English translation by Frank McMeiken

The Stazione Elicotteri Marina Militare di Catania (Catania Italian Navy Helicopter Station) is located just a short distance from the city centre, and not far from the volcano Etna, both of which are visible when standing on the aprons of the Stazione Elicotteri. The airport complex at Catania Fontanarossa is composed of the MariSTaeli situated on the eastern side of the airfield, and the International Airport on the side closest to the city, both structures being completely autonomous. The base is named after Sotto Tenente di Vascello Mario Calderara, the first Italian military pilot and holder of Licence No. 1,
issued on 10 May 1910. Calderara was born in Verona on 10 October 1879, becoming a famous Italian inventor and aviator: as well as being the first military pilot to gain his licence, he was also the first person in Italy to construct a seaplane (1911).
The story of this pioneer of Italian aviation merits further examination. In 1898, on coming of age, he was admitted to the Accademia Navale at Livorno, and in 1901 passed out with promotion to Guardiamarina (midshipman). He soon developed a strong attraction for flight: it should not be forgotten that during that period the possibilities of placing a human being aboard a flying machine slowly began to come to fruition, thanks to the ideas and early successes of Otto Lilienthal and the more well-known Wright brothers. Calderara himself engaged in intense correspondence with the illustrious brothers, which developed into a profound friendship after the mythical first flight performed by the Wrights in 1905.
From that point the new inventor managed to glean much information and technical details, which permitted him, in 1907, to commence his first gliding experiments in the Gulf of La Spezia. In the course of these trials with a biplane towed by a ship, he reached an altitude of around fifteen metres, only to crash into the sea, where Calderara ran the risk of drowning. In April 1909 Calderara was afforded the opportunity meeting Wilbur Wright during one of his visits to Roma, and to take some lessons from the illustrious pioneer.
In 1911 Calderara designed and constructed the largest seaplane ever built in the world at the time, but to see it fly he would have to wait until the spring of 1912. In the period between 1917 and 1922 he was assigned the command of a new school for seaplane pilots of the United States Navy. Now promoted to Capitano di Corvetta, Calderara was awarded the prestigious “American Navy Cross”. From 1923 to 1925 he was posted to the role, less operational but far more authoritative, of Military Attache with the Italian Embassy in Washington.
At the end of his posting to the United States, Calderara decided to leave the Regia Marina and Italy, relocating to Paris, where he commenced, with some success, commercial activites in the aviation sector. With the outbreak of World War Two in 1939, he elected to return to Italy, and at this point the first financial problems for his family began to occur. In 1944, in his home city of Verona, Mario Calderara passed away after a sudden illness.
The Stazione Elicotteri (Helicopter Station) at Catania Fontanarossa, like the other bases at Grottaglie and Luni, reports directly to COMFORAER (Comando delle Forze Aeree – Air Forces Headquarters), which in turn reports to CINCNAV (Comando in Capo della Squadra Navale –
Commander in Chief of the Naval Force). Comando delle Forze Aeree della Marina Militare (COMFORAER) was formally constituted on 1 January 2000, and just over five years later, on 10 June 2005, the Presidente of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, awarded the Command its Bandiera di Guerra (standard). As its main task, COMFORAER manages the air bases and Gruppi di volo (flying squadrons) which report to it, with its core mission being to guarantee the availability to the naval fleet of aircraft, aircrew, and trained and equipped specialist personnel, coupled with the necessary technical and logistical support.
COMFORAER is, moreover, delivering results on a similar level to an equivalent European force, both for quality and the continuity of its efficiency (16,000 hours flown annually, 75% average serviceability of its aircraft). Its various components, which conduct maritime and land operations mainly from surface vessels are also constantly involved in rescue operations, the protection of human life, and Protezione Civile (Civil Defence). These units have distinguished themselves in various
operational theatres and, in the national and international context, in all the missions in which they have played a part. In the course of these activities the helicopters and aircraft of the Marina Militare, mainly through their multi-role capabilities and qualities of versatility, efficiency and availability, have proven to be effective and irreplaceable instruments in the provision of assistance and defence to warships at sea and land forces. Obviously, all these operations support both national and international collective requirements.
In respect of their national requirements, daily the crews and aircraft undertake their institutional roles in support of the various missions assigned to the Squadra Navale (maritime surveillance, anti-submarine and anti-shipping missions, electronic warfare support, amphibious operations, and Special Forces activities), taking part in search and rescue operations. They also participate in the fight against forest fires, support the civilian community in civil defence operations, and respond to any other emergencies to which their training and equipment is suited. The Catania crews fly innumerable missions on behalf of the inhabitants of Sicilia, performing frequent missions to guarantee communication with the smaller islands when they are isolated by bad weather, and are closely involved with the vulcanology institutes, flying missions to monitor the eruptions of Mount Etna. During the course of recent years, furthermore, there has been an increase in operations associated with the control of migration and fishery protection (VI.PE - VIgilanza Pesca). In this context, the
activities are conducted both from on-board ships on patrol and from the bases at Catania and Grottaglie (Taranto), mission which are coupled with the provision of maritime search and rescue.
