Balbo, Italo

Balbo, Italo (1896–1940) Italian Fascist and air marshal Balbo, one of the pioneers of Italian aviation, became a leading Fascist early in the movement, and went on to become Benito Mussolini's air marshal, the architect of the Italian air force. Born near Ferrara, he was educated at the University of Florence and at the Institute of Social Science, Rome. During World War I, Balbo was commissioned as an officer in the Alpine Corps and after the war became a very early follower of Mussolini. It was he who led the blackshirts in the October 1922 March on Rome, which catapulted Mussolini to power. Regarding Balbo both as a dashing and charismatic exponent of fascism and as a potential rival to himself, Mussolini was careful to define his role strictly in military terms, elevating him to general of militia in 1923 and then to undersecretary of state for air (1926), air minister (1929), and, finally, air marshal (1933). Balbo was a champion of Italy's military air power as well as its commercial air prowess. He personally led a round-the-world flight, landing in various major cities, where he was generally greeted as a dashing hero of the skies. He proved to be not only a great promoter of Italian prestige as an air power, but a kind of ambassador of fascism. Mussolini may have become wary of Balbo's growing pro-British sympathies or of his growing appeal generally; in any case, Balbo was summarily removed from the limelight by his appointment as governor of Libya. Serving there very early in World War II, he was shot down while flying over Tobruk, the victim of friendly fire. It is believed that he failed to render the correct recognition signals and that Italian gun crews assumed his was an enemy aircraft. Although Balbo vigorously promoted Italian aviation, the nation's air arm never developed aircraft or tactics on a par with Germany, Britain, and the United States. In the end, Balbo was more public relations than substance, and the Italian air arm never became a significant force in World War II.