Leo Models Italian Air Force LMF45
Savoia-Marchetti S.55 Diecast Model
I-BALB, Italo Balbo, Chicago, IL, Transatlantic Flight 1933 |
| 1:144 Scale | | Length | | Width |
|---|
| Savoia-Marchetti S.55 | | 4.5" | | 6.5" |
Italo Balbo was an Italian Blackshirt leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force (Maresciallo dell'Aria), Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa (Africa Settentrionale Italiana, or ASI), and the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
From 1 July – 12 August 1933, he led a flight of twenty-four flying boats on a round-trip flight from Rome to the Century of Progress in Chicago, Illinois. The flight had seven legs; Orbetello — Amsterdam — Derry — Reykjavík — Cartwright, Labrador — Shediac — Montreal ending on Lake Michigan near Burnham Park. In honor of this feat, Mussolini donated a column from Ostia to the city of Chicago; it can still be seen along the Lakefront Trail, a little south of Soldier Field. Chicago renamed Seventh Street Balbo Drive (it still bears the name) and staged a parade in his honor.
During Balbo's stay in the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited him to lunch and presented him with the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was awarded the 1931 Harmon Trophy. The Sioux even honorarily adopted Balbo as "Chief Flying Eagle". Balbo received a warm welcome in the United States, especially by the large Italian-American populations in Chicago and New York. To a cheering mass in Madison Square Garden he said: "Be proud you are Italians. Mussolini has ended the era of humiliations." After this, the term "Balbo" entered common usage to describe any large formation of aircraft. Back home in Italy, he was promoted to the newly created rank of Marshal of the Air Force (Maresciallo dell'Aria).
Designed as a passenger carrying sea plane, the S.55 was first flown in the summer of 1925. © Copyright 2003-2025 The Flying Mule, Inc.
The Leo Models "Italian Air Force" range presents affordable, ready-made diecast models of Italian military aircraft.
Leo Models "Italian Air Force" diecast airplanes feature:
- Diecast metal construction with some plastic components.
- Realistic panel lines, antennas, access panels and surface details.
- Pad printed markings and placards that won't fade or peel like decals.
- Presentation stand to display the aircraft "in flight".
- Authentic ordnance loads.
© Copyright 2003-2025 The Flying Mule, Inc.