Command of the Sicilian base is traditionally assigned to a senior officer, normally of the rank of Capitano di Vascello, to whom report the 2° Gruppo Elicotteri, which operates AB 212 helicopters in the ASW/ASuW versions, and the 3° Gruppo Elicotteri, equipped with EH 101ASW/ASuW helicopters, the entire operation being supported by technical and logistical structures which will be more closely examined.
The current staffing of the base comprises some 700 men and women, of whom around sixty are civilians. Although limited in numbers, there are women serving on the base: three are basic ‘seamen’, and two are officer pilots. It is useful to turn to the roles fulfilled by the latter two members of the “gentle sex” to illustrate the current situation.
Our first subject is, inevitably, STV (Sotto Tenente di Vascello) Pilota Daniela Giordano, Chief of the Headquarters Officer and External Affairs Officer for the base, who was also, above all, the patient organiser of my visit to the MariSTaeli. Giordano was the first Italian woman to be awarded the Brevetto di Pilota Militare. Her career, however, following the Diploma di Maturità Classica gained in 1995, took an initial and albeit brief patch down another road, although retaining an element of her “passion” for uniform; her initial enrolement in service took place in September 1998, when she joined the Polizia di Stato. However, her strong interest in the armed forces, and in particular in the Marina Militare, was turned into a more definite path when, following the approval of Law 380/99 (Institutional Laws for Female Military Service), Signora (as junior officers are called in the Marina) Giordano, following an open competition, was admitted in September 2000 to the
Accademia Navale in Livorno for the 1° Corso Allievi Ufficiali Piloti di Complemento (1° AUPC – 1st Short Term Commissioned Officer Student Pilot Course).
Posted to the United States Navy flying schools in the States, she commenced a thorough flying training syllabus which required an initial training phase, designated “Primary”, ot be completed at Pensacola in Florida, performed on the T 34C Turbo Mentor trainer, and an “Advanced” phase at Corpus Christi in Texas, this time on the twin-engined T 44A.
It was at this famous school than finally, on 10 May 2002, she gained the much vaunted “Wings of Gold” of the United States Navy, being classified, amongst other awards. Bu entry onto the “Commodore List” (a grading issued to the first 10% of the pilots graduating from the course). In December 2002 she moved to rotart winged flying training (on the Bell TH 57 Sea Ranger), this time at the school at Whiting Field in Florida.
Following this “rewarding” but demanding American selection process, STV Giordano returned to Italy and was assigned to the 3° Gruppo Elicotteri. Within the Gruppo she achieved CRB status (Combat Ready Bravo) on the SH 3D “Sea King”, becoming operationally employable on all the activities of the air element of the Marina. As one of the highlights of her
career, Giordano will probably remember two significant dates, one on 28 May 2003, when she was awarded the honour of Cavaliere al Merito della Repubblica as the “First Woman Military Pilot in the History of Italy”, reiceiving the actual medal from Presidente della Repubblica Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. The second date is certainly 14 March 2007, when STV Giordano flew as aircraft commander with the “primo volo rosa – first pink flight” in Italy, the first mission conducted by an all feminine
crew, comprising: Cre Commander STV Daniela Giordano, Copilot GM Nicoletta Palma, Flight Rescue Operators C3.cl Maddalena Lecce and C3.cl MariaVittoria Capraro. At present Giordano has totalled around 1,000 flying hours, and has been involved in many and diverse training and operational activities with the Marina: in 2008, she commenced type conversion onto the EH 101 helicopter.
The second female pilot present at Catania is STV Lea Norma Bottacini, also serving with the 3° Gruppo Elicotteri. Born in Merano (Bolzano) on 18 December 1983, after obtaining a classics diploma in German in July 2002, she enrolled in the Accademia Navale at Livorno in May 2004. At the end of her studies, she followed the same path as her “colleague” Giordano, resulting in the award of her “Navy Wings” on 28 April 2006: in January 2007 she qualified as a helicopter pilot.
