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Italo Balbo

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Aviator

The Resume

    (June 6, 1896-June 28, 1940)
    Born in Ferrara, Italy
    Led an Italian Air Armada of 24 seaplanes on a round trip from Rome to the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago (1933)
    Minister of the Air Force (1929-33)
    Governor General of Libya (1934-40)
    Killed in a friendly fire incident when his plane was shot down by an antiaircraft battery outside Tobruk

Why he might be annoying:

    He was one of the principal architects of the March on Rome that brought Mussolini and fascism to power (1922).
    He was suspected of ordering the murder of Giovanni Minzoni, an anti-fascist priest (August 23, 1923).
    While governor of Libya, he ordered the flogging of Orthodox Jews who closed their businesses on the Sabbath and described the colony's Jews 'backwards and full of superstition.'
    His death inevitably inspired conspiracy theories that Mussolini had ordered his assassination to eliminate a potential rival.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He won two Silver Medals for Military Valor during World War I.
    While in the US with the Air Armada, he was personally presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    He also was given the title 'Chief Flying Eagle' by a contingent of Sioux at the Century of Progress' Indian Village.
    Mussolini became so jealous of his popularity that Il Duce ordered Italian papers to mention Balbo no more than once a month.
    He was the only fascist leader to oppose Italy allying with Nazi Germany, warning 'You will all wind up shining the shoes of the Germans.'
    After his death, Arthur Longmore, head of the Royal Air Force's Middle East Command, dispatched a plane to drop a wreath over the Italian airfield with a note of condolence: 'The British Royal Air Force expresses its sympathy in the death of General Balbo – a great leader and gallant aviator, personally known to me, whom fate has placed on the other side.'

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying