Francesco de Pinedo
| Francesco de Pinedo | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
16 February 1890 Naples, Italy |
| Died | 2 September 1933 (aged 43) Brooklyn, New York |
| Buried at | Italy |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Italy
|
| Service/branch |
 Regia Marina (1911-1923) Regia Aeronautica (1923-1933) |
| Years of service | 1911-1933 |
| Rank |
Generale di divisione aerea (Air divisional general) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
FAI Gold Air Medal Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) |
Francesco De Pinedo (February 16, 1890 – September 2, 1933) was a famous Italian aviator. A Regia Marina (Italy's Royal Navy) officer who transferred to the Regia Aeronautica (Italy's Royal Air Force), he was an advocate of the seaplane who is best known for his long-range flying boat flights in the 1920s that demonstrated the feasibility of global air travel.
Pinedo was born on 16 February 1890 in Naples, Italy, into a patrician family, the son of a lawyer. As a teenager he studied literature and the arts and developed a lifelong passion for music.
Pinedo entered the Italian Naval Academy at Leghorn (Livorno) in 1908 at the age of 18. He graduated in 1911 and was commissioned as an officer in the Regia Marina (Italy's Royal Navy). He served aboard destroyers during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-1912, witnessing Italy's air operations against the Ottoman Empire, the first time that any country had used aircraft in combat. The experience sparked his interest in aviation.
After Italy entered World War I on the side of the Allies in May 1915, de Pinedo again saw action at sea. In 1917, he volunteered for duty in the Regia Marina's air service. Entering flight school at Taranto in July 1917, he completed aviation training in only 45 days, and qualified as a pilot in two months. He spent most of the rest of the war flying reconnaissance missions for the Regia Marina.
After the war ended in November 1918, Pinedo returned briefly to sea duty, but soon resumed aviation duties. In the immediate postwar years he made milestone flights from Italy to the Netherlands and in 1921 from Brindisi to Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire. On 16 October 1923 he transferred from the Regia Marina to the Regia Aeronautica (Italy's Royal Air Force) which had been founded that year as an independent service. He entered the new service with a rank of tenente colonnello (lieutenant colonel) and because of his technical and organizaional skills was given senior positions as its chief staff officer and the vice commandant of one of its air squadrons despite being only in his early 30s.
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