Giuseppe Cenni

Giuseppe Cenni (Casola Valsenio, 27 February 1915 - Aspromonte, 4 September 1943) was an Italian officer and aviator. A Major in the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force), he was a war hero of the Second World War and was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor posthumously.

Biography
Giuseppe Cenni manifested a passion for aeronautics as a young man, building gliders while attending the Regio Istituto d'Arte (Institute of Fine Arts) in Parma. On 19 June 1935 he enlisted in the Regia Aeronautica as an auxiliary officer cadet. He obtained his wings flying the Fiat CR.20 on 20 November. In 1936 he volunteered for the Spanish Civil War under the nom de guerre "Vittorio Stella". He bailed out after a series of collisions in fog, was taken prisoner and released in an exchange.

Returning from Spain, Cenni was decorated, enlisted in permanent service and first assigned to the 6º Stormo, then to the 51º Stormo. At the same time, he qualified as an aerobatic instructor. At the outbreak of World War II, Cenni asked to come back from Romania where he was taking courses for fighter pilots and was sent to attend courses to qualify for the dive bombing plane Junkers Ju 87, or Stuka. Giuseppe Cenni was appointed captain and placed in command of the 239ª Squadriglia of autonomous divers on 24 November 1940. Based at Lecce Galatina Airport, he participated in dive bombing attacks in Greece and Yugoslavia. In the months between May and October 1941 the Stukas, called "Picchiatelli" by the Italians, were redeployed to North Africa where they continued missions against land and naval targets in the Mediterranean Sea. Cenni was once again confirmed to be a pilot with excellent flying skills, so much so that he developed a technique of dive bombing called "skip bombing", ending with a short dive in level flight. The bomb dropped and bounced on the water, hitting the side of the ship under attack and maximizing the damage. For his actions he was awarded two Silver Medals of Military Valor.

The growing technique disparity of Ju 87 aircraft against Allied fighters led Cenni to develop techniques for dive bombing at night. In the course of these actions, the Stuka operated by then-Captain Cenni inflicted much damage on British ships. Cenni was decorated with his sixth Silver Medal of Military Valor and promoted to major on the merits of war.

Shooting activities with the 5º Stormo at Crotone Airport replaced the Stuka with the Reggiane Re.2002. The squadron was made operational in July 1943 and Cenni was faced with the contemporary Allied invasion of Sicily. On 11, 12 and 13 July, dive bombing missions were made in the bay of Augusta, which led to the decimation of the crews. On 13 July, Allied bombers attacked Crotone Airport, destroying almost the entire Stormo and killing six other pilots. Cenni retreated with planes and crew survivors to the airport in Manduria in Puglia.

On 3 and 4 September, a few days before the announcement of the armistice, which had already been signed in secret, Cenni was ordered to fight the Allied landing at Reggio Calabria. He did not return to base. Major Giuseppe Cenni was seen by witnesses on Aspromonte alone while being pursued by many Spitfires. He was shot down, died and was decorated with the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

Personal life
Cenni was married with a daughter.

Memorials

 * The 5º Stormo of the Italian Air Force is dedicated to Major Giuseppe Cenni. The Stormo is stationed on the air base of Cervia-Pisignano (Ravenna).
 * In the early sixties, Cenni's native municipality, Casola Valsenio (Ravenna), dedicated a street to him.
 * The municipality of Parma, a city where Cenni moved as a child, has dedicated a street to him in the Citadel district.
 * The municipality of Fiumicino has dedicated a street to Cenni near the Leonardo da Vinci Airport.
 * The municipality of Varsi (Parma) has dedicated a street to Cenni.
 * The town of Manduria (Taranto) has dedicated a street to Cenni.
 * A monument in Reggio Calabria commemorates Cenni.
 * The Piazzale within the military airport of Rimini is named for Cenni.

Trivia

 * At the beginning of his dive-bomber missions, Cenni began to use a radio signal to all pilots of the squadron to indicate the attack. The phrase was "valzer ragazzi!" ("Waltz guys!") Over the years the phrase became famous and characteristic of the squadron. Since 1993, the phrase has been written on the empennage of the aircraft of the 102º Gruppo.