Flavio Baracchini
| Flavio Torello Baracchini | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 July 1895 Villafranca in Lunigiana, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died |
18 August 1928 (aged 33) Rome, Kingdom of Italy |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Italy |
| Service/branch | Corpo Aeronautico Militare |
| Years of service | ca 1915–1918 |
| Rank | Tenente (Lieutenant) |
| Unit | 7a Squadriglia/26a Squadriglia, 81a Squadriglia, 76a Squadriglia |
| Awards | Gold Medal of Military Valor |
| Other work | Died while developing munitions for aviators |
Lieutenant Flavio Torello Baracchini [ˈflavjo barakˈkini] was an Italian World War I fighter ace credited with 21 confirmed and nine unconfirmed aerial victories. His confirmed victory total ranked him fourth among Italian aces of the war.
After the war he worked as an inventor, working in the areas of aviation communications and explosives. He died in 1928 as a result of injuries that he received during an accident in his laboratory.
Flavio Baracchini was born at Villafranca in Lunigiana on 28 July 1895. He was educated at technical schools in La Spezia. As World War I heated up, he was assigned to the Italian Army's 3rd Engineer Battalion. However, in Autumn 1915, he reported to the SIT School in Torino for pilot's training. He was awarded licenses on 15 October and 1 December 1915; he then qualified on Voisins on 27 January 1916. On 28 February 1916, he was posted to 7a Squadriglia (later redesignated 26a Squadriglia) and piloted a Voisin for them until 20 November 1916. In December 1916, he was commissioned as a Sottotenente. He also reported to Cascina Costa to train on Nieuport fighters.
However, Baracchini had no success as a fighter pilot until May 1917, when he was assigned to the newly formed 81a Squadriglia. His claim of the 15th went unconfirmed, but he got his first victory five days later, when he shot down an Albatros south of Marco. He scored again on the 23rd and 25th. He scored once more, on 6 June 1917, while flying a Nieuport 11, before upgrading to a Nieuport 17. He used his new plane to tally four more triumphs that month. By the 22nd, he had scored eight victories by fighting 35 times in 39 days. For this extraordinary display of prowess, Flavio Baracchini became the first Italian fighter pilot to win the Gold Medal for Military Valor.
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