1961. Caselle airport during an air show

1966. The lawyer Gianni Agnelli attends the air day organized at the Caselle airport

The 50’s saw the arrival of jet-powered aircraft. The airport at Caselle, until then exclusively a military airfield, was opened to civilian traffic on the 30th of July 1953 and just 6 days later (5th Aug.), commercial activities began with the start of a Turin-Rome service operated by Alitalia using a Convair 340. It became the reference point for commercial aviation only from the 6th of March 1956 with the constitution of the management society Sagat.
Despite this, all training and sporting activities continued to take place on the Aeritalia runway.
And with the Decree No. 643 of 26th May 1959 (“Gazzetta Ufficiale”. n. 291 of 22/8/59), promulgated by the President of the Republic of Italy, the Turin Aero Club was formally accorded juridical status.
In 1958, “the Advocate” (Giovanni Agnelli) began discussions with fiat with the intention of building another runway and the related taxiways. At a Board Meeting on the 7th of February 1961, the fiat Board voted the sum of 106 million lire for the construction of the new asphalt runway “28r-10l”, 1,075 metres in length, for use by the Aero Club. Only a few weeks later, on the 9th of March, another 84 million lire were allocated to extend the runway “30” to 1,500 metres, and yet a further 20 million to re-asphalt the whole of “30”.
With regard to the construction of the new runway, which needed to be completed in time for the Centenary of the Unification of Italy, the Managing Director of fiat, Engineer Bonadè Bottino, stated in a memo dated 7th Feb 1961 to Prof. Vittorio Valletta: “The only way to guarantee the availability of this runway in time for the Centenary is to start work immediately!”
And so it was. The runway was built in time and inaugurated with a huge air show as planned.
In the context of the centenary celebrations for the Unification of Italy, Turin was selected as the arrival destination of the 1000 km international race organised by the Aero Club d’Italia.

8-10 July 1961. An air meeting organised to celebrate the Centenary of the Unification of Italy
and the opening of the new “28R ⁄ 10L” runway.

Among his many achievements, Agnelli was also responsible for restructuring the clubhouse, having hangars built with State funds (1963), the complete renewal of the fleet (1964, 1965 and 1968) and above all, giving the Aero Club an incredible impulse and prestige.

Circuit of the Piedmontese Castles

The gala dinner held at the Turin Exposition Centre following the 1962 edition of the Tour of the Piedmontese Castles

1961. Gianni Agnelli making his speech at the prize-giving ceremony for the Tour of the Piedmontese Castles

In particular, Agnelli encouraged and gave patronage to the air regularity competition known as the “Tour of the Piedmontese Castles”, renewing a tradition going back to the 1930’s when the “Air Circuit of the Castles of Savoia” was first organised at Mirafiori.
These competitions attained a zenith of prestige which has never been equalled.
Thus, from 1961, the Aeritalia runways saw a series of international sporting competitions such as the “Tour of the Piedmontese Castles” for powered aircraft and the “City of Turin Trophy” for sailplanes. These events boosted the traditionally high reputation of Turin for air sports to the zenith of the Italian aviation world, and was something to which Agnelli’s presidency gave particular emphasis.

1961. The Vice-President Piero Casana and the President Giovanni Agnelli award a prize to Alessandro Umberto Cagno,
one of the senior members

Photo gallery of the Circuit of the Piedmontese Castles

1966. Vice-President Piero Casana with the winners of the 6th Tour of the Castles, the Tessera Chiesa brothers

The rich prizes for the “Circuit of the Castles” included a a FIAT 500 donated by the FIAT Company

’70s. From left: Albano Grosso, Andrea Florio,  Benedetto Castelli, Sergio Viano

’70s. From left front row: Piero Casana, Ferruccio Vignoli, Journalist of Rai, Savino Ferraris, Gigliola Paci Scorta, Savino Balzano

’80s. From left: Romy Petrolini, Franca Rossetti e Pietro Marchisio

’80s. From left: Ernestina (Titta) Rossi, Castagneris (director of Caselle), Pietro Marchisio e Savino Ferraris

