The double pair of seaplanes that played poker with the first commercial route

Neither quick, nor convenient nor economical. But that flight on 1 April 1926, one hundred years ago, opened the way to heaven for civil and commercial connections in Italy. The first line in the history of the Italian flag united Turin and Trieste just 23 years after the first flight in the history of the Wright brothers’ Flyer. The “heavier than air” had already made incredible progress in terms of technique and reliability, as it had demonstrated during the First World War with the duels between the aces of the warring powers, the bombing raids and even the propaganda ones, such as Gabriele d’Annunzio’s sensational feat over the skies of Vienna in August 1918. After the war experience, one piece was still missing to make the airplane a means of civilian transport.

A stopover in Pavia under the interested gaze of Mussolini

In 1926 the Società Italiana Servizi Aerei (SISA) inaugurated the connection between the former Savoy capital and the Julian city, with four Cant 10 Ter seaplanes which, starting synchronized from the two ends and passing over Venice, met in an intermediate stopover, on the Ticino, near Pavia. Right here, to give solemnity to the event, the head of the Government Benito Mussolini was present, who on 28 March 1923 had detached the air force from the army and navy, giving it an autonomous role as the “Blue Army”.

SISA was founded in 1922, the first Italian scheduled airline company, by the Cosulich Brothers, Istrian shipowners originally from Lussinpiccolo, already owners of an important family maritime transport business founded in 1854 in the then Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the war it was necessary to give and develop a new opportunity for the aeronautical industry, with the collapse of military orders, and the possibility of converting it to civil and commercial use. The Cant 10 took its name from the Trieste shipyard owned by the same Cosulich family who had created it in 1907 (today Fincantieri di Monfalcone) and who in 1923 had founded the aeronautical workshops.

Passengers are given cotton wool for the ears, blankets and hot water bottles

At the time, the seaplane was a particularly popular aeronautical variant also because it overcame the problems of logistics and landing and take-off fields, which were often poorly constructed. The Cant 10 designed in 1925 by the engineer Raffaele Confienti entered the line that April 1st in the Ter version with the 400 horsepower Lorraine-Dietrich 12 Db engine. In addition to the two crew members (pilot and engineer, or co-pilot), it could accommodate four passengers in its cockpit, in conditions not even remotely comparable to today’s standards.

For the inaugural flight the ticket price was set at 350 lire, equivalent to around 320 euros today, but with a much higher purchasing power. To overcome the inconveniences, the first passengers were provided with blankets and hot water bottles: the pressurization of the cabin was yet to come, the freezing air circulated freely, the noise of the engines was deafening and the passengers were even given cotton balls for their ears. Among the curiosities of that first flight, the recommendation contained in the regulation prohibiting throwing objects out of the window, and obviously not carrying weapons or even flammable objects on board. There was an absolute and explicit ban on boarding for anyone subject to psychiatric disorders, or, as they were defined at the time, mentally ill people.

Three connections a week and the commitment to carry 50 kg of correspondence

The weather conditions took them a long time to test that debut and a spiteful Bora wind caused the take-off base to change from Trieste, near the Molo Audace, to Portorose (now in Slovenia) and also caused the first delay in the history of the flight in Italy. In the end everything went well, the two pairs of seaplanes rose simultaneously from the waters of the two ends of the line and the timetable was respected, minute more minute less, setting the travel times at 4 and a half hours, also considering the half-hour intermediate stopover.

The rendezvous on the seaplane base of Pavia took place around midday, to Mussolini’s satisfaction. The route was mapped out and from then on the three-weekly schedule began with simultaneous departures from Turin and Trieste at 11am, arrival at 4.10pm, after stopping in Pavia and Venice. The Cosulich brothers had agreed with the Italian government to make the return connection three times a week and to transport the mail, up to a maximum weight of 50 kilos. For operational functionality, the seaports of Turin, Trieste and Pavia had been built and the project had been tested starting in 1924 with the Cant 10 powered by Fiat with a 300 horsepower six-cylinder engine, before moving on to a more powerful engine, while the pilots became familiar with the vehicle and with the places on the itinerary to recognize them from above.

SISA’s exit from the scene after the triumph of the 20,000 km tenth anniversary cruise

SISA would continue to manage, in addition to Turin-Trieste, the air routes with Brindisi, Pola, Genoa and Marseille, with a fleet of around fifty seaplanes, until 1934. The creation of the Cosulich brothers would be absorbed by the Mediterranean Air Company (SAM) which in turn would be renamed Ala Littoria on 28 October 1934, on the date of the March on Rome. For the tenth anniversary, the regime celebrated itself with the amazing Atlantic Cruise (1 July – 12 August 1933).

Twenty-five SIAI-Marchetti S.55Xs divided into 8 squadrons under the orders of Italo Balbo amazed the world by bringing their extremes closer together along the Orbetello-Chicago-New York-Rome route: 20,000 kilometers traveled in formation by 52 pilot officers, 1 engineer officer and 62 specialist non-commissioned officers who have since been called “the transvolators” or “the Atlantics”, celebrated in Italy and abroad. The Regia Aeronautica showed the way to the future and to air connections, and provided an image of great efficiency and even power.

But the truth was that the puny Italian industry, to obtain these extraordinary results, spent resources and energy pursuing the creation of record-breaking models in artisanal construction, instead of investing in standards and large numbers in view of the world war. The undoubted and recognized ability of the Arma Azzurra pilots was not followed by the design and scale construction of modern and competitive aircraft, even though Cant put several highly appreciated and efficient three-engine models into line even during the Second World War. The glory of seaplanes capable of exceptional feats and triumphs had however been the swan song of this type of aircraft, which modernity has set aside for the transport of passengers.