Luigi Olivi

Tenente Luigi Olivi was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. He won two awards of the Silver Medal for Military Valor and was killed in action.

Biography

Olivi was born in Campobasso on 18 November 1894. He lived in Ancona prewar. He joined the Italian military before Italy entered World War I. On 31 March 1914, he was promoted to Caporal. He was promoted again, to Sergente, on 31 July 1914, and sent off to aviation school at Aviano to train on Bleriots. He received his pilot's license on 16 June 1915. On 25 October 1915, he was injured in an accident at Malpensa while flying a Macchi Parasol.^[1]

His original flying duty was artillery observation for 2a Squadriglia (later redubbed 42a Squadriglia. He then transitioned to Nieuports, training at Cascina Costa, and was assigned to 76a Squadriglia on 25 July 1916. Between 8 October 1916 and 17 June 1917, he scored six confirmed victories, including one shared with Mario Stoppani; he also had an unconfirmed claim. After his final victory, Olivi returned to take aerial photos of his final victim, and was killed in action.^[1][2]

Luigi Olivi had flown 217 hours on 180 combat sorties. In 48 aerial combats, he had claimed eight aerial victories, six of which were confirmed. He had been recognized with two awards of the Silver Medal for Military Valor.^[1]

Sources of information

References

• Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell; Alegi, Gregory. Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918: Volume 4 of Fighting Airmen of WWI Series: Volume 4 of Air Aces of WWI. Grub Street, 1997. ISBN 1-898697-56-6, ISBN 978-1-898697-56-5.
• Franks, Norman. Nieuport Aces of World War 1. Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-85532-961-1, ISBN 978-1-85532-961-4.