Tarcisio Fagnani was born on 26 June 1900 at Gessate, Milan.

As a young volunteer he fought in World War One, got his pilot's licence on a Breda-built Aviatik, and flew as a military pilot on Samis in January 1919.

Between 1927 and 1934 Fagnani carried out long navigation flights and took part intensively in competitions, air shows and drills.

Maggiore Fagnani became CO of IX Gruppo on 16 September 1935, taking over after Tenente Colonnello Cerutti Marziale.

On 7 October 1935, they converted to CR.32s.

Maggiore Fagnani later took part in the Spanish Civil War. He was posted in mid-September 1936 and arrived in the beginning of October.
In Spain, he used the nom de guerre ’Faroni’.

His first war mission took place on 7 October 1936, when his CR 32 took off from Seville to carry out two escort missions, one to recce aircraft over Cordoba and another one to bombers over Malaga.

In response to the appearance of the new Soviet aircraft types over Madrid, the Nationalist air force officially formed the first Fiat fighter group on 11 November. Designated Gruppo Caccia di Torrijos or Primo Gruppo Caccia Fiat (First Fiat Fighter Group), its CO was Maggiore Fagnani. The group included 2^a and 3^a Squadriglie on the Madrid front, these units being led by Capitani Guido Nobili and Goliardo Mosca, respectively, while Capitano Vincenzo Dequal’s 1^a Squadriglia remained at Seville, in Andalusia.

On 22 December, he claimed an I-15.

During the final weeks of 1936, following the appearance of increasing numbers of Soviet fighters on the Madrid front, the Spanish capitanes Joaquín García Morato and Ángel Salas did not consider that the Italian commander, Maggiore Fagnani, was sufficiently aggressive, and as they sought continually to have their own way the situation daily became tenser. The Italian leader had ordered that on a particular occasion they were not to penetrate into enemy territory. Salas, who was leading the patrol, defied the order. Fagnani attempted to have him arrested when he returned to base, but Morato intervened violently and protested that in Spain nobody was arrested for displaying courage. The outcome of ensuing discussions between Morato and Salas was a decision to try to form their own independent squadrons.
On 22 December, Morato flew to Seville. Ángel Salas and Miguel García Pardo remained in the Italian squadrons for a while, but on 9 January, they also moved to the south.

At the end of December 1936, when five CR.32s were handed over to the Nationalist air force, capitán Morato formed and commanded an autonomous Spanish patrol in Córdoba, together with his wingmen teniente Julio Salvador Díaz-Benjumea and capitán Narciso Bermúdes de Castro, and they were joined shortly afterwards by Miguel García Pardo.
The unit was named the Patrulla Azul (“Blue Patrol”).

On 19 January 1937, he attacked and strafed a "Martin Bomber" (SB).

Aniene delivered 12 more CR.32s during a voyage from La Spezia that ended on 4 February. With this shipment arrived squadriglia commander Capitano Mario Viola (’Viotti’) and an additional 11 pilots – five Sottotenenti and six Sottufficiali.

With the arrival of these new fighters there were now sufficient aircraft in-theatre to organise the CR.32 stormo into two gruppi of three squadriglie each. These took the form of the already established I Gruppo (formerly Gruppo Caccia di Torrijos) (CO Maggiore Fagnani) and including the reformed:

1^a Squadriglia (CO Tenente Enrico Degli Incerti from 15 January)
2^a Squadriglia (CO Capitano Guido Nobili)
3^a Squadriglia (CO Tenente Corrado Ricci (followed by Capitani Luigi Lodi and Mario Viola)

4^a Squadriglia (CO Capitano Vincenzo Dequal)
5^a Squadriglia (CO Capitano Armando François from 19 January)
6^a Squadriglia (initially remained in reserve, although it was later commanded by Tenente Antonio Larsimont Pergameni)

