Italian Military Forces Patches

Italian Air Force Patches Aeronautica Militare AM (83)

Italian Air Force Patches Aeronautica Militare AM
Italian Royal Army Air Service founded in 1884 1911 Servizio Aeronautico undertook reconnaissance and bombing in the Italo-Turkish War the first use of powered aircraft in armed conflict. Italian Royal Air Force Regia Aeronautica Activated 28 March 1923 Combat in Etheopia 1935 Spanish Civil War 1936 - 39 and Joined Germany for WWII Mediterranean North Africa Balkans Greece Russia Armistice 8 September 1943 split Regia Aeronautica with Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force aligned with the Allies and the pro-Axis Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana until 8 May 1945. With the establishment of the Italian Republic on 18 June 1946 Regia Aeronautic became Aeronautica Militare The restrictions of the 1947 Peace Treaty of Paris 1947 were removed with the formation of NATO in 1949 The Air Force upgraded to mainly US aircraft and Italian types continued expansion F 104 Supersonic Fighter Tornado F 16 Fighting Falcon Typhoon F 35 Lightning II NATO operations in Somalia Mozambique and Balkans
Italian Naval Aviation Patches Aviazione Navale (3)

Italian Naval Aviation Patches Aviazione Navale
- Air branch of the Italian Navy established 1913. Air Branch disbanded when merged into the Royal Italian Air Force in 1937.
- Reactivated as Aviazione Navale in 1956 to operate helicopters on new Navy frigates. The Navy acquired Harrier II fighters in 1989 to operate from the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi.
- The carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi was replaced by the larger aircraft carrier Cavour in 2009.
Italian Army Aviation Patches Aviazione dell'Esercito AVES (3)

Italian Army Aviation Patches Aviazione dell'Esercito AVES
- Light Aircraft Department, the first Italian Army Aviation unit activated on 10 May 1951 at Monte dell’Oro landing strip Bracciano. The Unit tasked with artillery spotting and reconnaissance equipped with “L-18” and “L-21” fixed wing aircraft.
- AB 47 Sioux soap bubble, the Armys first helicopters arrived to the newly activated Experimental Helicopters Unit at Casarsa on 1 February 1956 .
- New units operating larger helicopters including AB 204 AB 205 Huey and CH 47 Chinook began operating. Meanwhile helicopter maintenance Units were established.
- Italian Army Aviation adopted a blue beret in 1971.
- Italian Army aviation units incorporated the names of astronomical objects to their designations in 1975. At the same time aviation support units added the name of individual stars from constellations to their designation.
- All units were redesignated Air Cavalry when Italian Army's Cavalry Branch took resposibility for Army Aviation on 1 June 1999.
- Air Cavalry moved to a new Army Aviation branch 0n 3 November 2003. Unit designations changed from Air Cavalry to Army Aviation .
- Army Aviation Grouping redesignated as Army Aviation Brigade on 1 March 2006.
- All aviation units of Aviation Brigade merged into Airmobile Brigade "Friuli" on 1 October 2023