Today marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of Major MOVM Francesco Baracca. Knight of Cavalry, a legendary figure of the emerging Italian Air Force, was the indomitable leader of the 91st Squadron, which, due to the skill of its pilots and the air-strikes it carried out, was dubbed the “Squadron of the Axis.” Only Baracca achieved 34 victories out of 63 aerial combat missions, receiving numerous decorations including a Bronze Medal and three Silver Medals for Military Valor, the Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of Savoy, the Knight’s Cross of the Royal Belgian Order and, finally, the Gold Medal for Military Valor on the occasion of the thirty-first downing of an enemy aircraft. For the numerous acts of heroism performed and the exceptional qualities of an aviator, Francesco Baracca “Asso degli Assi” represents the most significant and emblematic figure in our aeronautical history and the most illustrious traditions of flight from which, just five years after the end of the First World War, the Regia Aeronautica was born on March 28, 1923. A romantic, daring and chivalrous commander, Francesco Baracca fell on Montello on June 19, 1918, struck by the ground while flying over the enemy lines. The Rampant Griffon of the 91st Squadron along with that of the 10th, 27th and 87th “The Serenissima“Today, the heraldic emblem of the Air Force still adorns it, while the “leaping horse” chosen by Baracca as a personal symbol on his aircraft continues to fly in the flags of the 4th Flight Wing and the X and XII Flight Groups of the 36th Flight Wing.” The same emblem, donated by the hero’s mother to the then young racing driver Enzo Ferrari, would become the unmistakable and coveted distinctive mark of the renowned house of Maranello.