Pietro Manzini

Guastalla, ?- Tripoli, 1912

The Libya wars (1911-1931)

Second lieutenant of the 26th Regiment ‘Lancers of Mantua’, he obtains his pilot’s licence from the Blériot School of Pau, in France, on 15 January 1912. Having arrived in Libya in June 1912, he participates in the war operations against the Turks and the Arabs. During a photographic reconnaissance flight over the gulf of Tripoli, his Blériot crashes into the sea dragging the young pilot underwater. Despite his being rescued by a deep-sea diver, all attempts to reanimate him fail. He is the first aviator in history to be killed in action. Later, the military airport of Tripoli is named in his honour.