Fulco VIII · 1884–1946
Fulco and the Great War
Prince, cavalryman and fighter pilot. With twenty confirmed victories, Fulco Ruffo di Calabria is Italy's fourth-ranking ace of the First World War and, after Francesco Baracca, the emblematic figure of the 91st Squadron.
- Confirmed victories
- 20
- Air combats
- 53
- Ranking among aces
- 4th in Italy
- Emblem
- Black skull
From the cavalry to the sky
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12 August 1884
Born in Naples
Son of Fulco Beniamino Tristano, 5th Duke of Guardia Lombarda, and the Belgian noblewoman Laura Mosselman du Chenoy.
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Early 1900s
The Foggia Light Cavalry and Africa
He becomes a reserve second lieutenant and serves in the Cavalleggeri di Foggia regiment. He then leaves for Africa, where he works for several years.
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28 September 1915
Combat pilot
After training he earns his wings and flies reconnaissance missions in Caudron biplanes.
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May 1916
The move to fighters
He trains on Nieuport fighters at the Cascina Costa airfield.
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23 August 1916
The first victory
Over Tolmino he shoots down an Austrian observation balloon together with Francesco Baracca and Luigi Olivari.
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1917
The Squadron of Aces
With Baracca he joins the 91st Squadron, which brings together Italy's best fighter pilots. He flies the Nieuport 11, Nieuport 17 and SPAD VII, with the black skull painted on the fuselage.
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June 1918
In command of the 91st
After Baracca's death he takes command of the squadron. He gives it up soon afterwards, worn down by months of combat.
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October 1918
Landing behind enemy lines
Back in service in command of the 10th Group, he is hit and forced to land in enemy territory. He manages to return to the Italian lines: for him the war ends here.
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1 February 1919
The confirmed victories
The military commission charged with the checks credits him with twenty victories, while five more remain unconfirmed.
After the war
Awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour, he becomes a senator of the Kingdom of Italy and in 1928 receives the title of Prince Ruffo di Calabria. He marries Luisa Gazelli of the Counts of Rossana, with whom he has seven children, among them Paola, future Queen of the Belgians.
He dies at Ronchi di Apuania, in Tuscany, on 23 August 1946, exactly thirty years after his first aerial victory.
Sources: Wikipedia, «Fulco Ruffo di Calabria»; memorial by the Vieilles Tiges de l'aviation belge; il Giornale, article on the commemoration at the Italian Embassy in Brussels.