Production
Atlantic Flight was shot as a silent film and was released in Europe and the United States with Italian titles in the spring of 1931. [N 1]
| Atlantic Flight | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Italian Air Force |
| Produced by | Italian Air Force |
| Starring | Italo Balbo General Giuseppe Valle Lieutenant Colonel Umberto Maddalena |
| Cinematography | National Film Institute |
| Edited by | Italian Air Force |
Production company | Regia Aeronautica Italiana (Italian Air Force) |
| Distributed by | Tobis-Melo-Film Listema Tobis Klangfilm |
Release date |
|
Running time | 10 minutes, 51 seconds |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Silent film |
Atlantic Flight (AKA Lo Stormo Atlantico) is a 1931 short documentary film made by the Regia Aeronautica Italiana , based on the pioneering 1930 transatlantic formation flight made by 12 Savoia-Marchetti S.55 flying boats, commanded by General Italo Balbo. Atlantic Flight is notable as the first Italian aviation film.
The film is a brief account of a very successful Italian aviation feat: the flight of a seaplane squadron led by General Italo Balbo, Minister of Aviation, from Italy to Brazil (December 1930-January 1931)from Orbetello Airfield, Italy to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil between 17 December 1930 and 15 January 1931. Italian Air Force cinematographers filmed the entire expedition, beginning with early preparations at Ortobello Airfield.
At Ortobello, the Italian aviators chosen for the flight, lined up in a seaplane hangar, singing a nationalistic song led by General Balbo, singing alongside other officers including General Valle and Lieutenant Colonel Maddalena.
After the takeoff, a typhoon forced some of the seaplanes to land on the Spanish coast, and find shelter in a Spanish port near Cartagena. The flight continues to the Strait of Gibraltar with its headlands, then onto a stretch of Mediterranean and African coast. On reaching Kenitra on the coast of French Morocco and after visiting the areas around Villa Cisneros, Western Sahara, and Bolama Bay, Balbo planned out the longest long-distance leg, from Bolama-Natal harbor up to Rio de Janeiro.
After successfully completing the transatlantic flight, the crews are feted by Benito Mussolini.
As appearing in screen titles:
Atlantic Flight was shot as a silent film and was released in Europe and the United States with Italian titles in the spring of 1931. [N 1]
Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo in Aviation in the Cinema (1985) dismissed the film, despite its historical value, as a "routine, uninspired documentary". [2] Aviation film historian Michael Paris in From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema (1995) shared a similar perspective on the film. "Although the flight itself was hailed in Italy as a 'modern epic', [3] the cinematic version lacks drama and a proper sense of the achievement ..." [1]
Italo Balbo was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Due to his young age, he was sometimes seen as a possible successor to dictator Benito Mussolini.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1928:
The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 was a double-hulled flying boat produced in Italy, beginning in 1924. Shortly after its introduction, it began setting records for speed, payload, altitude and range.
SIAI-Marchetti was an Italian aircraft manufacturer primarily active during the interwar period.
Ala Littoria S.A. was the Italian national airline that operated during the fascist regime in the 1930s and 1940s.
Francesco de Pinedo was a famous Italian aviator. A Regia Marina officer who transferred to the Regia Aeronautica, he was an advocate of the seaplane and is best known for his long-range flying boat flights in the 1920s that demonstrated the feasibility of global air travel.
The Savoia-Marchetti S.64 was a large monoplane designed and built by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Savoia-Marchetti. It was specifically developed during the late 1920s to contest both the world duration and distance records.
RAF Castel Benito was an airport of Tripoli created by the Italians in Italian Libya. Originally, it was a small military airport named Castel Benito, but it was enlarged in the late 1930s and was later used by the British RAF after 1943. It was called RAF Castel Benito by the Allies.
The Savoia-Marchetti S.64 was a monoplane developed in Italy in 1928 specifically to contest the world duration and distance records.
Castel Benito was an airport of Tripoli created by the Italians in Italian Libya in the early 1930s. It was called RAF Castel Benito by the Allies after 1943.
Orbetello AirfieldAgostino Brunetta, is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Central Italy, which is located approximately 5 km north-northeast of Orbetello in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany).
Carlo Del Prete was a pioneer aviator from Italy.
L'Armata Azzurra is a 1932 Italian aviation docu-drama and adventure film directed by Gennaro Righelli and starring Germana Paolieri and Ennio Cerlesi. It was Italy's first aviation drama film, with a fictional story that celebrated the Italian Air Force.
Stefano Cagna was an Italian aviator, a Brigadier General of the Italian Royal Air Force, he fought in World War II and was decorated with the gold medal for valour in memory.
Antonio Lippi was an Italian aviator. He participated in the transatlantic flight organized by Italo Balbo and was awarded the Gold Medal of Aeronautic Valor of the Regia Aeronautica.
The Decennial Air Cruise was a mass transatlantic flight from Orbetello, Italy, to the Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. The expedition, organized by the Italian Regia Aeronautica, began on July 1, 1933, and ended on August 12 of the same year. It consisted of 25 Savoia-Marchetti S.55X seaplanes crossing the Atlantic Ocean in formation, forming the greatest mass flight in aviation history. The Italian squadrons, led by General Italo Balbo, were welcomed enthusiastically in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Canada, and particularly in the United States of America, where they became known as the Italian Air Armada. A publicity success for Fascist Italy, Balbo further viewed the expedition as a pioneering step towards commercial flights across the Atlantic.
Aldo Pellegrini was an Italian Air Force general during World War II.
Attilio Biseo was an Italian aviator, powerboat racer, Air Force general during World War II, and the personal pilot of Benito Mussolini during the 1930s.
Giuseppe Valle was an Italian Air Force general during the interwar period, Chief of Staff of the Regia Aeronautica from 1928 to 1939 and State Undersecretary for the Air Force from 1933 to 1939. He was also a member of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations.
The Commemorative Medal of the Decennial Air Cruise was a decoration granted by the Kingdom of Italy to personnel who participated in or supported the Decennial Air Cruise in 1933. It was abolished in 2010 after the Italian Republic deemed it obsolete.