Mario Ugo Gordesco

Mario Ugo Gordesco was an Italian captain and aviator of the Regia Aeronautica during World War I. He is considered to be a pioneer within Italian aviation and was a major figure within the early Regia Aeronautica.

Beginnings Mario was born at Arcola, Liguria on December 12, 1884, as son of Amos and Alberta Putti. Having completed his military service in the Royal Italian Army in the early 1900s, he left Italy for Paris at a very young age. Having a passion for cars, he met Fernand and Louis Renault and was hired by the car manufacturers to become a technical director in the workshops. Traveling from aerodromes to aeronautical workshops, he earned a new passion of flight, and in 1911 he obtained his first flying license in France.

Around the same time, General Demetrio Cordero di Montezemolo was looking for suitable people to fill roles in the army's automotive and aeronautical departments and in 1911, Gordesco decided to re-enlist in the Royal Italian Army. In March of that year, he obtained the rank of second lieutenant and assigned to the 3rd Bersaglieri Regiment. He took part in the Italo-Turkish War in Libya, where for the first time cars, planes and radio systems were used by the army in war operations .

In May 1912, he returned to Italy and moved to the Aeronautical Service within the then dependent on the Arma del Genio, attending the Caproni School in Somma Lombardo where he obtained his pilot's license. In October 1912 at Vizzola Ticino, while testing a Caproni apparatus, he was involved in an accident in which he injured his head while the chief engineer of the school, Francesco Piccoli, fell victim. He became director of the Vizzola Ticino aerodrome and in 1914 went to Libya where thanks to his technical and organizational qualities, was able to make the most out of the few available aircraft. He then obtained his military pilot license at the Aviano airfield on June 14, 1914.

On July 6, 1914, he inaugurated the Military Aviation School in the new Comina field along with other airmen from the Aviano school, performing brilliant demonstration flights and was made Captain in July 1914. He became a fighter aircraft instructor at the San Giusto School in Coltano, the Malpensa School and the Cascina Costa Aviation Training Camp in Samarate where he had the opportunity to teach many future aviation aces to fly on Italian fighter planes.

World War I When there weren't any school camps available to teach, on August 18, 1916, he volunteered in the 75th Fighter Squadron as part of the III group (later the 3rd Land Fighter Group) on the with the task of air defense of Verona. He made numerous reconnaissance and escort flights around this time. He was recorded as having such a magnanimous temperament that one day in Verona, while returning from an escort at the limits of autonomy, he preferred to land a bomber, risking both his plane and his life as he managed to only get wounded and landed on some railway carriages.

In January 1917, he moved to the 76th Fighter Squadron as his plane had the inscription of "Due di coppe" which became famous. In March 1917, he became commander of the 80th Hunting Squadron in the field of Santa Maria la Longa within the 1st Group of 3rd Army. He was later transferred to the famous 80th Fighter Squadron which initially specialized in Nieuport 11 aircraft but later on, as a result of criticism from the aeronautical command, Nieuport 17 models adopted the white star on a red field .

On April 30, 1917, Captain Gordesco was transferred, together with the 80th Fighter Squadron and the 77th Airplane Squadron, to the field of Aiello del Friuli where the two squadrons formed XIII Group (later the 13th Fighter Group) under the command of Captain Gordesco who also had the responsibility of commanding the camp. Together with the pilots of the squadrons, a total of 64 servicemen served at the aircraft maintenance and repair shops.

The squadrons of Aiello were very active during the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo and Captain Gordesco was commended by the Duke of Aosta, commander of the 3rd Army on June 13, 1917, as he said:

On June 18 at Santa Maria la Longa, the annual Bersaglieri festival took place and Gabriele D'Annunzio was invited to speak. During his speech, he spoke of Gordesco, describing him as "not a Gordesca cow, but early and restless". Gordesco replied to the joke by spilling a whole bucket of water on D'Annunzio's head, staining the high collar of the jacket that the Poet calls a collar. Gabriele bursted out laughing and then continued his speech undeterred.

On August 20, 1917, Gordesco shot down an enemy plane at Komen and it was on the same day that Gabriele D'Annunzio was forced to land three times at the Aiello airfield to repair his bomber. Beginning in September 1917, the 84th Squadron was also added to Aiello and despite the largely obsolete and inadequate air assets, numerous escort and reconnaissance flights were carried out and many victories were obtained without any losses. However, after the disastrous Battle of Caporetto, Gordesco was the only commander who served with two squadrons for the entire 3rd Army, day, night and in any weather condition in order to protect the infantry.

Orders were given to vacate the camp on October 24, 1917, and the following day, and it was burned and abandoned on October 27. The 84th Squadriglia abandoned the obsolete Nieuport 11 aircraft and was forced to destroy two Neiport 17 and one SPAD S.VILL which weren't even assembled yet. On November 3, 1917, the squadrons had withdrawn to Comina before retreating to the and finally to Marcon, near Mestre.

Gordesco commanded the Camp of Marcon in great harmony with all his men until March 1918, when he left the camp to assume command of the Hunting School of Furbara, a hamlet of Cerveteri and home to one of the oldest airports in Italy. Gordesco then became the Chief Instructor of the Acrobatic School in June 1918. He trained numerous pilots from prestigious American universities which were known as the "famous hunters of the air" who later made their mark on the French battlefields of World War I. The body was initially buried by Ferruccio Ranza in Bushehr.

On April 15, 1920, the fortnightly magazine Aerogazzetta, at the end of the substantial front-page article on Capt. Gordesco, concludes:

Funeral and legacy In April 1922, the Calabria left from Taranto for Yokohama, its landing department heading to provide assistance to the population of Tokyo hit by an earthquake. While on his return on May 23, 1924, while passing through the Persian Gulf, the Calabria recovered the bodies of Capt. Gordesco and Lt. Grassa and brought them back to Italy where Gordesco's funeral was arranged on August 24. The Municipal Council of Arcola and the entire population bestowed honors and triumphs on him. The square and the street along which the paternal house is located are named after him. Capt. Gordesco is currently buried at the Arcola Cemetery in a chapel.

Currently, the Furbara Airport is named after Gordesco.

Awards Silver Medal of Military Valor Bronze Medal of Military Valor Order of the Crown of Italy, Knight Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–1918 Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy (Vittorio Emanuele III) Allied Victory Medal

Foreign Awards Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class