CROSSING THE ANDES - 1919

 

Locatelli Arrives in Santiago, Chile - July, 1919 Collection of Giovanni Giorgetti, 12-25-05

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES via email from Giovanni Giorgetti, 12-25-05 Dear Ralph Antonio Locatelli has written two books: 1. Il volo su Vienna - La Traversata delle Ande (The fly on Vienna - The Crossing of the Andes) - Publisher Treves - Milan - 192.?); 2. Le ali del prigioniero (The prisoner's wings) - Publisher Treves - Milan - 1924.      On July 1919 Locatelli crossed the Andes from Mendoza to Valparaiso (370 km) flying over the Andes at 6,500 m.He returned to Argentina from Chile via Santiago - Valparaiso - Mendoza - Buenos Aires (El Palomar) for overall 1,500 km.

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NORTH ATLANTIC CROSSING - 1924

CREW GREETED IN STRASBURG Gli otto aviatori che raggiunsero la capitale austriaca. De sinistra a destra: Granzarlolo, Allegri, Locatelli, Polli, D'Annunzio, Massoni, Finzi e Censi The eight air ones that caught up understood them the Austrian. Left to right: Granzarlolo, Allegi, Locatelli, Polli, Of Notice, Massoni, Finzi and Censi from Carlo Del Prete e gli aviatori lucchesi Courtesy of Giovanni Giorgetti, 12-25-05

The photo above is from "Carlo Del Prete e gli aviatori lucchesi" of our friend Giorgio Giorgi, page. 49. Locatalli is the third from the left.      In Storia dell'Aeronautica Italiana (History of Italian Aviation) of Rosario Abate - Bietti 1974 is described the attempt to cross NorthAtlantic in stages:      In1924, in a Dornier Wals seaplane built in the shipyards of Marina di Pisa, Antonio Locatelli, with Lieutenant Crosio, Lieutenant Marescalchi and flight engineers Braccini and Falcinelli, took off at dawn of July 25, 1924 from Marina di Pisa.      He stopped over at Saint Raphael, Ouchy, Strasburg, Rotterdam, Hull, Stromness, the Faer Řer Islands and Reykjavik, where the seaplane had to land on the stormy sea owing to a malfunctioning of the engines. The crew was rescued by an American warship, but the seaplane was lost. Best Regards Giovanni

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Dornier Wal +1924", using the Google search engine, (1-22-06), you will find about nine links. Perhaps the most helpful is the following.

Dornier Wal      This page on the EADS website offers a comprehensive history of the seaplane, of the type which Locatelli chose to fly in his atttempt to cross the Atlantic. It is written in German, a handicap for those of us who don't read the language, but does offer five beautiful photographs of the plane, which can be enlarged to full size. It also includes a tabular listing of the specifications of the plane. You can access the page by clicking on the title above.

 
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RECOMMENDED READING

CARLO DEL PRETE E GLI AVIATORI LUCCHESI   Giorgio Giorgi   Product Details Paper: 79 pages, 8 1/4" x 11 3/4" Publisher: Associazione Arma di Lucca

The book is for sale directly by the author at the price of 15 Euro + postal charges. Giorgio Giorgi Via Aleardi, 13 56010 Marina di Quosa (Pi) Italy email: magodellavvio@libero.it

Carlo Del Prete E Gli Aviatori Lucchesi English translation courtesy of Giovanni Giorgetti, 11-20-05      This summary of the Index of the book displays the comprehensive nature of the author's scholaship. Clearly it is a very valuable resource for anyone who reads Italian and who wishes to understand the contributions of the Italians to the development of aviation. You can read the summary by clicking on: Index

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Review: By Ralph Cooper      I recently received a copy of this book as a gift from the author, Giorgio Giorgi. Even though unfortunately I can't read Italian, I can still enjoy the many photographs which he has assembled to illustrate the text. The first chapter of the book recounts the trans-atlantic flight of the Santa Maria in 1927, with special attention to Carlo Lamberto Leone Del Prete, one of the three pilots of the plane. Among the several illustrations is included a very nice portrait of Il Gen. Francesco de Pinedo, and two maps on which their route from Italy to Brazil is traced. This is a very valuable resource for anyone who is interested in early aviation and aviators in general and the early developments in Italy in particular.

 

STORIA DELLA AERONAUTICA ITALIANA   Rosario Abate   Product Details Paper: 396 pages Publisher: Bietti, Milan, 1974

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Description: Pending

 

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