Corpo Aeronautico Militare The Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare ( Military Aviation Corps ) was formed as part of the part of the Regio Esercito ( Royal Army ) on 7 January 1915 , incorporating the Aviators Flights Battalion ( airplanes ) , the Specialists Battalion ( airships ) and the Ballonists Battalion . Prior to World War I , Italy had pioneered military aviation in the Italo - Turkish War during 1911 – 1912 . Its army also contained one of the world ' s foremost theorists about the future of military aviation , Giulio Douhet ; Douhet also had a practical side , as he was largely responsible for the development of Italy ' s Caproni bombers starting in 1913 . Italy also had the advantage of a delayed entry into World War I , not starting the fight until 24 May 1915 , but took no advantage of it so far as aviation was concerned . Italy entered World War I with an air force technologically comparable to a force on the Western Front in 1914 . Lacking fighter aircraft , throughout the war the Italians resorted to airplanes supplied by the French either directly or built under license . The early air force was also woefully tactically deficient ; basically , its fighter craft were scrambled into the air only when enemy planes were spotted overhead . However , the Caproni bombers developed to operational status , flying their first sortie s on 20 August 1915 . After the war the " Corpo Aeronautico Militare " became the basis of the " Regia Aeronautica " , which became an air air force independent of the Italian Army on 28 March 1923 . History . Before World War I . Italy was a pioneer in pre - World War I military aviation , using aircraft in Libya during the Italo - Turkish War in 1911 . It also had one of military aviation ' s prophets within its army ' s ranks , in Giulio Douhet . In June 1911 , even before the fighting began in Libya , Douhet predicted that the most effective opponent of military aircraft would be other aircraft . He also predicted the greater vulnerability to enemy action of lighter than air machines . The Libyan flight experiment may have delivered only four small bombs , but the potential of air power was explicit enough that both the Italian Army and the Italian Navy both established air units in 1912 . The naval air unit was dubbed the " Sezioni Idrovolanti " ( Seaplane Section ) . The army ' s " Battaglione Aviatori " ( Aviation Battalion ) for heavier than air craft was established on 27 June . On 28 November 1912 , the two new units were collectively dubbed the " Servizi Aeronautici Militare " . By September 1913 , Douhet foresaw the future need for designing a single - seat plane with a forward firing gun . Also in 1913 , he ignored his superior officers ' wishes and colloborated with Giovanni Battista Caproni in the design of Caproni ' s huge three - engined bomber . Douhet ' s superiors , unhappy with this , exiled him to an infantry assignment . On 28 July 1914 , as part of the chain reaction of events opening World War I , Austria declared war on Serbia and requested Italian help . Italy maintained its neutrality while it tried to wriggle out of the Triple Alliance . On 24 May 1915 , Italy declared war on Austria to join World War I . As of May 1915 , Italy still had no single - seat scouts with a forward firing gun . It did have 86 airplanes and 70 pilots organized into 14 squadrons to start its war . World War I . Italian aviation theaters of operation . The " Corpo Aeronautico Militare " ( Military Aviation Corps ) was formed as part of the part of the Regio Esercito ( Royal Army ) on 7 January 1915 , incorporating the Aviators Flights Battalion ( airplanes ) , the Specialists Battalion ( airships ) and the Ballonists Battalion . Meanwhile , the Regia Marina ( Royal Navy ) still had its own air arm , operating locally - built flying boats . Italy ' s aerial operations during World War I were split into three geographic areas . First was the Adriatic coast . Although aircraft of the time were short - ranged enough to make flights over the central Adriatic Sea difficult , they could operate over the south or north ends where the sea was narrower . As a unique result , both the Italians and their opposing Austro - Hungarian aviation developed the only theater of war that featured seaplane bombers and fighters . The second area , an internal one , was that covered by home defense aviation units to protect Italian cities from aerial bombing . These home defense squadrons would prove to be of little military value . The last , and most active area , was northern Italy on the border , near and in the verge of the Alps , where Italian aircraft supported the Italian ground troops fighting along and near the Isonzo River in a series of 11 battles throughout the war . The climatic actions in this theater were the Battle of Caporetto , followed by the Battle of Vittorio Veneto . Italy ' s air war begins . See also List of Italian World War I flying aces First attempts to organize and use Italian aircraft to fight the Austro - Hungarian aerial invaders were dismal . Italian pilots were equipped with Nieuport 10 s and deployed in a " scramble " mode instead of standing patrols . They soon found that their French - made two - seaters could not take off and climb quickly enough to bring an invader to combat , even when burdened by only a pilot . The lack of a net of ground observers and aircraft spotters to give early warning only compounded the difficulties . By the end of 1915 , Italian Nieuports had succeeded in attacking Austro - Hungarian airplanes on seven occasions . The Austro - Hungarians reported two losses for the year . Also in 1915 , the Caproni bomber came on line to begin long distance bombing missions . Its first sortie , on 20 August 1915 , was a raid on Aisovizza . This was the start of a series of tit - for - tat raids on enemy cities launched by both Italy and Austro - Hungary that would carry on through war ' s end . On 18 February 1916 , on a long range raid to Lubljana , Oreste Salomone earned the first aviation award of the Gold Medal for Military Valor for his valor . Six days later , the Austro - Hungarians hit Milan for their first bombing raid . This raid , as well as the ones that followed on other Italian cities and towns , provoked a considerable home defense effort by the Italians , who founded home defense squadrons to counter the attacks . On 7 April 1916 , the newly formed Italian fighter arm scored its first victories despite being handicapped by " scramble " tactics . Newly supplied Nieuport 11 s , with their improved performance , made the difference . By May , in an attempt to replace casualties and expand its air force , 568 Italian pilots graduated from 20 – 24 week courses in the first five months of 1916 . On 28 August 1916 , Italy declared war on the German Empire . In August 1916 Italy began use of escort fighters accompanying its bombers to ward off Austro - Hungarian interceptors intent on foiling Italian bombing raids . When the Battle of Asiago erupted on 14 May 1916 in an Austro - Hungarian attempt to attack the rear of the Isonzo Front , Italian air assets aided the Italian army in countering the attack . Italian aviation had a significant effect on the course of fighting on Mount Ortigara ; its 61 bombers dropped 5 . 