Bottacini was also assigned to the 3° Gruppo and followed the same path, obtaining CRB qualification on the Sea King and subsequently on theEH 101. Today STV Bottacini has around 700 flying hours,registered during participation in exercises both on land and on the carriers Garibaldi and Cavour. The principal peculiarity that marks out the Stazione Elicotteri di Catania is the presence of a high level training structure which is unique within the Marina Militare. This “School” is occupied with the training of all the personnel of the service both as engineers and on-board operators, while for the pilots it is an obligatory step, taking aircrew newly qualified from the flying schools and submitting them to type conversion, training them to fly the type of helicopter in which they will serve operationally. This training activity for crews based at Catania adds to their “normal” operational duties, and makes their workload particularly heavy: this affects not just the aircrew, but also the technical personnel occupied with the maintenance of the aircraft. The entire syllabus is managed by a section known as the Ufficio Corsi e Tirocini – Course and Study Office. All the sections can be explored by clicking on the appropriate patches.

Comandante

Since 24 September 2009 the Comandante of the Stazione Elicotteri di Catania Fontanarossa has been Capitano di Vascello Giuseppe Galli, born in 1961 at Cagliari. Galli entered the Accademia Navale in 1980, and subsequently gained his military pilot’s wings at the United States Navy flying schools. His career in the Marina Militare commenced with a posting to the frigate ‘Espero’ as a pilot, and subsequently as Chief of the flying unit, and while serving in this post he took part in operations to protect merchant shipping the Persian Gulf. Between 1990 and 1992 he continued his shipborne career, this time on the frigate ‘Alpino’, as head of the flying section. From 1992 until 1993, promoted to Tenente di Vascello, he commanded the transport ship ‘Caprera’, and amongst a variety of activities played a vital part in support operations for the Pellicano mission in Albania.
From 1993 until 1997 he held his first prestigious post, that of Capo Servizio Volo on board the destroyer ‘Ardito’, and subsequently was second-in-command of the 2° Gruppo Elicotteri, based at Catania. In the following two years he took a break from operational service to undergo two years of academic training, the first at the Interforce Defence College of the Military School in Paris, and the second with the Accademia Navale in Livorno, where he was a coordinator and lecturer for the officers posted to the Ruoli Speciali (Special Roles) and the pre-pilot courses. In 2001 Galli was promoted again to Capitano di Fregata, and returned to operational service as commander of the frigate ‘Bersagliere’: amongst the more routine activities, the ship was involved in the trials of the new generation Otot Melara 127LW cannon.
In the following year, and until 2005, he returned to dry land with the Stato Maggiore della Marina in Roma: over these three years he served as Capo Sezione (Section Head) and Capo Ufficio Supporto al Volo (Head of the Flight Support Office) with the Reparto Aeromobili. In September 2005 Galli was transferred on a four year posting to Toulon in France, as representative of the Squadra Navale with ALFAN (Amiral Commandant la Force d’Action Navale) and CECMED (Commandant en Chef pour la Méditerranée).
The Capitano di Vascello has been awarded the following honours:
-Croce d’Oro (25 years) of military service;
- NATO Medal (Kosovo);
- Commemorative medal for the protection of merchant shipping and the safeguarding of liberty in the Persian Gulf.
- Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica.

History of the Maristaeli

The history of the aviation service of the Marina Militare commenced, in fact, at Catania, as it was the first Stazione Elicotteri of the service to be constituted, and can be defined as the cradle of Italian naval aviation. The date of this historic step was 13 February 1963. The dedication of the Stazione Elicotteri in memory of STV (Sotto Tenete di Vascello) Mario Calderara was anything but coincidental, as Calderara was the first Italian military pilot to gain the Brevetto di Pilota Militare, and given the fact that he was serving with the Regia Marina, the motivation behind the choice was more than appropriate.
It is always considered that the Stazione Elicotteri was the first and definitive base to be utilised by the forming Gruppi Elicotteri, but the truth is that the first flying operations by a small group of AB 47G in the colours of the Marina Militare had already occurred in 1956 at Terrevecchie, utilising an area of the Arsenale at Augusta: these helicopters were under the dependence of the newly-formed 1° Gruppo Elicotteri. The first major evolution occurred in the following years when a contingent of personnel from the marina and their aircraft were accommodated in the Aeronautica Militare facility a Catania Fontanarossa airfield. Another fundamental step occurred in the early 1960s when the AB 47G were joined by a few SH 34G Seabat. With the arrival of the Seabat it became clear that there was a requirement to transfer the entire sutructure for logistical reasons to Catania Fontanarossa, and with this slow but inexorable expansion of the Catania facility the Aeronautica Militare decided to transfer the ownership of some of the facility to the Marina Militare. This took place in 1963, and the step was the official sanction for the constitution of the Marina’s first Base Aerea.
