Giovanni Ancillotto | |
---|---|
Ancillotto in front of his Ansaldo A.1 Balilla on 2 May 1921 | |
Nickname(s) | Giannini |
Born | San Donà di Piave, Kingdom of Italy | 15 November 1896
Died | 18 October 1924 Caravaggio, Lombardy, Kingdom of Italy | (aged 27)
Service/ | Corpo Aeronautico Militare |
Years of service | 1915–1918 |
Rank | Tenente |
Unit | 114a Squadriglia 27a Squadriglia 30a Squadriglia 80a Squadriglia 77a Squadriglia |
Battles/wars | Battle of Caporetto |
Awards | One Gold and three Silver awards of the Medal for Military Valor |
Other work | Flew across Peru's Andes Mountains in May 1921 |
Lieutenant Giovanni 'Giannino' Ancillotto (15 November 1896 – 18 October 1924) was an Italian World War I flying ace credited with 11 confirmed aerial victories. Rather unusually, he served solely with aviation while he was in the military, beginning in the lowest rank. Among his aerial victories as a fighter pilot were three over enemy observation balloons right after the Battle of Caporetto. As an example of the hazards of balloon busting, on 5 December 1917 Ancillotto returned to base with singed swatches of the third balloon's fabric adhering to his damaged fighter plane.
Having survived the war as a Tenente with one Gold and three Silver awards of the Medal for Military Valor, Ancillotto flew a civil aircraft nonstop from Rome to Warsaw on 11 September 1919. In May 1921, he transited the Andes Mountains in Peru.
Giovanni Ancillotto died in an auto accident at Caravaggio, Lombardy on 18 October 1924.