The event dedicated to the discovery and restoration of a Macchi C.205 “Veltro” was held earlier this week at the Auditorium of Palazzo Aeronautica, as part of the recovery and valorization activities of the historical heritage of the Air Force.
The aircraft, military serial number 9310, operating at the 1st Fighter Wing, was lost in 1943 during the defense of Pantelleria by the Regia Aeronautica, only to be identified in 2007 and recovered in 2023. The study of the finds led to identification of the pilot, the then Second Lieutenant Alvise Andrich, Ace of the Second World War, highly decorated for Military Valor, shot down on 8 June 1943 and saved by parachuting.
The event, organized by the Italian Air Force and moderated by the journalist Vincenzo Grienti, hosted, among others, the speeches of the Gen. Isp. Chief Basilio Di Martino, aeronautical historian and former President of the Committee for the Centenary of the Air Force; of Col. Franco Linzalone, Commander of the Pantelleria Airport Detachment; of Capt. Andrich’s son, Renato Andrich. The organizations that, in various capacities, took part in the recovery of the aircraft also participated in the event: the OTS Green Divers diver Antonello D’Aietti, who in 2007 identified the wreck off the coast of Pantelleria; Lieutenant Commander Sebastiano Sgroi, of the 3rd Underwater Operators Unit of the Messina Coast Guard; Dr. Roberto La Rocca, of the Superintendence of the Sea of the Sicilian Region. The contribution of the Museum of Engines and Mechanisms of the University of Palermo is also significant for the identification of the finds recovered from the sea, in particular the remains of the engine.
“the greatest monuments to the heroes fallen in battle are not made of marble but are at the bottom of the sea, buried among the dunes of arid deserts and among the clouds of distant skies. This story is dedicated to a hero, an ace, who continued to fly after the accident in which he was the protagonist. However, the recovery is dedicated to all those who have not returned home. This is why the 5th Department, Air Force encountered this feat. Promote historical valorization and tell this beautiful story”
Gen. BA Urbano Floreani, Head of the 5th SMA Department – Communication
The restoration project involves the construction of a wood and steel structure that reproduces the shape of the plane. Inside, original recovered pieces will be visible, while the rear part of the aircraft will be covered in aluminum by the artist Marco Mazzei. At the end of the works, the aircraft will be exhibited at the Nervi hangar at Pantelleria Airport, from where the aircraft operated during the war.
”when I saw the wreck for the first time, the pieces gave me a strong emotion. They give us a testimony of an aircraft that represented an important part of our FA. The moment the plane was shot down it was no longer a piece of metal but real emotion. also an important testimony because it represents an effective synergy between multiple institution”
Colonel Linzalone, Commander of the Pantelleria Detachment
The Air Force has always been strongly engaged in activities to valorise the operational, industrial and technological history of flight in Italy, also through the development of a widespread museum centre, which includes the MUSAM – Historical Museum of the Air Force, in Vigna di Valle, the main meeting place for the historical aeronautical heritage.
”I knew about the demolition through i stories of my mother who reminded him of how he was saved from a stormy sea by a German patrol boat. He taught us the courage of one’s actions, the sense of responsibility, the love of country and the sense of duty that has accompanied me and my sister and all our children throughout their lives… I can’t wait to go to Pantelleria to visit the museum site where Dad’s plane will be preserved”
Alvise Andrich’s son Renato
Background
The Macchi C.205 Veltro , the best Italian fighter aircraft of the Second World War, is the evolution of the Macchi C.202 Folgore and entered service precisely in Pantelleria in April 1943. It was the first Italian fighter capable of facing the equal with the opponents of the time, despite being in conditions of overwhelming numerical inferiority.
The wreck of the MM9310 (engine, wing spars with landing gear and machine guns) was discovered off the coast of Pantelleria in 2007, lying on the seabed at about 30 m deep, 700 m from the coast, and recovered between April and October 2023 thanks to the collaboration between Air Force, Harbor Master’s Office – Coast Guard, Superintendence of the Sea and OTS Green Divers.
The search for documentary and archival sources, including the archives of the Historical Office of the Air Force, of Aermacchi and the Central State Archives, led to the analysis of the Personal Booklet of the Air Force Ace Cap. Alvise Andrich, identified as the pilot of the aircraft and at the time a Second Lieutenant .
Technical data of the aircraft:
Engine: Fiat RA model. 1050 RC. 58, 1,475 HP
Speed: 646 km/h
Tangency: 11,000 m
Armament: 2 12.7 mm machine guns; 2 7.7 mm machine guns
Autonomy: 1000 km
Length: 8.45 m
Alvise Andrich was born in Vallada Agordina, in the province of Belluno, in 1915. His brother Giovanni was a great mountaineer and friend of the King of Belgium, Leopold, his climbing partner. Alvise also started climbing at a very young age. In short, he demonstrated exceptional mastery and became the protagonist of the epic of the sixth grade, in particular in the Civetta group. Despite the short period of activity, carried out between 1934 and 1936, numerous climbing routes in the Alps still bear the name of Alvise Andrich.
Having enlisted in the Regia Aeronautica in 1936, for which he fought in various operational theaters as a pilot , in June 1943 he took part in the defense of Pantelleria and was shot down. Having survived by parachuting, in 1944 he joined the Cobelligerent Air Force and returned to flying on the P-39 Aircobra, becoming part of the 4th Fighter Wing. He was a flying companion of the man who later became General Bertolaso: both Venetian, Alvise is three years older and they are called “el vecio e il bocia”. For his acts of courage in war he received two silver and two bronze medals for Military Valor and three war crosses for Valour. After the Second World War, he continued his career as an officer in the Air Force, ending with the rank of Captain. He died on 17 October 1951, at the controls of a Beechcraft C-45F Expeditor during a transfer mission over the Apennines due to ice formation on the wings. By remaining in the pilot’s seat during the plane’s crash, he allowed the other crew members to jump by parachute, managing to dodge a town and avoid a massacre. For the act of heroism he received the silver medal of Remembrance.
