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On 12 June, Lusardi and Caputo were received by General Nasi, who thanked them for their contribution to the defense of the fortress, and insisting they abandon Gondar, which was by now near surrender (the Italian stronghold, contrary to all expectation, continued to resist for many months until 27 November 1941). Lusardi and Caputo, while aware of the madness of the mission, did not pray, and after two days of preparations and repairs put the old “Caproni” in good enough shape for the long flight to the motherland.
At 0130 on 15 June 1941, the I-ETIO (included onboard were radio operator aboard Di Biagio, engineer Barilli and De Caro, three passengers, 700 liters additional gasoline in barrels with pumps for manual transfer and several kilograms of urgent mail and top secret documents) took off from Gondar entrusting itself to fortune. The plane – which had been restored to a civilian Wing Littoria – left in very bad weather conditions and with the radio out of action.
According to the flight plan studied by Lusardi, the plane would reach Jeddah (Saudi port on the Red Sea) for a first stop, then continue in the direction of Beirut and Rhodes. But this plan would eventually be modified. After seven hours of flight, characterized by strong squalls and high altitude turbulence, the I-ETIO flew over the Red Sea and reached the Arabian coast, landing in Jeddah at 0815 am on 15 June. Surrounded by Arab militia, the Italian crew, while wearing civilian clothes, presented their falsified documents.  The falsified documents helped them avoid imprisonment and even secure a supply of fuel for the remainder of the flight, which was paid for in gold by the Italian consulate.
However, the next stop at the Beirut airport (occasionally opened to Italian air traffic under agreements signed in Rome in late June of ’40) had to be canceled due to a sudden engine failure and developing events unfolding in the area. In just the last few days, Syria and Lebanon were involved in armed confrontation between Vichy French and British forces stemming from the failed coup in Iraq. Not wanting to bet on Beirut and unable to reach the distant location of Iranian Bushiri (which would also expose them to possible attacks by British air and ground forces), the lieutenants and Lusardi Caputo decided to head towards Derna, a Libyan coastal town about 2250 kilometers away from Jeddah.
It ‘worth noting in this connection that the Caproni Ca.148 could count on a normal of 1,000 kilometers and a unique (1,000 gallons of additional fuel) of 2,200 exactly! To earn a margin of safety is essential Italian pilots were to load on board other cans of gasoline, making it virtually impossible to take off half the overhead. Providentially, due to the surrender of the three passengers to continue this extraordinary journey that was assuming the characteristics of a crowd, the additional load to be managed, at least partially compensated. After repairing the engine cleaned up and right to center left and encrusted with sand and salt, the mechanics Barilli and De Caro went from the airport of Jeddah to get petrol promise. But were disappointed. Arab officials – fearing retaliation by the British Consulate (greatly annoyed by the presence of an aircraft at the aerodrome Italian “civil” but definitely “suspect”) state grant of power only 400 gallons of fuel against the 1,000 promised.
But necessity is the mother of invention. Without losing his cool, the young engineer Barilli, undoubtedly a man full of resources, proposed to his comrades a way to overcome the problem by “fabricating” a mixture of handcrafted aviation gasoline from automobile alcohol and benzene: substances that the Arabs could sell without problems. Thanks to this miracle of alchemy, in just a couple of weeks, the Italian crew (surrounded by the curious eyes of all the leaders of the Saudi base) were able to “produce” 4100 liters of a highly explosive but also highly toxic propellant. Nevertheless, the Arab authorities, increasingly pressed by the British for several months, would not allow the Italians to take off. Finally, thanks to the intervention of the Italian Consulate – and apparently a considerable fee – the airport authority finally granted permission. At 17:10, 9 October 1941, the I-ETIO took off overloaded, and successfully running on a new independent gasoline, that for a pure miracle, didn’t seize the motors while under a load.
Caproni Ca148 "I-ETIO"
But the very slow “Caproni” took two hours before reaching the height of 2,000 meters and it took five more before crossing the Red Sea, where they were able to see the great silver river called the Nile. But the adventure was not over. While more or less vertically above Asyut, the plane was identified by British spotlights and attacked with anti-aircraft fire. Having received a good deal of shrapnel – which by pure luck did not affect the number of internal tanks – the Italian crew was forced to smash the windows with hammers due to the increasingly unbearable fumes of the deadly fuel created by the puncturing shrapnel.
“Incredibly, the Caproni motors succeeded in bearing that accursed mixture, which for us humans was a real poison” stated Lieutenant Lusardi. Finally, at 0445 on 10 October, the I-ETIO-Ca.148 I reached Tobruk … and was welcomed back again by violent anti-aircraft fire. Now reduced to an empty shell, the Ca.148 had the strength to escape attack by diverting to an interior route. With the fuel tanks almost empty and the central engine seized, the “Caproni” managed to fly for another 70 kilometers in the direction of Ain el Gazala, finally putting the wheels down on a sandy clearing at 0625. The crew emerged unscathed from the emergency landing only to endure another 36 hours of walking under the sun to reach the nearest Italian observation post.
Having recovered from the incredible marathon, the Italian crew did not forget the old ” Caproni” (Lieutenant Lusardi had remained to watch over the tri-motor with a Beretta and a few bullets). The airplane and his keeper were recovered the following day thanks to a mobile group of bersaglieri..
On 12 October, after being supplied and summarily repaired, the I-ETIO landed at the Derna airport where the radio and central engine were replaced. But the journey was not over. The next day, the Caproni finally took off for Italy, reaching Rome-Urbe at 1415 on 19 October 1941. It was an odyssey of over 5,000 kilometers. It appears that despite the exceptional nature of the undertaking, the skillful and stubborn lieutenant Lusardi and his courageous crew were never granted any special decoration. Indeed, nothing is known about the fate of these boys, who with ‘a little adventure and a sense of duty’Â wrote one of his most curious chapters of the history of Regia Aeronautica. The only thing certain is that the old, ungrudging, indestructible “Caproni” continued on for some time to do transport service at the Airport Command Romano, earning the nickname “Arab Phoenix”.
Article and Photos provided courtesy Alberto Rosselli. Translation assistant: Jeff Leser
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I think this account of this old aircraft and its crew is a welcome addition to the archival record. I am presently interested in a photo on the Google image bank which deals with this subject. It is connected to the Probert Encyclopaedia site. It looks like a captured Ca-148 or 133 with curious marking. The stripe under the roundel on the fuselage may hold a clue to this machine’s story in the above mentioned time frame. I believe it was captured in E. Africa and used for some transport or training duty. The story behind the Probert photo may also have an interesting account of machines used during difficult times. Sincerely, M.A.P.-Avcomps