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Name: |
Francesco Baracca |
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Country: |
Italy |
Rank: |
Maggiore |
 |
Units: |
1a, 70a, 91a |
Victories: |
34 |
Born: |
09 May 1888 |
Place of Birth: |
Lugo di Romagna |
Killed In Action: |
19 June 1918 |
 |
Place of Death: |
Near Mount Montello |
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The son of a nobleman, Francesco Baracca, Italy's greatest ace, entered the Scuola Militare at Modena in October 1907. Less than a year later, he was an officer in the Royal Piedmont Cavalry. In April 1912, Baracca and other cavalry officers were ordered to Reims, France for flight training. By the time the Kingdom of Italy declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire on 24 May 1915, Baracca was an experienced pilot and instructor. Flying Nieuport two-seaters along the Udine Front, his first attempts to shoot down enemy aircraft were frustrated by frequent machine gun jams. With a Nieuport 11, he scored the first Italian victory of the war on 7 April 1916, forcing down an Austrian Aviatik with an accurate burst of machine gun fire. His final victory, an Austrian Albatros D.III, came just three days prior to his death. Shot down and killed while strafing enemy lines, his body was recovered a few days later near the burnt out wreckage of his SPAD VII. When found, Baracca was holding a pistol in his hand and had a bullet hole in his forehead. Whether he was shot down by ground fire, chose suicide over a fiery death in the cockpit or was killed attempting to resist capture will never be known.
On the ground and in the air, Baracca's aircraft were easily recognized by the prancing black horse painted on the fuselage. In 1923, Baracca's mother, Countess Paolina, suggested Enzo Ferrari use her son's emblem on his now famous line of automobiles.
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Evening World-Herald, Omaha, Nebraska, Tuesday, 24 June 1918, page 1
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, Tuesday, 2 July 1918, page 2
The Evening News, San Jose, California, Friday, 5 July 1918, page 6
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Victories |
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Date |
Time |
Unit |
Aircraft |
Opponent |
Location |
1 |
07 Apr 1916 |
1720 |
1a |
Nieuport 11 |
Hansa-Brandenburg C.I (FTL) |
Medeuzza |
2 |
16 May 1916 |
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1a |
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Lohner B.VII |
Gorizia |
3 |
23 Aug 1916 |
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1a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 1 |
Gorizia/Carso |
4 |
16 Sep 1916 |
0930 |
70a |
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Lloyd C.III 2 |
Staro Stelo |
5 |
25 Nov 1916 |
1125 |
70a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
Chiarzò |
6 |
01 Jan 1917 |
1600 |
70a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
Castagnevizza |
7 |
11 Feb 1917 |
abt 1200 |
70a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 3 |
Selvis Ozzano |
8 |
26 Apr 1917 |
1100 |
70a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 4 |
S of Martino del Carso |
9 |
01 May 1917 |
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91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
Nebresina |
10 |
10 May 1917 |
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91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
Vertoiba |
11 |
13 May 1917 |
1015 |
91a |
SPAD VII |
Hansa-Brandenburg C.I (129.20) |
Monte Corada |
12 |
20 May 1917 |
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91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
E of Plava/Globua |
13 |
03 Jun 1917 |
0930 |
91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
Plava/Monte Cucco |
14 |
07 Jul 1917 |
2030 |
91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
Castagnevizza |
15 |
31 Jul 1917 |
0630 |
91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
Oslavia/Peuma |
16 |
03 Aug 1917 |
0950 |
91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 5 |
Wochein Val di Sava |
17 |
19 Aug 1917 |
0725 |
91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
NE of Selo |
18 |
01 Sep 1917 |
1940 |
91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
Ternova |
19 |
06 Sep 1917 |
1830 |
91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 6 |
Monte Sabotino |
20 |
22 Oct 1917 |
pm |
91a |
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DFW C.V |
Ravne |
21 |
22 Oct 1917 |
pm |
91a |
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DFW C.V |
Chiapovano |
22 |
25 Oct 1917 |
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91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 7 |
Panovizza |
23 |
26 Oct 1917 |
1115 |
91a |
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DFW C.V 8 |
Clabuzzano |
24 |
26 Oct 1917 |
1200 |
91a |
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DFW C.V |
S of Pietro Natisone |
25 |
06 Nov 1917 |
1030 |
91a |
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Albatros D.III |
Fossalta |
26 |
06 Nov 1917 |
1100 |
91a |
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DFW C.V 8 |
Godega/S of Urbano |
27 |
07 Nov 1917 |
1145 |
91a |
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DFW C.V 8 |
Near Orsago |
28 |
15 Nov 1917 |
1230 |
91a |
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DFW C.V |
Istrana |
29 |
23 Nov 1917 |
1500 |
91a |
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Albatros D.III |
Falzè di Piave |
30 |
07 Dec 1917 |
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91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
Monte Kaberlaba |
31 |
03 May 1918 |
1100 |
91a |
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Hansa-Brandenburg C.I (369.28) 9 |
Grave di Papadopoli |
32 |
22 May 1918 |
0950 |
91a |
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Albatros D.III |
Borgo Malanotte |
33 |
15 Jun 1918 |
1230 |
91a |
SPAD XIII |
Hansa-Brandenburg C.I |
E of Saletto |
34 |
15 Jun 1918 |
1245 |
91a |
SPAD XIII |
Albatros D.III |
S of Biagio di Collalto |
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1 |
Shared with Fulco Ruffo di Calabria |
2 |
Shared with Fulco Ruffo di Calabria and Luigi Olivari |
3 |
Shared with Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, Gorini, Poli |
4 |
Shared with Gorini |
5 |
Shared with Flavio Baracchini |
6 |
Shared with Giovanni Sabelli |
7 |
Shared with Pier Piccio |
8 |
Shared with Giorgio Pessi |
9 |
Shared with Guido Nardini |
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Books |
- Above the War Fronts
- by Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest, Gregory Alegi / Hardcover / Grub Street (September 1997)
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