The CIAMM - The missionary pilots

On the 19th of March 1959, a flying course for members of the Ciamm (Centro Internazionale Aviazione e Motorizzazione Missionaria) was inaugurated with a Mass at the airfield, conducted by the Missionary Bishop Mons. Arduino, assisted by Don Paolo Gariglio. A large crowd from religious orders attended. Among these were a number of nuns from the congregation of St. Luigi Gonzaga di Alba and Italian missionaries from Pakistan, the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, Latin America and the Far East.
The initiative, the result of an idea by Don Gariglio in 1957, was supported by the architect Carlo Mollino, and jointly financed by the Diocese of Turin, Fiat and the Aero Club of Italy. It was conducted by the Aero Club Torino under the technical direction of the then Director of the Flying School, Col. Alfonso Isaia, assisted by the instructors Ferruccio Vignoli and Alberto Alesi. Dr Domenico Tappero was nominated as President of the Ciamm.
The initiative was much publicized by the radio and the press, and in September 1960, when the courses ended, the award ceremony for the 21 Pilot’s Licences, organised by Giovanni Agnelli, took place in the presence of the City Authorities, such as the Cardinal of Turin Maurilio Fossati, the Mayor Amedeo Peyron, the Prefect Rodolfo Saporiti, the Undersecretary of State Giuseppe Bovetti, Generals Brach Papa and Remondino, Engineer Catella etc.

The newly-qualified missionary pilots

Flying lessons for missionaries. Chief instructor Vignoli teaching two nuns from the Congregation of San Luigi

The control tower decked out with flags for the closing ceremony of the Missionaries’ Flying course

In 1962, the CIAMM was transferred to Rome.
In his short account of the history of the CIAMM, Don Paolo Gariglio concludes with transparent wistfulness:

“Then the idea was purloined by Rome,with the knowlege of the Vatican (or better to say the “Propaganda Fide” organization), apparently ignorant, these Roman gentlemen, that down there, activities which bring in no money end up as nothing… In fact the CIAMM, planted there early on at the Airport of Rome, just simply died off. I have no idea of what happened to the 5 Stinson l5’s which, thanks to the American Office of Public Relations in Turin (usis), had been gifted to the CIAMM, even although they were less than ideal for the start of the endeavour. Were they ever flown to Rome…? I presume”.

***

Giovanni Agnelli’s De Havilland “Heron” at the Aeritalia airfield

At the same time, the first commercial activities began to flourish – air taxi, air photography, publicity flights, executive flights, etc.
The riv Company, whose President was Giovanni Agnelli, had its first executive aircraft at the Aeritalia airfield in 1949. This was a British-built De Havilland “Dove” which was followed by a Heron in 1957, and by a Grumman “Gulfstream” in 1961.
Other aircraft began to use Aeritalia as their base, such as the Aero Commander of Pinin Farina and the Beech “Queen Air” of the San Paolo Bank. These aircraft were housed along with those of the sige, (a fiat subsidiary who were the first to launch the commercial use of helicopters in Italy) in the hangars at the head of the “30” runway.
In 1961, simultaneously with the celebrations for the centenary of the Unification of Italy, the airfield was finally opened to international tourist aircraft traffic.
With the growth of Caselle and its qualification as an ifr airport in 1969, executive aircraft traffic gravitated naturally towards these more attractive features.
In 1966 the floods in Florence submerged hundreds of vehicles. Fiat offered a large discount to all those whose vehicles had been destroyed and who wanted to replace them with one of their models.
The damaged vehicles were provisionally stockpiled in the southern area of the Turin-Aeritalia airport (see photo) pending being scrapped.

1966. Huge quantity of FIAT cars in the Southern part of Turin-Aeritalia Airport

***

It would be inappropriate to conclude this summary of the post-war years without mentioning two other people who have really left their mark on the history of the Aero Club: Carlo Mollino and Ferruccio Vignoli.

