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The
Italian Air Force Museum
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Vigna di Valle
The Italian Air Force Museum is situated in the old seaplane station of
Vigna di Valle, the oldest in Italy, located on the south shores of Lake
Bracciano where in 1904 the first Experimental Aviation Yard was established
in accordance with the wishes of Major Maurizio MORIS of the Corps of
Engineers and the acknowledged father of Italian Aviation.
Here, in 1908, the first Italian Military Airship, the N1, the work of two
engineers, Gaetano Arturo CROCCO and Ottavio RICALDONI, lifted off. The
Museum, built by the Italian Air Force as a worthy home for the rich
heritage of Italian Aviation, is set amongst the buildings and structures of
the seaplane base, today the only site of this kind where the typical
architecture of an Aviation centre that evolved from the birth of aviation
to the 1960’s are preserved intact.
It is divided into four large hangars that are used as exhibit halls,
housing over sixty aircraft and a vast collection of engines as well as
mementos of all types that tell, in chronological order, the history of
military flying in Italy and of the men who lived it and shaped it.
In the Troster Hall, the first hall off the
museum, it is the only one left of a series of buildings going back to the
First War War (1915-1918) which Austria passed to Italy as war reparations.
It has been at Vigna di Valle since then. On the right of the hall as the
visitor enters is the oldest historical object displayed in the museum -
Colonel Garnerin’s hot air balloon dating back to 1804. Located in this hall
are the areas dedicated to the Pioneers of Aviation (the Dawning of
Aviation in Italy) 1906-1909, the Libyan war with the 1911 Blériot aircraft
that took part in it and the First World War section with the SPAD, SVA and
Caproni aircraft. An interesting aircraft from the 1920’s, the Ansaldo
Fighter No 2, is also on display. |
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In the VELO
Hangar, so called because it was built by the Velo Company. The VELO hall,
measuring about 2,700 square meters, provides space for the sectors
dedicated to the Polar Flights of Gen. NOBILE (1926 -1928); to the Great
Flights in Mass Formation (1928-1933), the epic of the Schneider Trophy, the
High Speed Unit at Desenzano del Garda (1925-1934) and the airplanes of the
first period of W.W.II. Two large display cases show the flight formation in
miniature just as it was in those momentous days. Moving on, the aircraft of
the 1930’s, among them the fighter mythical FIAT C.R.32 fighter, famous for
its role in the Spanish Civil War and the East African Campaign. Then there
is the Ca.100, the C.R. 42, the Campini-Caproni C.C.2 prototype, the Macchi
MC.200 fighter and the Nardi F.N.305. |
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The Badoni Hall, renovated and returned to its former glory. This is the
third of the Museum's Halls and a classic example of a building in iron of
the 1930's. Sixty metres by sixty metres in size, it is made up of spans
hinged together in pairs which rise up to the roof 18 metres high.
The Padiglione “Badoni” (from the company which built it in 1930), was used
until 1959 by the 84th Gruppo’s CANT Z. 506S, when the squadron received the
Grumman HU-16 and moved to Ciampino. An “Albatros” is currently displayed
outside this hangar. In it are Aircraft covering the Second World War and
the great historic aircraft of the flying boat era. one eye catcher is a
DC-3 used for transportation and Radio Calibration tasks. |
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The Padiglione “Skema” is a hangar that was built by the Skema company and
was opened in 1986.This last hall with its 4,200 square metres of space over
two levels houses the aircraft used by the Italian Air Force from the 1950s
up to the modern jets. There is a significant number of the first jet
propelled aircraft used by Italian pilots in the 1950s (the Vampire, the
F-84G, F-84F, RF-84F, F-86E and the F-86K) and the very Italian G.91 in its
various versions which are on display in the annexe. The same hanger also
houses a collection of helicopters |
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This museum is well worth the visit , is it not for the wonderful
collection, Then the surroundings of the city and
Lake Bracciano
are. It is also accessible by train from Rome
Don't forget that the museum, which is free, is closed on Mondays, otherwise
it is open all year round.
