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Many years of research by the author in public and private archives has shed new light on famous Italian aces like Baracca, Ruffo and Piccio, but also brought to life the exploits of the remaining 42 pilots who became aces in this theatre in World War 1 ? men such as Riva, Sabelli and Nardini. The careful cross-checking of Italian, British and French sources with Austrian and German documents form the basis for the detailed reconstruction of Italian Front dogfights included in this title, matching almost every claimed Italian victory against corresponding Austrian losses. Author Paolo Varriale has been in contact with the descendants of virtually every ace, and received letters, diaries and unpublished photographs for this volume from these primary sources. This painstaking research has uncovered a large variety of previously unknown personal and unit insignia, also allowing many myths to be exposed and errors to be corrected. This book will be a valuable addition to Osprey?s growing stable of World War 1 aviation titles.
Contents
* Introduction
* Chapter 1 - Italian fighters at War
* Chapter 2 - Italian rules for victory confirmation
* Chapter 3 - Biographies of the Aces
* Appendices
Paolo Varriale is the Curator of the Baracca Museum and a World War 1 consultant to the Italian Air Force Historical Office, which has published his tomes on Italian World War 1 aviation units and aces. A staff writer of the online aerospace journal Dedalo News (www.dedalonews.it), he is widely published in Italian and foreign aviation magazines. A life-long enthusiast of vintage aircraft, he served for many years on the Board of Directors of GAVS (Italian historical aircraft preservation association), and has participated in the restoration of various aircraft.
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