CARLO DEL PRETE
1897-1928
 
 
Prete
 
 
Captain Carlo del Prete
Italian Air Force Historical Office
Courtesy of Don Fiore
 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL BRIEF
from Don Fiore, 8-26-03
     Like Francesco de Pinedo, Captain Carlo del Prete (born at Lucca, Italy on August 27, 1897 Rio de Janeiro 16 /8/1928. He began his military career as a sailor, serving submarine duty during the First World War. He became actively interested in aviation after the Armistice, and received his pilot’s brevet in 1922. Reassigned to the newly-created Royal Italian Air Force, he was officially cited as an exceptionally skilled navigator.
     Friends since their navy days, del Prete had assisted De Pinedo in his preparations for his 1925 Oriental tour. When arrangements for a co-pilot and navigator were worked into the upcoming tour of the Americas, De Pinedo called upon his old navy comrade, who he described as his "alter-ego", to fill those roles.
     His participation in the 1927 American tour brought del Prete a promotion to the rank of Major, as well as his inclusion among the elite circle of the world’s leading airmen. In 1928, del Prete teamed up with Arturo Ferrarin to shatter the world’s long distance record by flying non-stop from Rome to Natal, Brazil.
     Tragically, the young hero died on August 16, 1928 from injuries sustained in an airplane crash just weeks after this latest triumph.
 

 
 
ONLINE RESOURCES
     If you search for Carlo del Prete using the Google search engine, (8-26-03), you will find about 450 links! Among the more useful are the following.
 
 
A FAMOUS CITIZEN:
CARLO DEL PRETE
     
 
 
COMMANDER FRANCESCO DE PINEDO (1890-1933)
The first pilot to fly a foreign aircraft to the United States
New Orleans - March 29, 1927

75th Anniversary Commemoration in the United States of America
under the auspices of Consul General Enrico Granara
Italian Consulate General in Chicago
     This website is a good place to start your search for information on the life and career of this Italian hero. Of special interest are two links, which may be seen at the right of the page. You will be well rewarded by clicking on The Lord of Distances and Canadian Site. Both websites may be accessed by clicking the the titles right below.
 
 
THE LORD OF DISTANCES
by Don Fiore
The life and deeds of Francesco de Pinedo
     This website offers one of the best sources in English I have been able to find on the life and career of Carlo del Prete. If you will click on the section entitled De Pinedo's Milestone Flights, you will access a page which offers many details of del Prete's association with de Pinedo on his second great journey from Rome to Natal, Brazil in 1928. If you use your "FIND" button on "Prete", you will find a nice photograph of him, about a third of the way down the page. You will want to read the associated text which tells the story of the famous flight. If you click on the photo itself, you will access a page which offers a rather complete biography of del Prete.
 
       As time permits, you will be well rewarded by visiting as many of the other links as you can.  

 
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RECOMMENDED READING
 
 
Carlo del Prete
CARLO DEL PRETE
E GLI AVIATORI LUCCHESI
 
Giorgio Giorgi
 
Product Details
Paper: 79 pages, 8 1/4" x 11 3/4"
Publisher: Associazione Arma di Lucca
 
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       The book is for sale directly by the author at the price of 15 Euro + postal charges.
Giorgio Giorgi
Via Aleardi, 13
56010 Marina di Quosa (Pi) Italy
email: magodellavvio@libero.it
 

 
 
Carlo Del Prete
E Gli Aviatori Lucchesi
English translation courtesy of Giovanni Giorgetti, 11-20-05
     This summary of the Index of the book displays the comprehensive nature of the author's scholaship. Clearly it is a very valuable resource for anyone who reads Italian and who wishes to understand the contributions of the Italians to the development of aviation. You can read the summary by clicking on:
Index
 

 
 
Raid Parigi - Roma - Torino
Extract from CARLO DEL PRETE
E GLI AVIATORI LUCCHESI
Courtesy of Giovanni Giorgetti, 11-16-05
     You can sample a portion of the book which displays a poster which features all 26 of the pioneer aviators who participated in the 1911 flight from Paris to Rome to Torino. Click on the title above to see the next page.
 

 
 
 
 
Carlo del Prete died in 1933.
 

 
 
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