At the time of its constitution, the 1° Gruppo was equipped with the AB 47J and AB 47G and the “new” SH 34G, but by now the growth in the service was exponential, and there was an evident requirement to create a new Gruppo di Volo, the 2° Gruppo Elicotteri, which had already, since 1964, had been charged with receiving the new AB 204AS. Only four years later, in 1968, came another major step, the creation of a further Gruppo, the 3° Gruppo Elicotteri, which received, however, the more powerful Sikorsky SH 3D Sea King, bringing the quality of the air component of the Marina to the highest level in an extremely short time span. Between 1963 and 1971 Catania-Fontanarossa remained the principal Stazione Elicotteri, and was the point of reference, unequalled in potential by the other Stazioni Elicotteri. In 1971 the Stato Maggiore decided to transfer the 1° Gruppo Elicotteri to Luni-Sarzana, thereby equalising the potential of all its bases, and simultaneously arranging for each to retain their own particular characteristics.
With the transfer out of the 1° Gruppo in 1971, Maristaeli Catania assumed its definitive aspect, and this situation continues today with the presence of two Gruppi Elicotteri, Grupelicot Due and Grupelicot Tre.
Before continuing with the history of the MariSTaeli, it is worth examining the early history of the airfield at Catania-Fontanarossa. The origins of military flying in Catania can be traced to the pioneering era, and back in 1912, although not officially, there was extensive flying activity from a field in an area to the South of the city. In these early years there is evidence of the presence of a military component from the Battaglione Aviatori, which later became the Regia Aeronautica, in 1922, while in the following year (1923) the RA formalised its presence on the airfield by creating a Nucleo Aeroportuale. The official inauguration of the Fontanarossa airfield took place on 11 May 1924, the ceremony presided over by the then Presidente del Consiglio Benito Mussolini: on the edge of the airfield was a small quantity of Caproni Ca.450 bombers.
With the passage of time, activity increased, and in the mid-thirties the Catania airfield was home to a newly-created Squadriglia da Ricognizione (reconnaissance Squadriglia), but the period of greatest use of the airfield occurred, obviously, during the Second World War. Given its significant strategic position, Fontanarossa was used by the Luftwaffe as a “trampoline” airfield for mountaing raids on nearby Malta. Throughout the war it remained a crossroads of major events. After the war, both the civilian and military structures wee developed, and the Aeronautica Militare was present in the form of the 87° Gruppo Autonomo Antisom, an anti-submarine warfare unit which operated SB2C Helldiver from 1949, the PV 2 Harpoon from 1953, and finally the S 2F Tracker in 1957. In 1965 the 87° Gruppo was incorporated into the newly-constituted 41° Stormo, based at Sigonella.
The history of the civil side of the airfield dates from the establishment of the first structures in 1924, but only in 1947 did the airport see its first scheduled service arrive, coming from Torino-Collegno. Until the sixties the civil terminal was little used, but since then it has witnessed continued traffic expansion, and today has become the sixth busiest airport in Italy. The so-called “civil zone” also houses detachments of the Guardia di Finanza, Guardia Costiera, Vigili del Fuoco, and Carabinieri, and is also home to the local Aero Club.
In describing the events from the history of the Stazione Elicotteri di Catania, one that cannot be overlooked was the tragic disaster that occurred on 31 October 1964, when the airfield was flattened by a extraordinary squall, which, in the space of a few minutes, reduced the entire infrastructure utilised by the 1° Gruppo Elicotteri and Nucleo 2° Gruppo to tiny pieces: the work and accomplishments achieved by the personnel on the base was lost. Under the collapsed hangars were the majority of the helicopters on charge, totaly destroyed by the fires that developed after the collapse provoked electrical short circuits, Of the ten SH 34G, some seven were lost, the others being saved by the fact that, luckily, they were embarked at the time of the tragedy. Despite the disappointment of the personnel, reconstruction work quickly began, but not in the northern part of the airfield, but in the area to the south which today the MariSTaeli is positioned. The United States Navy were also quick to assist, handing over three SH 34G to enable the flying activity of the Gruppo Elicotteri to be quickly resumed. The rebuilding finished in the December of 1967 with the return of the two Gruppi di Volo to full operational status.
To bring to a just conclusion this chapter, it is worthy of note that in the Officers’ Mess of the Stazione Elicotteri di Catania, a true relic is housed, a relic that is also the symbol of the developing naval air arm. This is the original motto that was present on the Bergamini Class frigate F 595 Carlo Margottino, “PER UNDAS AD HOSTEM – Through the Waves towards the Enemy”. The Margottino was the first of four warships conceived and predisposed by the Marina Militare for revolutionary use in synergy with air assets: the other three were F 953 Carlo Bergamini, F 954 Virgino Fasan, and F 956 Luigi Rizzo. These warships were normally utilised as fleet escorts, and were the first in the world to be modified to host a flight deck capable of accommodating an ASW (Anti Submarine Warfare) helicopter, but not just for landing, as they featured a special sliding cover which could be used to house the aircraft during its stay at sea. None of the preceding versions of warships fitted with flight decks offered the possibility of hangaring aircraft on board.