Item Description
Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a gorgeous & scarce piece of WWI history, a cut-off piece of aircraft skin off of an Italian aircraft! The Corpo Aeronautico Militare, or Military Aviation Corps, was formed as part of the Regio Esercito (Royal Army) on 7 January 1915, incorporating the Aviators Flights Battalion (airplanes), the Specialists Battalion (airships) and the Ballonists Battalion. Prior to World War I, Italy had pioneered military aviation in the Italo-Turkish War during 1911–1912. Its army also contained one of the world's foremost theorists about the future of military aviation, Giulio Douhet; Douhet also had a practical side, as he was largely responsible for the development of Italy's Caproni bombers starting in 1913. Italy also had the advantage of a delayed entry into World War I, not starting the fight until 24 May 1915, but took no advantage of it so far as aviation was concerned.
This piece came from the collection of Bob Ford, one of the most well-known collectors of World War I Militaria, who unfortunately passed away this year.
The piece of aircraft fabric itself is roughly 14½ x 17” while the frame measures 17 x 20”. The fabric reads:
HD
N211
There are several printouts included with photos and sketches of Italian planes with this information. It reads Hanriot (Macchi) HD, 1 No. 6122. So this example should be Hanriot (Macchi) HD, No. 211.
The Hanriot HD.1 was a French World War I single-seat fighter aircraft. Rejected for service with French squadrons in favour of the SPAD S.VII, the type was supplied to the Aviation Militaire Belge (Belgian Military Aviation) and the Corpo Aeronautico Militare (Military Aviation Corps) of the Royal Italian Army, with both of which it proved highly successful.
The right and left edges of the piece bears the green and red colors of the Italian flag, which this was meant to represent. There is just enough still remaining to make this a fantastic piece of Italian patriotism.
This is the first piece related to WWI Italian aviation we have offered, and what a piece it is! The Hanriot HD.1 saw extensive service with the Corpo Aeronautico Militare, despite only 1200 being built, making this a truly scarce piece.
Don’t miss out on this exquisite piece of Italian militaria. Comes ready for further research and display.
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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