Tommaso Dal Molin

Tommaso Dal Molin (3 January 1902 – 18 January 1930) was an Italian fighter pilot and internationally prominent seaplane air racer and aerobatic pilot of the 1920s.

Biography Dal Molin was born on 3 January 1902, in Molino di Altissimo, a hamlet in the comune of Altissimo, in the Province of Vicenza in Veneto, Italy. A few years later, his family moved to a home on the Via Bonifacio Biolo in Chiampo.

After working at the Pellizzari Works in Arzignano, Dal Molin decided to join the Royal Italian Army′s Corpo Aeronautico Militare ("Military Aviation Corps") in 1922. He obtained a pilot's license on 13 October 1922. In 1923, the Corpo Aeronautico Militare became an independent branch of military service as the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force).

Dal Molin demonstrated superior ability and temperament while serving in various Regia Aeronautica fighter squadrons, both in training and as an aerobatic pilot. As a result, the Regia Aeronautica chose him to represent Italy in international aerobatic competitions, including international competitions at Zürich, Switzerland, where his performances stood out among those of his competitors. In May 1928, Dal Molin transferred to the Regia Aeronautica′s High Speed School at Desenzano del Garda, which was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Mario Bernasconi, and began training to represent Italy in the Schneider Cup seaplane races. He conducted water tests of the Piaggio P.7 racing seaplane on Lake Garda prior to the 1929 Schneider Cup race, but it never became airborne and was not included in the race.

Dal Molin himself took part in the 1929 Schneider Cup race, held on 6 and 7 September 1929 and hosted by the United Kingdom on the air circuit at Calshot on the Isle of Man. The superiority of the two Supermarine S.6 racers the United Kingdom entered in the race was evident — one of them reached an unofficial single-lap world record speed of before being disqualified — and Royal Air Force Flying Officer Richard Waghorn, flying an S.6, set an official world speed record of during one lap of the race and finished far ahead of his competitors, averaging over the course of the seven-lap race. Among Italy's three entrants, the two newest aircraft, both Macchi M.67 racers, failed to finish.