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IMAM Ro37 |
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Museum - stored |
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IMAM Ro41 |
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Museum |
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BL246 |
Bleriot XI -2 |
maybe BL160 |
Museum |
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C.1-328 |
Hispano HA.132 L |
3-6, ex EdA |
Museum |
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KK437 |
Fairchild Argus III |
I-FAMA |
Museum |
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L-112 |
Savoia Marchetti SM.79 bis |
as 'MM24327', ex Lebanese AF, |
Museum |
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L-127 |
Lohner L-1 |
ex Lebanese AF |
Museum |
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MK805 |
Supermarine Spitfire FIX |
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Museum |
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MM100028 |
CVV6 |
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Museum |
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MM100042 |
CVV6 |
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Museum - stored |
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MM105 |
Macchi M.67 |
10 |
Museum |
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MM1135 |
IMAM Ro37 |
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Museum - stored |
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MM1208 |
Ansaldo AC2 |
94-6, |
Museum |
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MM12882 |
Fiesler Fi.156 C-3 |
20, G-FIST, |
Museum |
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MM130 |
Fiat C.29 |
130bis, |
Museum |
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MM136556 |
Grumman Tracker S-2A |
41-6, |
Museum |
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MM148295 |
Grumman Tracker S-2A |
cockpit only, 41-35, |
Museum |
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MM181 |
Macchi Castoldi MC.72 |
181 |
Museum |
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MM27050 |
IMAM Ro43 |
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Restoration |
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MM290 |
Fiat G-50 bis |
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Museum - stored |
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MM4323 |
NA Mustang P 51D |
RR-11, |
Museum |
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MM45425 |
Cant Z.506 B |
84-4, , marked as 'MM45442' |
Museum |
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MM4653 |
Republic Thunderbolt P-47D |
51-19, |
Museum - stored |
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MM487 |
Caproni Campini CC1 |
1 |
Museum |
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MM488 |
Caproni Campini CC1 |
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Museum - stored |
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MM50-179 |
Grumman Albatross HU-16A |
15-5, |
Museum |
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MM51-11049 |
Republic Thunderjet F-84G |
51-18, |
Museum - Stored |
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MM52-7458 |
Republic Thunderflash RF-84F |
3-05, |
Museum - Stored |
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MM52757 |
Nardi FN.305 |
3, I-DASM |
Museum |
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MM52848 |
Stinson Sentinel L-5 |
S-2.2, I-AEEU |
Museum |
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MM53-5594 |
Lockheed Shooting Star T-33A |
9-35, 35594 |
Museum |
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MM53-6892 |
Republic Thunderstreak F 84F |
36-38, |
Museum - stored |
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MM53058 |
Macchi MB.308 |
SG-8, I -GORI |
Museum |
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MM53265 |
Fiat G-59 4A |
5 |
Museum |
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MM53276 |
Fiat G-59 -4B |
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Museum |
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MM53283 |
Fiat G-46 4B |
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Museum - stored |
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MM53286 |
Fiat G-46 4A |
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Museum - stored |
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MM53762 |
Macchi M.416 |
AA-48, I-AELY, |
Museum |
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MM53882 |
Fiat G-80 -3B |
RS-22, |
Museum |
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MM54097 |
NA Texan T-6G |
RR-67, |
Museum |
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MM54389 |
Aermacchi MB.326 E |
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Museum |
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MM554 |
Macchi MB.323 |
RS-10, |
Museum |
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MM555 |
Piaggio P.150 |
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Museum - stored |
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MM558 |
Ambrosini S7 |
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Museum |
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MM561 |
Aerfer Sagittario 2 |
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Museum - stored |
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MM569 |
Aerfer Ariete |
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Museum |
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MM6085 |
DH Vampire FB52A |
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Museum - stored |
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MM61187 |
Savoia Marchetti SM.82 PW |
ZR-89, |
Museum |
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MM6152 |
DH Vampire NF.54 |
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Museum |
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MM61776 |
Douglas Dakota C-47A |
14-45, |
Museum |
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MM61804 |
Fiat G-212 CA |
142-5, |
Museum |
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MM61933 |
Piaggio P.166 ML1 |
53-34, |
Museum |
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MM61961 |
Piaggio PD.808 GE1 |
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Museum |
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MM6250 |
Fiat G-91 PAN |
9 |
Museum |
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MM6280 |
Fiat G-91 R/1 |
2-33, |
Museum |
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MM6344 |
Fiat G-91 T/1 |
32-44, |
Museum |
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MM6501 |
Lockheed Starfighter F-104G |
3-11, |
Museum |
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MM6741 |
Lockheed Starfighter F-104S-ASA |
Cockpit only, 9-51 |
Museum |
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MM6959 |
Fiat G-91 Y |
8-66, |
Museum |
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MM76 |
Macchi M.39 II |
II, |
Museum |
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MM80113 |
Bell 47 G-2 |
12 |
Museum |
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MM80187 |
Bell 47 J |
SE-38, |
Museum |
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MM80357 |
Agusta Bell AB.204 B |
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Museum - stored |
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MM8307 |
Macchi MC.200 |
369-1, as 'MM5311' |
Museum |
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MM9546 |
Macchi C.205 V |
97-2, as 'MM9345' |
Museum |
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MM9667 |
Macchi C.202 T-AS |
73-7, |
Museum |
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S.1383 |
SPAD VII C1 |
S.153, |
Museum |
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S.1420 |
SPAD VII C.1 |
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Museum |
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XB915 |
Canadair Sabre F4 |
13-1, MM19792 |
Museum |
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ZE836 |
Panavia Tornado F3 |
36-12, MM7210 |
Museum |
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2539 |
Fiat CR.42 |
as 'MM5643', ex SweAF |
Museum |
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11721 |
Ansalso SVA5 |
1 |
Museum |
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19309 |
Hanriot HD.1 |
76,as '515' |
Museum |
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23174 |
Caproni Ca.33 |
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Museum |
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