5 tons of bombs on Austro - Hungarian troops . The 84 escorts for this mission found little opposition , as the Austro - Hungarians could muster only three single - seat fighters and 23 two - seater reconnaissance craft against them . By September 1916 Italian air assets came to 42 squadrons crewed by 369 pilots ( 140 officers , 229 enlisted ) , 162 observers , and 123 gunners . By the end of 1916 , Italians fliers were credited with 56 aerial victories for the year The Battle of Caporetto . The ongoing stalemate of the Battles of the Isonzo drew more and more of Italy ' s military forces northward to repel the invaders . By August 1917 , the Italians could muster over 200 operational aircraft on its northern front on any given day . Their pressure on the invaders was considerable . In the early hours of 24 October 1917 , the Austro - Hungarians having been supplemented by German troops , launched a devastating attack on the Italian lines centered on the Caporetto Valley . Shattered by the first use of poison gas on the Italian front and flung back by the ferocious assaults , Italian troops withdrew to the Piave River to establish a new defense line . Italian fighter aircraft flew several daily sortie s apiece in support of their own troops during this battle . Demand for close air support was so insistent that the massive Caproni strategic bombers were diverted to the task . Naval seaplanes were even called in overland in support missions . After Caporetto , Italian aviation assets had dwindled to 59 squadrons containing 378 craft , with slightly more than 100 being fighters . For aircrews , it could muster 497 pilots , 284 observers , and 152 gunners . It had also lost use of 22 airfields , as well as other infrastructure that had fallen into enemy hands . The net effect of Caporetto was to set the Italian air effort back some one to two years . However , the Italian Air Force officially scored 170 aerial victories for 1917 , in 700 combats . The final offensives . The two armies in northern Italy lapsed into an exhausted pause until June 1918 . During this pause , as part of the rebuilding process , the Italian Army accumulated both a " bomber mass " and a " fighter mass " to concentrate the power of its air force . On the 15th , the Austro - Hungarians along the Piave River launched their last offensive , which shortly fizzled . As usual , heavier ground fighting brought on increased air activity . Victory claims by Italian aviation were almost double that of its opponent . Although the Austro - Hungarians claimed victory over two Italian observation balloon s and 43 airplanes , in turn , Italy claimed 72 airplanes and five balloons shot down . On the individual level , however , Italy had suffered greatly , as she lost the services of her leading ace , Francesco Baracca , as well as leading aces Flavio Baracchini and Silvio Scaroni . On 26 October 1918 , the Italians launched their final offensive , the Battle of Vittorio Veneto . Their ground troops were supported by a mass of 400 aircraft ; though some were British or French , the majority were Italian . Within three days , the Austro - Hungarian military began to dissolve . The fighting on the front ended on 3 November 1918 . The " Corpo Aeronautico Militare " would be credited with 633 victories during World War I . Although it had not gone to the extreme offensive tactics of the Royal Air Force , it had achieved air superiority and vanquished its foe . Foreign augmentation . Early in the war , French aircraft had been brought into to defend Venice from air attack . In the wake of the Battle of Caporetto , four squadrons of the British Royal Flying Corps were dispatched to Italy to supplement the Italian aviation effort . Unbeknownst to either Italians or British , the Austro - Hungarians were beginning to suffer shortages of vital war materials on the home front ; as a result , their aviation activities were seriously curtailed for the Winter of 1917 . However , the RFC squadrons would claim 550 victories for their year in Italy . In turn , the German Empire reinforced its laggard allies the Austro - Hungarians with air assets ; however , they were also relatively inactive over the Winter of 1917 – 1918 . Aircraft used . Italy produced 12 , 000 aircraft during the course of the war – this despite an economy that was based on agriculture rather than technology . However , much of this production capacity was wasted on the failed development of the SIA 7 . Italian army fighter pilots mostly found themselves flying either French Spad VII s , Spad XIII s , or Nieuport s , or Macchi ' s knockoffs of Nieuports . The failure of the multi - purpose SIA 7 also left some Italian pilots flying obsolescent Farman and Voisin reconnaissance craft well into 1918 , and paying the price in blood . Italian naval aviators , however , were supplied with seaplane fighters by Macchi , such as the M . 5 or the M . 7 , that were the equals of landbound fighters . As partially noted above , Italy did better with producing larger aircraft . The Caproni was already in production even before World War I , and had such a progressive design that it would serve for the war ' s duration . Macchi ' s copies of an Austro - Hungarian Lohner flying boat captured on 24 May 1915 meant the Lohner design served both Austria - Hungary and Italy for the length of the war . Post World War I . The " Corpo Aeronautico Militare " became the basis of the " Regia Aeronautica " , which became an air air force independent of the Italian Army on 28 March 1923 .