Francesco Baracca

Name:

Francesco Baracca

Country:

Italy

Rank:

Maggiore

Units:

1^a,70^a, 91^a

Victories:

Born:

09 May 1888

Place of Birth:

Lugo di Romagna

Killed In Action:

19 June 1918

Place of Death:

Near Mount Montello

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.

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

Opponents

#11		Julius Busa
#25		Rudolf Szepessy-Sokoll

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	07 Apr 1916	1720	1^a	Nieuport 11	Hansa-Brandenburg C.I (FTL)	Medeuzza
2	16 May 1916		1^a		Lohner B.VII	Gorizia
3	23 Aug 1916		1^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I ¹	Gorizia/Carso
4	16 Sep 1916	0930	70^a		Lloyd C.III ²	Staro Stelo
5	25 Nov 1916	1125	70^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	Chiarzò
6	01 Jan 1917	1600	70^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	Castagnevizza
7	11 Feb 1917	abt 1200	70^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I ³	Selvis Ozzano
8	26 Apr 1917	1100	70^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I ⁴	S of Martino del Carso
9	01 May 1917		91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	Nebresina
10	10 May 1917		91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	Vertoiba
11	13 May 1917	1015	91^a	SPAD VII	Hansa-Brandenburg C.I (129.20)	Monte Corada
12	20 May 1917		91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	E of Plava/Globua
13	03 Jun 1917	0930	91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	Plava/Monte Cucco
14	07 Jul 1917	2030	91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	Castagnevizza
15	31 Jul 1917	0630	91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	Oslavia/Peuma
16	03 Aug 1917	0950	91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I ⁵	Wochein Val di Sava
17	19 Aug 1917	0725	91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	NE of Selo
18	01 Sep 1917	1940	91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	Ternova
19	06 Sep 1917	1830	91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I ⁶	Monte Sabotino
20	22 Oct 1917	pm	91^a		DFW C.V	Ravne
21	22 Oct 1917	pm	91^a		DFW C.V	Chiapovano
22	25 Oct 1917		91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I ⁷	Panovizza
23	26 Oct 1917	1115	91^a		DFW C.V ⁸	Clabuzzano
24	26 Oct 1917	1200	91^a		DFW C.V	S of Pietro Natisone
25	06 Nov 1917	1030	91^a		Albatros D.III	Fossalta
26	06 Nov 1917	1100	91^a		DFW C.V ⁸	Godega/S of Urbano
27	07 Nov 1917	1145	91^a		DFW C.V ⁸	Near Orsago
28	15 Nov 1917	1230	91^a		DFW C.V	Istrana
29	23 Nov 1917	1500	91^a		Albatros D.III	Falzè di Piave
30	07 Dec 1917		91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	Monte Kaberlaba
31	03 May 1918	1100	91^a		Hansa-Brandenburg C.I (369.28) ⁹	Grave di Papadopoli
32	22 May 1918	0950	91^a		Albatros D.III	Borgo Malanotte
33	15 Jun 1918	1230	91^a	SPAD XIII	Hansa-Brandenburg C.I	E of Saletto
34	15 Jun 1918	1245	91^a	SPAD XIII	Albatros D.III	S of Biagio di Collalto

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

Books

Above the War Fronts: by Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest, Gregory Alegi / Hardcover / Grub Street (September 1997)