On 13 February, 16 CR.32s escorted five Ju 52/3ms and three Ro.37bis on a bombing mission over Arganda de Duero and Morata del Tajuña. On way home, three Spanish pilots (Joaquín García Morato, Narciso Bermúdes de Castro and Miguel García Pardo) suddenly left the formation and made a tight 180-degree turn to face about 40 Republican fighters, which they had spotted, and which were following the Nationalist formation at six-o'-clock. Soon all the Fiats entered in the dogfight. Sergente Giuseppe Ruzzin of the 1^a Squadriglia followed a ’Rata’ in a dive but his machine guns jammed. Meanwhile another ’Rata’ targeted him from behind. Trying to escape, he started to take violently evasive action. This probably un-jammed the four guns (he was flying a CR.32bis) because they went off by themselves just when another ’Rata’ passed in front of him. The ’Rata’ was hit in the fuel tank and exploded. Shortly after this Ruzzin’s aircraft was hit by many shots and with oil tank leaking, he made an emergency landing at Getafe. Ruzzin reported that 138 (alternatively 158) bullet holes were counted on his plane, the same number of the construction number on the tail fin.
Maggiore Fagnani and Sergente Maggiore Brunetto di Montegnacco were also credited with an I-16 apiece.
During the same aerial battle, an I-16 shot down the commander of the 3^a Squadriglia, Capitano Luigi Lodi, who became a PoW. Flying his first operational mission, Lodi was at the controls of a CR.32bis four-gun fighter. As this loss clearly proved, the performance of the new variant was clearly not up to that achieved by the earlier twin-gun version. The main problem was that the weight associated with the two extra guns, and their ammunition, in the lower wings adversely affected the flight characteristics of the CR.32. They also weakened the overall wing structure. Such drawbacks had already been noticed during combat in Andalusia the previous month. Yet despite negative reports from other more seasoned Italian pilots on the Madrid front, Capitano Lodi had unwisely opted for a four-gun CR.32. Following his loss all CR.32bis in Spain had their wing armament removed.

It seems that Fagnani was replaced as CO of the I Gruppo either because of his clashes with the Spanish pilot or by illness.

Fagnani claimed 2 biplane victories during the Spanish Civil War.

He came back very sick from the Spanish conflict and was temporarily discharged from his duties on medical grounds.

In 1939, before the outbreak of World War Two, he resumed his flying activity, and was then promoted to Colonnello, taking up command of the 54^o Stormo which in September and October began receiving early production Macchi MC.200s at S. Angelo, Treviso airfield.

When Italy also entered the war, the Stormo did not take part at first in the war because of teething troubles with the new monoplanes.

In June 1940 the Stormo was redeployed first at Airasca, Turin together with 152^o Gruppo and later at Vergiate, Varese with 153^o Grupp.
Later in the year the 54^o Stormo was disbanded, but was re-established in the spring of 1941, still at Treviso with two another Gruppi: 7^o Gruppo and 16^o Gruppo.
On 20 May, the 7^o Gruppo left for Sicily and was joined later by 16^o Gruppo.

However, in mid-1941 commander Fagnani's activity fades into obscurity. No flying activities appear to have been recorded in his flying documents.
Only in January 1942 he is found again, this time with the Comando Caccia of 3^o Squadra Aerea in Sardinia.

After the Italian surrender on 8 September 1943, he joined the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR).

After the war, a Purging Committee contested him as a member of ANR.

In November 1949, Fagnani was discharged from military service but, following his appeal as a top-ranking officer, in 1957 he was retroactively restored to his post and assigned to secondary duties.

Fagnani died in Milan on 12 September 1972.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1936
1	22/12/36		1	I-15	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			I Gruppo
	1937
2	13/02/37		1	I-16	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32		Arganda de Duero - Morata del Tajuña	I Gruppo

Biplane victories: 2 destroyed.
TOTAL: 2 destroyed.

Sources:
Courage Alone - Chris Dunning, 1998 Hikoki Publications, Aldershot, ISBN 1-902109-02-3
Fiat CR.32 Aces of the Spanish Civil War - Alfredo Logoluso, 2010 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84603-983-6
GORIZIA ed il QUARTO STORMO
Regia Aeronautica: The Italian Air Force 1923-1945 - An Operational History - Chris Dunning, 2009 Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, Surrey, ISBN 978-1-906537-02-9
The Legion Condor - Karl Ries and Hans Ring, 1992 Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 0-88740-339-5
Un comandante esemplare – Tarcisio Fagnani: dalla “Cucaracha” al commando del 54^o Stormo – Aerofan 78 – Lug.-Sett.2001 kindly provided by Stig Jarlevik
Additional information kindly provided by Stig Jarlevik and Alfredo Logoluso.