| Flavio Torello Barachini | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 July 1895 Villafranca in Lunigiana, Italy |
| Died | 18 August 1928 Rome, Italy |
| Allegiance | Italy |
| Service/branch | Aerial service |
| Years of service | ca 1915–1918 |
| Rank | Tenente (Lieutenant) |
| Unit | 7a Squadriglia, 26a Squadriglia, 81a Squadriglia, 76a Squadriglia |
| Awards | Gold Medal of Military Valor |
Lieutenant Flavio Torello Baracchini was an Italian World War I fighter ace credited with 21 confirmed and nine unconfirmed aerial victories. His confirmed victory total ranked him fourth among Italian aces of the war.[1]
After the war he worked as an inventor, working in the areas of aviation communications and explosives. He died in 1928 as a result of injuries that he received during an accident in his laboratory.
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Baracchini, who was born at Villafranca in Lunigiana, was originally an engineer before switching to aviation.[2] He got his pilot's license in 1915, and began flying combat against Austria-Hungary's air force at the end of that year.[3] His first flying assignment was to a Voisin squadron. He later upgraded to Nieuports. However, he had no success as a fighter pilot until May 1917, when he was assigned to 81 Squadrone.[2] His claim of the 15th went unconfirmed, but he got his first victory five days later, when he shot down an Albatros south of Marco. He scored again on the 23rd and 25th.[1]
He scored once more, on 6 June 1917, while flying a Nieuport 11, before upgrading to a Nieuport 17. He used his new plane to tally four more triumphs that month.[1]
He transferred to 76a Squadrone and a Hanriot HD.1.[1] He also evaluated a loaner Spad VII for possible use by the squadron; it was rejected.[4]
Baracchini won twice in July. In August, he was credited with two more victories, on the 3rd and 8th, while his first claim for an observation balloon went unconfirmed.[1] He was so seriously wounded on 8 August 1917 that he was out of action for nine months.[3]
Upon his return, he again had an unconfirmed credit on a balloon, on 3 April 1918. Then he was transferred back to 81a Squadrone. He had four confirmed and four unconfirmed wins for May.[1]
He began his final month of combat with a double victory on 15 June, with a third claim going unconfirmed. On the 18th, he once again was denied credit for downing a balloon. On the 21st, he finally became a balloon buster, for his nineteenth credit. He scored again on both the 22nd and the 25th, to bring his total to 21 confirmed and nine unconfirmed.[1] However, on the 25th, he was again severely wounded, this time when he was shot down by machine gun fire.[3]
He survived the war, and quit flying in 1921. He turned to inventing items that would be useful to fliers. His first invention was a signalling device for communicating with airplanes, which was adopted by Italian aviators. He then began development of an explosive mixture in a laboratory. It ignited accidentally and burned him severely on 29 July 1928.[5] He lingered a short while, before succumbing on 18 August 1928.[1][3]