Italian Stallions

摘要

Schneider Trophy competitions of the early 1920s garnered great prestige. Not just for the aeronautical manufacturers of the period, but also for European air arms, including Italy's Regia Aeronautica (air force). Nevertheless, before the creation of the Scuola di Alta Velocita (High Speed School) in 1928, which placed this Italian Air Force unit in charge of training Italy's Schneider Trophy pilots, preparations for the contest were very different, as it was the manufacturers themselves who made their pilots and aircraft available to the national aero clubs. Victory for the Americans in 1923, at Cowes, Isle of Wight, gave a significant boost to the event's popularity. The fact that it was a US Navy Pilot that won encouraged the Regia Aeronautica to make an official approach to the Italian government. Between 1925 and 1928, the Ministero dell'Aria (Italian Air Ministry) asked manufacturers to build aircraft which, having been assessed by company test pilots, would then be operated by the Regia Aeronautica and flown by pilots chosen from its ranks. The merit of the aviators aside, Italy's strategy for these increasingly technical and sophisticated competitions was shown to be lacking when its team suffered a bitter defeat in Venice, in 1927. It was realised then that a co-ordinated effort was required, combining pilot training, support personnel and aircraft development into a single operational entity, and the High Speed School was seen as the answer.