Carlo Mollino The architect Carlo Mollino (Turin, 1905-1973) was one of the most controversial and enigmatic personages of Torinese “high society” in the period immediately following the end of wwii. An architect of international fame (the Regio Theatre of Turin was one of his last works) and professor of Architectural Composition at the Turin Polytechnic, his multi-faceted genius pointed him towards the aeronautical world, one of his many sporting interests from which he derived most inspiration for his works. Carlo Mollino in a Bucker BU.131“Jungmann” with his friend and instructor, Albert Reusch The Madonna of Loreto, protectress of Aviators by architect Carlo Mollino He became an aerobatic pilot, and was friend and pupil of the former World Champion Albert Reusch. In the 1950’s in collaboration with Luigi Faraggiana and other technicians, Mollino designed aircraft and even patented a dual-command system as well as various instruments for the graphic calculation of routes, designed and produced colour schemes for his own and friends’ aircraft and publicity posters for the Air Displays in which he took part. He was an active participant in the life of the Aero Club Torino, being on the Board of Directors and supervising all the association’s building activities. In 1957-59, he was responsible for the design and completion of the restructured headquarters. For the occasion of the 8th of December holiday, he undertook a project to design a statue to commemorate the Madonna of Loreto, patron saint of aviators, for subsequent installation at the Aero Club. Under the cloak of the Madonna we can see a fleet of aircraft, and the statue is positioned as if over the Susa Valley. At its feet we see the airport, the River Dora, Mount Musinè and the Sacra di San Michele. The work was cast in bronze, was inaugurated on the 19th of March 1959 before various civil and military authorities during the opening of the CIAMM pilot’s course and blessed by the Salesian missionary Bishop Monsignor Arduino. The location of the statue and the roofing over its head, in cheap materials consisting of tubing and eternit, as well as its base in cement decorated with pebbles, are all the work of Mollino himself. Today it stands between the headquarters and the aircraft parking area. 15 marzo 1959. Don Paolo Gariglio, Mons. Arduino and Carlo Mollino at the presentation ceremony of the Madonna of Loreto The logo designed by Carlo Mollino The sign for the Aero Club café, designed and hand-made by Carlo Mollino himself Trophy designed by Carlo Mollino He produced a number of sketches, designs and artefacts for the Aero Club, including the famous “winged bull” logo of the Aero Club itself, trophies and small sculptures with aviation themes and the curious and highly original sign for the “bar” which he hand-made. He studied aircraft profiles and did design work (e.g. “Graffer”), anticipating by half a century what later became reality in the USA – houses with their own aircraft hangars. The Graffer project - house with aircraft hangar beneath

