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Lieutenant General Count Pier Ruggero Piccio (27 September 1880 – 30 July 1965) was an Italian aviator and the founding Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force. With 24 victories during his career, he is one of the principal Italian air aces of World War I, behind only Count Francesco Baracca and Tenente Silvio Scaroni. Piccio rose to the rank of Lieutenant General and in later years, became a Roman senator under the Fascists before and during World War II. ==Early life== Pier Ruggero Piccio was born in Rome on 27 September 1880,〔Franks et al 1997, pp. 151-152.〕 to Giacomo Piccio and Caterina Locatelli.〔Italian senate's website page on Piccio () (In Italian, translated by Microsoft) Retrieved 11 May 2013.〕 He attended the Military Academy of Modena, enrolling on October 29, 1898. He graduated on September 8, 1900, as a sottotenente (second lieutenant)〔Variale 2009, pp. 75-78.〕 assigned to the 43rd Infantry Regiment.〔 In 1903, stultified by garrison duty, he had himself seconded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At that time, Italy and Belgium had an agreement to allow for exchange duty between their militaries; Piccio's aim was service in the Belgian Congo.〔 From 5 November 1903 until 17 February 1907, he was engaged in a mission to Kalambari, Africa.〔 His return from Africa took him via Paris, where he managed to spend his three years' savings in a few days revelry. Upon his return to Italy, he shipped out again for foreign duty.〔 He spent from 13 March 1908 to 31 July 1909 assigned to the 2nd Mixed Company of Crete.〔 From November 14, 1911 through December 2, 1912, he served in the Italo-Turkish War〔 (also sometimes called the Libyan War because Libya became an Italian protectorate as a result of the conflict). This war was notable for the first use of aircraft in battle, although the pioneer events of aerial reconnaissance and bombing occurred just before Piccio's arrival.〔Hallion 2010, p. 11.〕 Piccio's duty station was with an artillery unit belonging to the 37th Infantry. During this service, while commanding a machine gun section, he was decorated with the Bronze Medal for Military Valor during February 1912.〔 On 31 March 1913, Piccio was transferred to the 19th Infantry at the rank of captain. Then finally one of his attempts to attend aviation training succeeded; he was approved to attend the Malpensa flying school. On 27 July 1913, he qualified as a pilot upon Nieuport monoplanes.〔 After further training, he also qualified on 25 October to pilot Caproni bombers. He was then assigned to command ''5a Squadriglia Aeroplani''. On 31 December 1914, as Europe settled into the bitter trench warfare of World War I, Piccio was knighted in the Order of the Crown of Italy.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pier Ruggero Piccio」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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