Prospero Freri

Naples, 1892- Rome, 1965

Test Pilots and Experimenters

In 1912 he enlists in the army. Promoted to sergeant, in 1913 he attends the first course for student pilots (1914). He takes part in WWI with the 11th Squadrilla (Farman). Having survived a serious airplane accident, he starts designing a pilot rescue device. In the first months of 1922, he produces the first sample of Italian ‘aerodiscensore’ (literally: aero-descender). From 1924 onwards, he develops a successful series of parachutes (Salvator A, B, C). He then designs the brake parachute for fast aircraft and for airplanes in tailspin, life jackets, inflatable dinghies, balloons. He helps create the Motobomba FFF torpedo and the radio-controlled BRCMC bomb.