Desenzano’s High-Speed Division Commemoration and Record-Breaking Legacy
Desenzano will host tomorrow the annual gathering of the High-Speed Division, organized by the section of the Associazione Nazionale Arma Aeronautica, dedicated to Lieutenant Pilot Bruno Visconti and presided over by Colonel Pilot Benito Ruffo. The day’s rich program includes a gathering at 11 a.m. in front of the high-speed monument in Piazza Matteotti to honor the heroes of the sky.
At 11.20 am, there will be the raising of the flag and the laying of a laurel wreath, with remarks from officials. At 11.40 am, at the air basin, another wreath will be laid at the division’s monument; at noon, a field mass will be held, followed by lunch inside the air basin at 1 pm. From 4 pm to 5 pm, there will be a sailing awards ceremony.
Simultaneously, the second Maresciallo Francesco Agello Trophy and the 35th “High-Speed” Trophy will be contested, organized respectively by the sailing club “Diavoli Rossi” and the Desenzano Sailing Fraglia. During lunch, a special recognition will be awarded to a “Tornado” pilot navigator who distinguished himself notably in operational activities.
Presence and remembrance of the past
The new commander of the Sesto Stormo di Ghedi, Colonel Pilot Gianmarco Bellini (captured by Iraqis in 1991 during the Gulf War), will be present. “This traditional event,” explains Ruffo, “is very important for us. It’s an opportunity to meet witnesses, family members, friends, and admirers of the glorious Rav, the High-Speed Division, which we want to remember with a civic ceremony and a more private one inside the air basin.”
The first ceremony aims to show the community that the division is always present and that the memory of that epic is indelible; the second aims to honor the memory of the protagonists of that time, in what was the scene where immense sacrifices and unforgettable deeds took place. The historic homeland recognized by high-speed records is Desenzano, and the monument, created by sculptors Quaglino and Bordogna and inaugurated on October 10, 1967, commemorates the glorious era of record-breaking seaplanes and is a symbol.
To honor this past, a permanent exhibition has been set up across a couple of rooms at Villa Brunati in Rivoltella featuring a vast collection of scale models of high-speed seaplanes. This valuable collection was donated by the craftsman Amedeo Brunelli, recently deceased, to the Comune di Desenzano and is faithfully preserved by the former aviators of the Associazione Aeronautica.
Alongside these splendid models, the exhibition also offers extensive documentation. “The show,” emphasizes secretary Benito Regina, “has been visited by around 5,000 people from May to the end of September. During the other months, it is open on Saturdays and Sundays.”
Between 1927 and 1936, Desenzano was the scene of numerous attempts to set records over the lake waters. Many young pilots from the High-Speed Division sacrificed their lives: Maggi, Motta, Dal Molin, Monti, Bellini, Micelli, Neri, Fassio. Some of their names are commemorated with streets in the town.
The air basin was established in the early 1920s and received decisive impulses first from poet Gabriele D’Annunzio and later from Italo Balbo. The Italian failures in the famous Schneider Trophy convinced the then Minister of Aeronautics to establish a high-speed school in Desenzano. Between 1927 and 1936, the Italian Royal Air Force shone as a hub of ideas, research, creativity, and competition, repeatedly setting records.
In 1934, Maresciallo Pilot Francesco Agello set a speed record right in Desenzano, which remains unbeaten for piston engines, piloting a Macchi Castoldi 72 powered by a Fiat A.S.6 engine of 3,000 horsepower, averaging 709.209 kilometers per hour.
