Adriano Visconti

Major Adriano Visconti di Lampugnano (11 November 1915 – 29 April 1945) was one of Italy's top flying aces of the Second World War, shooting down between 10 and 26 enemy aircraft. He was awarded with four Medaglia d'argento al Valor Militare and two Medaglia di Bronzo al Valor Militare "in action".

The son of Count Galeazzo Visconti and Cecilia Dall'Aglio, he was born in Tripoli, Libya. He joined the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) in October 1936, and completed his pilot training at the Accademia Aeronautica in Caserta.

Visconti graduated on the Breda BA25, and later flew RO41s. In 1939 he was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant Pilot (Sottotenente Pilota) and posted to the Breda 65 equipped 159ª Squadriglia, 12ºGruppo 50º Stormo, a ground attack unit based at Tobruk. He was soon briefly posted to 2º Gruppo Aviazione Presidio Coloniale's 23ª Squadriglia for disciplinary reasons, but was allowed to return to his original unit for "heroism under fire": Visconti's Breda Ba 65 had been attacked by three 33 Squadron Gladiators but, because of his skill as a pilot, Visconti and his crew escaped the encounter. For this action, in addition to being allowed to return to 50º Stormo, Visconti was awarded the first of his Medaglia di Bronzo. From June 1940 until the end of that year he flew continually without leave, and was awarded another Bronze medal and two Medaglia d'argento.

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