Andrea Zotti

Asiago, 1905-Mar Tirreno, 1940

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Enlisted in the Air Force (1925), he attends the Caserta Academy. As a pilot second lieutenant  (1927), he stands out with the 1st Fighter Wing for his extraordinary acrobatic feats. In 1932 he participates in the Zurich airmeet with a Breda BA.19. As squadrilla captain, he is transferred to the 5th Wing (1934). Member of an Italian training mission in China, he then volunteers to fight in the Spanish war (1937) with the 23rd Fighter Group ‘Ace of Clubs’ (Fiat CR.32). In the dogfights engaged in with his adversaries flying Russian-made planes, he wins nine times. Repatriated (1938), he is promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and assigned to the 3rd Air Squadrilla. He dies on 16 March 1940 in an air accident.