World War I: Observation-Reconnaissance

The Italians are pioneers in air warfare. In the Italo-Turkish war, the first aircraft are mainly assigned observation and reconnaissance missions. Naturally, in WWI the detection – also using photography – of enemy positions and movements is an activity that expands and improves. During the hostilities, reconnaissance becomes a veritable specialty, to such an extent that over 990 observers fly together with the pilots and machine gunners. This task is never far from the risks and uncertainties of war: at the end of the conflict, losses amount to 115 men fallen, including the dead and the missing in action, plus the dozens of men who die during training missions or because of accidents in the operational areas.