Alessandro Resch Tenente - colonnello Alessandro Resch was an Italian World War I flying ace credited with five confirmed aerial victories ( though there is historical evidence of a sixth ) . After surviving World War I , he would become a pioneering airline captain , flying 500 , 000 miles between 1928 and 1935 . He would return to the Italian Air Force as a major in 1935 , rising to " tenente - colonnello " by 1939 . His participation in World War II is unknown . Early life and service . Alessandro Resch was born in Avezzano , Kingdom of Italy on 19 November 1892 . He was the son of a businessman . He was interested in cycling as a youth . When he was conscripted , he went into a cyclist battalion of Bersaglieri . He was promoted to " caporale " and became a truck driver carrying messages to the front . After a promotion to " sergente " , Resch requested and received pilot ' s training as an officer cadet . On 9 June 1916 , Resch evacuated a wounded officer in his truck during the fighting for Monfalcone . He received his first and second pilot ' s licenses on Voisin s , on 16 June and 1 July 1916 . Aerial service . On 8 July 1916 , he joined " 26a Squadriglia " . On 15 August , he was on a bombing mission to Reifenberg Railway Station when his Voisin came under attack over Komen . Resch ' s observer , Sottotenente Lioy , emptied two magazines of machine gun fire at one of two enemy Fokker E . III s as they closed in on a stern assault . Resch dove on the second Fokker while Lioy emptied two more magazines . One Fokker ' s wing came off . The other one retreated . The Italian crew returned to base with 30 bullet holes in their Voisin . Unknown to them , both Fokkers had crashed ; the Austro - Hungarians believed they had been lost in a midair collision . The Italians , in a rare bit of under - claiming , filed for a single victory . On 22 August , Resch was nicked by a shell splinter . Shortly afterwards , he received a Silver award of the Medal for Military Valor . In May 1917 , he reported for training as a fighter pilot . He qualified as a Nieuport pilot , then further qualified to fly the Savoia - Pomilio SP . 2 in September . He was commissioned and assigned to " 70a Squadriglia " in October , though he did not report for duty until 12 December 1917 . When German airplanes attacked Istrana , Resch tried to launch to counter them , but his airplane was hit while he taxied on the runway and he had to abort the attempt . On 17 April 1918 , he used a Hanriot HD . 1 to share in a triple night victory over Valdobbiadene . Just five days later , the fuel tank in Hanriot HD . I No . 6252 ruptured while Resch was flying it . Drenched in fuel , the Italian pilot could only shut down the engine and try for the nearest airfield . His dead stick landing of his winged Molotov cocktail was foiled by unfavorable wind , and he capsized upon setting down short of the runway . No fire resulted . On 12 July 1918 , Resch repeatedly fired into an Albatros D . III , which fell in a flutter emitting puffs of smoke . Alessandro Resch was officially an ace , two years after his first victory . Although that was Resch ' s last credited victory , he served through war ' s end . When the Armistice came , he had earned a Bronze Medal for Military Valor and two War Merit Crosses to add to his prior Silver Medal for Military Valor . The postwar committee that evaluated aerial victories sent Resch a letter confirming his five victories , though it enumerated only four . Post World War I career . Resch transferred to 91a Squadriglia on 10 January 1919 . At some point , he left the military , but returned to service in 1927 . However , he went to work for Avio Linee Italian Airlines as chief pilot and captain on 1 September 1928 . He flew half a million miles over the next 7 years . In 1935 , he returned once more to military service , this time as a maggiore . By 1939 , he had risen to tenente - colonnello . Further details are unknown , except that Alessandro Resch died in Avezzano on 8 January 1966 .