Image via Stato Maggiore AMI.

Oscar Abello was born in Torino on 25 September 1916.

He served in the 70^a Squadriglia, 23^o Gruppo, 3^o Stormo. This unit was equipped with Fiat CR.42s.

When the war started on 10 June 1940 the 3^o Stormo was sent to the French border to take part in the attacks on southern France.

Abello took part in the big attack on French airfields on 15 June.

In July 1940 the 23^o Gruppo moved to Sicily and took part in the attacks on Malta.
On 9 July the 23^o Gruppo became Autonomo and the first escort missions over Malta was flown on 12 July. At this time the 70^a Squadriglia was based at Pantelleria.

Shortly after 09:00 on 16 July, a dozen CR.42s of 23^o Gruppo appeared over Malta on a reconnaissance mission. Flight Lieutenant Peter Gardner Keeble in a Hurricane Mk.I (P2623) and Flight Lieutenant George Burges in a Gladiator had been scrambled, and dived on this formation. Keeble attacking one CR.42, but being attacked himself by two more flown by Tenente Mario Pinna and Sottotenente Abello (both from 70^a Squadriglia). After a long chase Keeble was hit and his aircraft dived out of control towards the south-east of the Island where it hit the ground near Wied il-Ghajn and blew up. It was immediately followed by a CR.42 flown by 24-year-old Tenente Mario Benedetti (MM4368) of the 74^a Squadriglia, which crashed within 100 yards of the Hurricane. Keeble was killed outright but Benedetti survived the initial impact of his crash, but died soon afterwards at the civilian hospital at Vincenzo Bugeja without regaining conscious.
Burges made no claim on this occasion, and subsequently it was claimed that Benedetti’s aircraft was brought down with LMG fire by C Company headquarters, 1st Battalion The Dorsetshire Regiment. It is also possible Benedetti’s aircraft was the one attacked by Keeble.
Sergente Maggiore Renzo Bocconi claimed a second Hurricane, but this was not allowed by the 2^a Squadra intelligence staff.
Keeble was the first of Malta's fighter pilots to lose his life in the defence of the island.

Abello was promoted to Tenente soon after this combat.

Around midday on 7 September, ten S.79s from the 36^o Stormo with seventeen CR.42s of the 23^o Gruppo raiding Valetta. Three Hurricanes and three Gladiators were up on this occasion, Flight Lieutenants Greenhalgh and Lambert, and Flying Officer Barber jointly shooting down a 258^a Squadriglia, 109^o Gruppo S.79; a second was claimed probably damaged by the A.A.. The unit commander Tenente Colonello Tito Falconi and Tenente Oscar Abello of the 23^o Gruppo attacked two of the Hurricanes, claiming one shot down each, but both British aircraft escaped with only minor damage.

On 5 January 1941 Flying Officer Ernest 'Imshi' Mason (Hurricane I P3722) and Second Lieutenant Robert Talbot (Hurricane I P3721) of 274 Squadron attacked Z1 landing ground at Ain el-Gazala, North Africa, current home of newly arrived 23^o Gruppo. They first made attack in the morning when Mason strafed CR.42 on the ground and Talbot claimed a S.79 taking off. They returned at 12.30 and Mason reported:

"in the afternoon we went there [Gazala airfield] again and circled over the aerodrome. Suddenly I saw two CR42s approaching to land. I dived down and came up behind. I gave the leader a burst and as I shot past him he turned slowly and dived straight in the middle of the aerodrome and exploded. In the meantime the other chap had turned and came for me head on. I gave him a short burst and he did the same thing. This time on the edge of the aerodrome. By then five more, also returning home, had seen me and were diving on me so Bob shot down the leader and they dispersed."

At the time of his death Abello was credited with one victory, this one claimed while flying the Fiat CR.42.

He was posthumously decorated with the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1940
	16/07/40	˝	Hurricane (a)	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		over Malta	70a Squadriglia
1	07/09/40	1	Hurricane (b)	Destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Valetta	70a Squadriglia

Biplane victories: 1 and 1 shared destroyed.
TOTAL: 1 and 1 shared destroyed.
(a) Flight Lieutenant Peter Gardner Kebble of Hal Far Fighter Flight, flying in Hurricane (P2623); shot down and killed.
(b) Regia Aeronautica claimed two Hurricanes in this combat but both British aircraft escaped with only minor damage.

Sources:
Battle over Malta - Anthony Rogers, 2000 Sutton Publishing Limited, Gloucestershire, ISBN 0-7509-2392-X
Hurricanes over Malta - Brian Cull and Frederick Galea, 2001 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-902304-91-8
Hurricanes over Tobruk - Brian Cull with Don Minterne, 1999 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-902304-11-X
Malta: The Hurricane Years 1940-41 - Christopher Shores and Brian Cull with Nicola Malizia, 1987 Grub Street, London, ISBN 0-89747-207-1
Storia Aeronautica Italiana
Additional information kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo.