My father: an italian pilot in WWII

[Fabio]

This thread is dedicated to the memory of Gualberto Fabbrini (1919-2000), my Father, a Good Man.
Thank you Dad, I still miss you a lot!

[Fabio]

From the beginning

Gualberto is born in Castellammare di Stabia, an industrial sea town next to Napoli, in Southern Italy, second of 3 children: Rosa, Gualberto and Mario Fabbrini

[Fabio]

Father

His dad, my Grandpa, Ettore, was a naval technician and a good fascist, like all the middle class people was fascist in Italy from 1920 to the end of the war. Who tell you something different is a layier or a communist ....
Here's Grandpa in Party parade dress

[Fabio]

Brother

Here's dad with his little brother, my Uncle Mario, born in 1923, still alive and kicking ...

[Chet Sowersby]

Fabio,
I love the picture of your father in uniform. That is a very nice visor he is wearing.

Chet

[Fabio]

Fascist kids

And here you can admire them with their Grandpa Paolo after a fascist parade, dressed like Balillas.

[Fabio]

Navy Academy

My father should become a seaman not an aviator.
In fact my Grandpa worked for the Military Navy, so he had tha chance to send his son to the very prestigious Naval Academy of Livorno in Tuscany.
My father wasnt so happy about it but at that time sons used to say yes to their parent.
So my dad took an exam, passed it a become a cadet of the Academy.
Here we got a pic taken the first day he went there

[Nico C]

Fabio,

this is a magnificient thread!

[Fabio]

Change

He did his best to hide his feelings and try to enjoy the Academy but he felt he was born for flying not shippin so one day he wrote a sincere letter to his father.
Nonno Ettore understood and let him goin back home.
Another pic of my dad in Academy Cadet Uniform

[Fabio]

Milizia Fascista

Once he came back for one year he stayed in the Milizia Volontaria di Sicurezza Nazionale (the Fascist Army)
Here a wonderful pic with the typical Milizia hat

[Fabio]

Still Milizia

Here you can see the Milite Fabbrini and other camerati out of the barracks of the Legion, in Maddaloni, near Napoli
Nice pic, isn't it?

[Fabio]

Fly!

After one year of military service, dad started doing two things: studying civilian engineering and learnin how to fly.
He took private lesson of flying.
Here's dad, dressed to kill, with other aviators and a lady

[Fabio]

masterpiece

IMO this pic is so beautiful that has no price: it shows perfectly the relation between the pilot and his aeroplane.
Look at the incredible happy face of Gualberto

[Fabio]

Civilian pilot flying book

Here we have his personal flying book

[Chet Sowersby]

Fabio,
These are superb pictures of your father.

Chet