lonato. It is disputed whether Covre was able to shoot down a British Supermarine Spitfire on July 26, 1944 , as no enemy contact between his unit and Spitfires is known on that day. Instead, his unit encountered P-47 of the 86th Fighter Group that day, but Covre was the only one to report a Spitfire down. Covre were recognized for his services in the ANR by the “General der Flieger u. Commanding General of the German Air Force in Italy “ Maximilian von Pohl was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class twice (October 18 and 30, 1944).

Shortly before the end of the war, on March 3, 1945, he met North American B-25 "Mitchell" bomber formations of the 310th Bomber Group after an alarm launch. He could shoot down one of the bombers. In April he trained new pilots of the "Diavoli Rossi" on a two-seat Me Bf 109 G-12.

In southern Garda, Covre took part in the last Italian aerial battle of World War II on April 19, 1945. Covre's second season of the "Diavoli Rossi" came to the aid of the first squadron, which wanted to intercept two B-24 Liberator bombers of the American Air Force. While one of the bombers could be shot down, a total of 5 Italian aircraft, including the Bf 109 from Covre, were hit and crashed in the ensuing aerial battle with the P-51 bomber escort. Covre and 3 other pilots were able to save themselves, but Lieutenant Renato Pattone lost his life, the last of the ANR to fall. Covre's machine had been hit by a P-51 Mustang from the 317th Squadron / 325th Fighter Group. There was an explosion in the cockpit due to a leaking glycol tank. As he was about to disembark, he saw that a P-51 attack on his wingman Sergeant Antonio Tampieri was imminent. Covre climbed back into the cockpit to warn Tampieri over the radio. When he then jumped out of the cockpit, he got stuck on the aircraft antenna. Covre was only able to parachute himself at the last moment. Tampieri also escaped and landed safely on the airfield.

Personal

Tullio Covre married in 1945 and had seven children with his wife Rina.

Military honors

During peacetime, the Hungarian military awarded him the "St. Stephen's Eagle" (Hungarian pilot license) and the " St. Stephen's Cross ".

Covre were awarded two silver medals for bravery by the Italian Air Force ("Medaglia d'argento al valor militare").
The reason was "As a pilot of great courage and enthusiasm, he took part in the Battle of Sidi El Barrani with the confidence and impetus of the Italians Fighter part. He participated in the destruction of 12 aircraft, 50 mechanized trucks and barracks and destroyed the enemy camp. In the following battle, he participated in the destruction of 14 other enemy aircraft. As a fighter pilot of great skill and courage, he withstood fierce fighting by superior enemy formations in the Battle of Marmarica and participated in the downing of a number of enemy aircraft. "

As part of the ANR, the German Reich awarded him the Iron Cross 2nd class twice in October 1944 .

Peacetime

After the end of the Second World War, Tullio Covre became a flight instructor and devoted himself to recreational aviation. He founded the first three aerobatic teams in Boscomantico near Verona, called "Frecce Rosse". In 1961 he bought a Sequoia Falco aerobatic plane. This model had a new type of propeller with a variable angle of attack, which, however, was replaced by a propeller with a fixed design due to a malfunction after the first test flights.

Air accident and death

After taking part in a flight competition in June 1961 around the Gulf of Naples, Covre had the new propeller with variable angle of attack installed again, the last one in stock from the supplier.

A week later, on July 1, 1961, Covre flew the first stage of the prestigious flying competition "Around Sicily" (Palermo to Catania). During the second stage of the competition (Catania-Palermo) on July 2nd, the new propeller from Covres "Falco" lost a rotor blade near Mare Grosso near Messina. Covre realized he had to make an emergency landing. The beach below was filled with bathers at the beginning of the summer vacation. In the flyby he tried to draw attention to his plight by waving, which the audience misunderstood as greetings, and greet them back. Covre decided to make an emergency landing, a maneuver which should not have been an unsolvable task for a fighter pilot and flight instructor with his experience and ability. When he touched the surface of the sea, Covre hit the radio with his head unhappily, causing him to pass out. The plane sank and Covre drowned. Due to strong currents, his plane could only be recovered three days later.

Commemoration

Memorial stone to Tullio Covres air accident at Verona Boscomantico airport

Covre was posthumously honored by the Carnegie Foundation with the Silver Medal for Civil Courage ("medaglia d'argento al valor civile") in 1963 as "a shining example of the noblest altruism". At the Verona-Boscomantico airport , where he worked as a flight instructor, there has been a memorial stone to Tullio Covre since 1962. His hometown Verona has a street named after him.

literature

• Nick Beale, Ferdinando D'Amico, Gabriele Valentini: Air War Italy 1944–45: The Axis Air Forces in Italy June 1944 – May 1945. 1996, ISBN 1-85310-252-0 .
• Nino Arena: L'Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. La guerra aerea in Italia 1943–1945. Editor Ermanno Albertelli, 1995, ISBN 88-85909-49-3 .
• Mirko Molteni: L'aviazione italiana 1940–1945 - Azioni belliche e scelte operative. 2012, ISBN 978-88-6288-144-9 .
• Franco Pagliano: Aviatori italiani: 1940-1945. Editor Ugo Mursia, 2004, ISBN 88-425-3237-1 .
• Gianni Rocca : I disperati - La tragedia dell'aeronautica italiana nella seconda guerra mondiale. 1993, ISBN 88-04-44940-3 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Roberto Besutti, "Storia del Novecento", February 2002: "Un Pilota Da Caccia: Tullio Covre"
2. ^ The Falco and Regia Aeronautica in the Battle of Britain - http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/falco_bob.htm
3. ↑ http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/storia/1940_1945/Pagine/CAI.aspx
4. ↑ according to Håkan Gustavsson, author of the book "Fiat CR.42 - Aces of World War 2"
5. ↑ Beale, D'Amico, Valentini: "Air War Italy 1944-45", 2nd edition 1996, p. 197
6. ^ Daughter of Covres
7. ↑ Memories of Covres' daughter