Ferruccio Vignoli A young Ferruccio Vignoli aboard a Macchi MC.202 A native of Bologna (1906-1997), he became Chief Instructor of the AERO CLUB TORINO in 1954. His incredible curriculum, ample testimony to him as a man and as an aviator, speaks for itself. He gained his Civil Pilot’s Licence in 1926 followed by his Military Pilot’s Licence in 1927. Assigned initially to No. 21 Reconnaissance Squadron, he later joined No. 22 Daylight Bombing Squadron and in 1935 he volunteered for the 8th and 9th East Africa Squadrons flying tactical support and logistic missions in Somalia. The bicycle with wings invented by Vignoli in 1924 Vignoli testing a towed autogyro Bensen In 1937 he set a World Record of 57 hours 20 minutes for Duration and Speed (at an average speed of 231 km/h measured over 10,000 km of a total of 12,938 km flown). He was awarded the Military Silver Medal for this. That same year, he was the real pilot in the film Luciano Serra Pilota starring Amedeo NAZZARI and directed by Goffredo ALESSANDRINI, with the collaboration of Roberto ROSSELLINI. In 1938 he joined 28 Group No. 18 Overseas “La Cucaracha” Squadron involved in the Spanish Civil War then took part in the occupation of the airport of Tirana in 1939 (his was the first aircraft to land). The following year, with an SM.82, he took part in the first air raid on Gibraltar (Guidonia- Gibraltar-Alicante-Guidonia). In 1941, with the 20th Fighter Group, No. 151 Sqn (“Black Cat & Green Mice”) he took part in the campaign against Malta flying an MC.202. In 1943, at the Guidonia Experimental Centre, he was accredited as a Test Pilot and took over that role with Piaggio, where he tested various versions of the four-engined P.108 and CANT-Z). At the end of that year he returned to No 2 Fighter Group “Asso di Bastoni” and “Gigi Tre Osei” flying missions over the North of Italy until the end of the war in MC.202, MC.205 and Bf.109G’s. The Group was credited with 102 enemy aircraft shot down or seriously damaged. Vignoli was personally credited with the following: Kills: 3 Spitfires, 1 P-47 Thunderbolt, 1 B-26 Marauder. Kills in collaboration with others: 1 Spitfire, 2 P-47 Thunderbolts, 1 P-51 Mustang, 1 P-40 Hawk. Aircraft “seriously damaged”: 1 B-17 bomber, 1 B-24 Liberator bomber, 1 B-25 Mitchell bomber In the post-war period, he continued as Test Pilot of a STOL aircraft for Aeronautica Umbra and the Baldo 75 of “Alaparma”. In 1954, having been an Instructor at Bologna and Lugo di Romagna, during Giovanni AGNELLI’s presidency he was requested to become the Chief Flying Instructor at the Aero Club Torino (where he remained for the rest of his life). Despite this, he still found time to continue with his activities as a Test Pilot (test-flying the NARDI FN.333 “Riviera” amphibious, the M.100 and the M.200 gliders of the MORELLI brothers, a BENSEN autogyro (the first of its kind to fly in Italy) and the experimental Evans VP-1 and VP-2 aircraft). Career Decorations: 3 Military War Crosses (1936, 1937 and 1939) Air Force Silver Medal (1939) 2 Air Force Bronze Medals (1940 and 1942) Military Silver Medal (1955) Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy (1958).  The cheerful vigour of Vignoli, director of the Flying School for over 30 years

*** 

The Piazza d’Armi heliport

1959. Inauguration of the heliport

The city heliport named “Aldo Cavallo” in honour of Lt. Cavallo, awarded the Gold Medal for Valour, was built in Piazza d’Armi, parallel to today’s Corso Monte Lungo, near the Monte Grappa barracks, and was inaugurated by the mayor, Amedeo Peyron, in September 1959. The opening ribbon was cut by Lt. Cavallo’s 12 year old daughter in the presence of the city’s civil and military authorities.
Built with the intention of providing a rapid connection between Turin and the international airport of Malpensa, Milan, the heliport lasted only a few years as the development of Caselle airport diminished its usefulness and it was finally closed in 1971, after having been inoperative for some years.
On May 17, 1960 (as reported by “la Stampa” of May 27, 1960) the Elipadana company inaugurated the connection with Malpensa with three daily flights, employing two Sikorsky-S.58, but without the hoped-for commercial success.
The following year, the Elivie company, an Alitalia subsidiary, was more successful when it resumed flights to Malpensa and Linate from July 1, 1961 (”la Stampa” of July 2, 1961) using two Agusta Bell AB.102 helicopters, each with 8 passenger seats.
The flight lasted about 50 minutes and was repeated 4 times a day with a ticket price of 3,100 lire for a single journey and 5,600 a return ticket.
The resumption of activity after the Elipadana flop was the result of negotiations between Engineer Bosso, a municipal councilor of Turin (which contributed 30 million lire to the initiative) and Engineer Antonio Maria Farini, president and founder of Elivie, the first carrier ever to set up regular helicopter connections in Italy, between Naples, Ischia and Capri.
It is worth remembering that Engineer Farini (a family descendant of Count Luigi Carlo Farini, one of the protagonists of the Italian Risorgimento and Prime Minister after Cavour in the years 1862 and 1863) was the 5th president of the Turin Aero Club, from 1938 to 1946.

Period postcards

 

1960 Passengers waiting to depart on the Sikorsky-S.58 helicopter of the Elipadana

Sikorsky-S.58 with Belgian registration marks of OO-SHN

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