Air Battle on Istrana

Battle on Istrana
	Part of the Italian front of World War I
	; A German DFW-C.V shot down near Musano [it]
Date	25–26 December 1917
Location	Istrana
Result	Austro-Hungarian-German defeat
Belligerents
Kingdom of Italy; British Empire Canada; ;	Austria-Hungary; Germany
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Known List: Georg Est † ; Franz Hertling † ; Lt. Kessler (POW) ; Lt. Edehbole † ; Karl Uecker † ; Heinrich Pfeiffer † ; Pallasch (POW) ; Pohlmann (POW) ; Schlamm (POW) ;
Units involved
Royal Italian Air Force; British Royal Air Force	Luftstreitkräfte; K.u.K. Luftfahrtruppen
Strength
Total: 18 aircraft Italian Air Force:; 15 Hanriot-HD.1s British Air Force:; 3 Sopwith Camels	Total: 40 aircraft German Air Force:; 25 DFW-C.Vs and some AEG-G.IVs Austro-Hungarian Air Force:; 15 Albatros-D.IIIs and Albatros-D.Vs
Casualties and losses
70th Squadron:; 4 pilots KIA, 5 Hanriot-HD.1s and 2 Hangars damaged; 82nd Squadron:; 2 Hanriot-HD.1s destroyed and damaged	15 pilots KIA; 10 DFW-CVs and 1 AEG-G.IV shot down

The Air Battle on Istrana was an air battle that took place in the sky over the town of Istrana on 26 December 1917, as part of the First World War. It was the most important air battle on the Italian front.

Background[edit]

On 25 December, an unauthorized attack on the Istrana Air Base (at the time controlled by Germans & Austro-Hungarians) was carried out by the Canadian Captain William George "Billy" Barker, the Aviator Harold Byron Hudson and by another pilot which remained unknown. The attack was carried out at night from the Gazzo Padovano hangar.^[1] The attack was a success: on the German and Austro-Hungarian losses, we have 15 pilots killed and 5 planes damaged. After the battle the British left a sign on the hangar saying: "To the austrian flying corps from english RFC wishing you a very Merry Christmas".^[2]

A British plane getting ready to fly for the raid.

Course of Events[edit]

To avenge the 25 December attack, the Germans and Austro-Hungarians jointly launched another attack on the base against what they thought were only British units. On the morning of 26 December, German and Austro-Hungarian planes attacked. The attack was described by Silvio Scaroni as the following^[3]:

(in Italian) Verso le 9 di ieri mattina, dunque, le vedette del campo, dato l'allarme, avvertivano che due forti gruppi di aeroplani nemici, dalla direzione del Montello, venivano verso il nostro campo. Con un binocolo volli dare un'occhiata verso la direzione indicata e vidi subito gli apparecchi che avanzavano serrati a una quota di 3000 metri; poco più in alto un altro gruppo di piccoli caccia: complessivamente potevano essere una quarantina di macchine...

After that, all the Italian and British planes stationed in the nearby Hangar joined the air battle. After bloody hours of fighting, the outcome was devastating for the Central Powers: they lost a total of 11 aircraft, while the Italians and British a total of 5. After the attack, the VI Airplane Group (later renamed 6th fighter group [it]) received the Bronze Medal of Military Valor for the following reason:

(in Italian) Durante un'incursione aerea nemica, in cui ben trenta velivoli avversari bombardavano e mitragliavano il campo di aviazione del 6º Gruppo aeroplani, tutti i piloti presenti, non scossi dalle prime perdite, si levarono in volo e con un contrattacco fulmineo ed imbattibile abbattevano ben undici apparecchi nemici, costringendo gli altri alla fuga Cielo di Fossalunga^[d] nel 26 dicembre 1917.

British and Italian soldiers inspecting a DFW-CV that was shot down in battle.

Notes[edit]

^ 70th, 76th, 78th, 81st, 82nd squadrons
^ 28th squadron
^ One of them was the Gazzo Padovano hangar, i.e. where the 25 December attack came from.
^ The name given to Istriana by the Italians at that time.

References[edit]

^ Mario Fucini (1933). Voli sul nemico (ricordi di guerra) (in Italian). Florence: R.Bemporad & Figlio.
^ John Guttmann (2012). Sopwith Camel. Osprey Pubblication.
^ Roberto Gentilli and Paolo Varriale (1999). I Reparti dell'aviazione italiana nella Grande Guerra (in Italian). Rome: Ufficio Storico dello Stato maggiore Aeronautica.

Roberto Gentilli and Paolo Varriale (1999). I Reparti dell'aviazione italiana nella Grande Guerra (in Italian). Rome: Ufficio Storico dello Stato maggiore Aeronautica.
Roberto Gentilli, Paolo Varriale and Antonio Iozzi (2002). Gli assi dell'aviazione italiana nella Grande Guerra (in Italian). Rome: Ufficio Storico dello Stato maggiore Aeronautica.
John Guttmann (2012). Sopwith Camel. Osprey Pubblication.
Renato Callegari (2012). Il fronte del cielo Guida all'Aviazione nel Veneto durante la Grande Guerra 1915-1918 (in Italian). Istriana: Istituto per la Storia del Risorgimento Italiano - Comitato di Treviso. ISBN 978-88-96032-10-7.
AAVV (1978). Ali italiane 1908-1922 Vol. 1 (in Italian). Milan: Rizzoli.
H.A. Jones (1937). The War in the Air Being the Story of The part played in the Great Warby the Royal Air Force. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Mario Fucini (1933). Voli sul nemico (ricordi di guerra) (in Italian). Florence: R.Bemporad & Figlio.
"Il fronte del cielo" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.

[1] 70th, 76th, 78th, 81st, 82nd squadrons

[2] 28th squadron

[3] One of them was the Gazzo Padovano hangar, i.e. where the 25 December attack came from.

[7] The name given to Istriana by the Italians at that time.

[4] Mario Fucini (1933). Voli sul nemico (ricordi di guerra) (in Italian). Florence: R.Bemporad & Figlio.

[5] John Guttmann (2012). Sopwith Camel. Osprey Pubblication.

[6] Roberto Gentilli and Paolo Varriale (1999). I Reparti dell'aviazione italiana nella Grande Guerra (in Italian). Rome: Ufficio Storico dello Stato maggiore Aeronautica.

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