Arrigo Tessari | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1897-01-04)4 January 1897 Belluno,Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 5 September 1971(1971-09-05) (aged 74) Belluno,Italy |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Italy Italian Social Republic |
| Service |  Royal Italian Army Regia Aeronautica National Republican Air Force |
| Years of service | 1916-1945 |
| Rank | Air Brigade General |
| Commands | 89thAnsaldo SVA Squadron 16th Fighter Group "La Cucaracha" 53rd Ground Fighter Wing Italian Air Force inAlbania Italian Air Force inGreece Chief of Staff of theAeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
Arrigo Tessari (Belluno, 4 January 1897 – 5 September 1971) was anItalian Air Force general duringWorld War II. He commanded Italian air forces inAlbania and laterGreece from 1940 to 1942, and was Deputy Chief of Staff of theAeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana from March to July 1944 and its Chief of Staff from July to August 1944, as well as State Undersecretary for the Air Force of theItalian Social Republic.
He was born on 4 January 1897 inBelluno, and during theFirst World War he served as inAlbania with the rank oflieutenant, flying as a pilot in the 85th Fighter Squadron. In October 1923 he joined the newly establishedRegia Aeronautica, as commander of the 89thAnsaldo SVA Squadron, stationed inTripolitania. He participated in thepacification of Libya in the colonial aviation over the next eight years, returning to Italy with aSilver and aBronze Medal of Military Valor.[1]
From 1937 to 1939 he participated in theSpanish Civil War, with the rank oflieutenant colonel, in command of the 16th Fighter Group "La Cucaracha", belonging to the 3rd Fighter Wing of theAviazione Legionaria based inCaspe. In December 1938 his Group was tasked with supporting the Nationalist advance onBarcelona. With the end of the war in Spain he returned to Italy, and on April 15, 1939 he was appointed commander of the 53rd Ground Fighter Wing (equipped withFiat CR.42 biplane fighters), based on theTurin-Caselle airport, a post he still held at the time of the entry of theKingdom of Italy intoWorld War II, on 10 June 1940.[2][3][4][1]
On June 15 the Italian Headquarters ordered his unit to attack the French airfields ofLe Cannet-des-Maures andCuers-Pierrefeu, inProvence, with the aim of destroying the French fighter force on the ground. Tessari personally participated in the attack, claiming four FrenchMorane-Saulnier MS.406 shot down; for this action he was awarded another Silver Medal of Military Valor. On 15 August 1940 he assumed command of the Italian Air Force inAlbania, and following theattack on Greece, he directed air operations againstGreece until the end of the campaign in April 1941. After thefall of Greece he also assumed command of the Italian air units based in that country, with headquarters inAthens. He was promoted to Air Brigade General (air commodore) on February 26, 1942, and the next day he left his command and returned to Italy. He was then appointed commander of the air units based in Turin and later of those based inLecce, directing the activity of fighter groups tasked with escorting convoys carrying supplies to theBalkans and toNorth Africa. Finally, he was appointed Inspector of Fighter Units at the General Staff of the Air Force.[5][6][4][1]
On 8 September 1943, when theArmistice of Cassibile was made public, Tessari was inRome, at theMinistry of Aeronautics. Later in that month, he joined theItalian Social Republic and made contact withAlessandro Pavolini and Marshal of ItalyRodolfo Graziani, placing himself at their disposal, although he declined Graziani's offer to appoint him Minister of the Air Force of the RSI. On September 24, Lieutenant ColonelErnesto Botto was appointed Undersecretary of State for the Air Force of the Italian Social Republic, and at the end of the month he went to Rome, where he met Graziani and Tessari; the latter remained in Rome until November, when he moved toBassano del Grappa, being entrusted with administrative tasks within the Air Force of the RSI. When Botto resigned from his post on 7 March 1944, due to growing dissent towards the most extremist Fascist leaders and the German commands in Italy, Tessari was chosen to replace him as Undersecretary for the Air Force and Chief of Staff of theAeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, being more liked by the Germans. He too ended up clashing with them, however, due to their attempts to fully absorb the ANR in theLuftwaffe; in May 1944 he wrote toMussolini that the Germans were systematically dismantling thehangars of Italian air bases in order to send the metal to Germany. He eventually resigned from his post on 26 July 1944 (although he de facto remained in office until August 20), being replaced by ColonelRuggero Bonomi and retiring to private life in his native Belluno. After the end of the hostilities he was accused ofcollaborationism, imprisoned for eight months in themilitary prison ofForte Boccea in Rome, subjected to an 'epuration' process and forcibly placed on absolute leave.[7][4][1][8]
After the war he was councilor at the Belluno section of theBank of Italy, president of the "Arturo Dell'Oro" Aeroclub of Belluno from 1949 to 1964 and from 1967 to 1970, and president of the Belluno section of theItalian Red Cross. He died in Belluno on 5 September 1971.[1]