15 July 1907 -

Tito Falconi was born on 15 July 1907.

Falconi was commissioned (in Servizio Permanente Effettivo) on 1 October 1928.

He served as a volunteer during the Spanish Civil War.

In February 1939 the 3^o Stormo was under the command of Colonello Fortunato Rolando and equipped with Fiat CR.32s (complemented with a Ca.133 to each squadriglia for transports). The Stormo consisted of two Gruppi; 23^o and 18^o.
23^o Gruppo was commanded by Maggiore Falconi and based at Mirafori. The squadriglia commanders were Capitano Ottorino Fargnoli (70^a Squadriglia), Capitano Guido Bobba (74^a Squadriglia) and Capitano Luigi Filippi (75^a Squadriglia).
18^o Gruppo was commanded by Maggiore Ferruccio Vosilla and based at Mondovì. The squadriglia commanders were Capitano Edoardo Molinari (83^a Squadriglia), Capitano Giulio Anelli (85^a Squadriglia) and Capitano Gino Lodi (95^a Squadriglia).
In October 1939 the 23^o Gruppo started to re-equip with Fiat CR.42s and from November the 18^o Gruppo did the same.

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

Falconi 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.

During the summer, Falconi was promoted to Tenente Colonello.

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.

At sunset on 24 November, six CR.42s of the 23^o Gruppo C.T. from Comiso attacked the airfield of Luqa (called Mikabba by the Italians) on Malta. The pilots participating in the attack had been selected among the best of the unit (Maggiore Falconi (Gruppo CO), Tenente Claudio Solaro, Capitano Guido Bobba (CO 74^a Squadriglia), Capitano Ottorino Fargnoli (CO 70^a Squadriglia), Tenente Ezio Maria Monti and Sottotenente Domenico Tessera). They strafed from very low altitude, claiming one plane in flames for sure and additional damage. Back at base, the Italian War Bulletin credited them of three ground victories. They had in fact managed to burn Wellington “F” of 38 Squadron (the machine of Pilot Officer Timmins) in transit from Marham to Egypt, and according to post war British studies, they had possibly destroyed an additional machine of 148 Squadron. During the return journey, Tenente Monti became disoriented while escaping the attentions of a British night fighter and used all its fuel before reaching Comiso, being obliged to bale out over Stagnone di Marsala.
Pilot Officer Timmins was immediately sent back to England to collect a replacement machine.

23^o Gruppo CT under the command of Maggiore Falconi started to arrive at Tripoli after a move from Sicily on 16 December 1940. On 19 December they moved to Z1 landing ground at Ain el Gazala and comprised 70^a, 74^a and 75^a Squadriglias commanded by Tenente Claudio Solaro, Capitano Guido Bobba and Capitano Pietro Calistri.

At 09:15 on 26 December, eight Gladiators from 3 RAAF Squadron took off from the LG south-west of Sollum to escort a Lysander doing artillery reconnaissance over Bardia. The Lysander failed to appear. At approximately 14:05 (obviously during a third patrol) two flights of five SM 79s escorted by a number of CR.42s were observed a few miles north-east of Sollum Bay. A separate formation of 18 CR.42s was following the bomber formation and escort 2,000 feet higher as top cover. Two Gladiators attacked the bomber formation whilst the remainder climbed to meet the higher formation. The attack on the bombers was broken off when the higher formation attacked the Gladiators. In the ensuing combat, Flight Lieutenant Gordon Steege and Flying Officer Wilfred Arthur each claimed a destroyed (seen to fall into the sea) and a damaged CR.42. Flying Officer Peter Turnbull, Flying Officer John Perrin and Flying Officer Alan Rawlinson each claimed one probable.
The CR.42s were 14 fighters from the newly arrived 23^o Gruppo led by the CO, Maggiore Falconi and 22 CR.42s from the 10^o Gruppo. The CR.42s from the 23^o Gruppo included three from the 70^a Squadriglia (Tenente Claudio Solaro, Sergente Pardino Pardini and Tenente Gino Battaggion), five from the 74^a Squadriglia (Capitano Guido Bobba, Tenente Lorenzo Lorenzoni, Sottotenente Sante Schiroli, Sergente Maggiore Raffaele Marzocca (forced to return early due to a sudden illness) and Sergente Manlio Tarantino) and five from the 75^a Squadriglia (Tenente Pietro Calistri, Tenente Ezio Monti, Sottotenente Renato Villa, Sottotenente Leopoldo Marangoni and Maresciallo Carlo Dentis). The fighters from the the 10^o Gruppo included seven from the 91^a Squadriglia (Maggiore Carlo Romagnoli, Capitano Vincenzo Vanni, Capitano Mario Pluda, Sottotenente Andrea Dalla Pasqua, Sottotenente Ruggero Caporali, Sergente Maggiore Lorenzo Migliorato and Sergente Elio Miotto), nine from the 84^a Squadriglia (Capitano Luigi Monti, Tenente Antonio Angeloni, Sottotenente Luigi Prati, Sottotenente Bruno Devoto, Sergente Domenico Santonocito, Sergente Corrado Patrizi, Sergente Piero Buttazzi, Sergente Luciano Perdoni and Sergente Mario Veronesi) and six from the 90^a Squadriglia (Tenente Giovanni Guiducci, Tenente Franco Lucchini, Sottotenente Alessandro Rusconi, Sottotenente Neri De Benedetti, Sergente Luigi Contarini and Sergente Giovanni Battista Ceoletta), which had taken off at 13:00.
They were escorting ten SM 79s from the 41^o Stormo under Tenente Colonnello Draghelli and five SM 79s 216^a Squadriglia, 53^o Gruppo, 34^o Stormo, led by Tenente Stringa. The SM 79s had taken off from M2 at 12:25 and attacked Sollum harbour’s jetty (reportedly hit) and two destroyers inside Sollum Bay (with poor results because of the heavy AA fire). AA from the ships hit four bombers from the 34^o Stormo; one of them, piloted by Sottotenente Bellini had to force land close to Ain El Gazala with the central engine out of action. Returning pilots reported an attempt to intercept by some Gladiators but the escort repulsed the British fighters. They landed without further problems at 15:15.
Over the target, immediately after the bombing, the Italian fighters reported the interception of “enemy aircraft” alternatively “many Glosters” or “Hurricanes and Glosters”. The 70^a Squadrigli pilots claimed a shared Hurricane, this was possibly an aircraft from 33 Squadron. This unit’s ORB reported that during the day’s patrols many SM 79s and CR.42s were intercepted with one CR.42 believed damaged. Two Gladiators confirmed and two probables were shared between the whole 10^o Gruppo. Another Gladiator was assigned to the 23^o Gruppo (in the documents of 75^a Squadriglia but this is not confirmed by the other two Squadriglie). Many Glosters were claimed damaged by Tenente Lorenzoni, Sottotenente Schiroli, Sergente Tarantino, Sottotenente Marangoni, Tenente Calistri, Tenente Monti and Sottotenente Villa. The CR.42s were back between 14:30 and 15:05.
No Gladiators were lost even if three of them were damaged (all repairable within the unit). The Australians had done a very good job indeed, facing a formation four times more numerous (even if it seem improbable that all the Italian fighters were able to join the combat). From the Italian reports it seems that only the front sections of the escort (including the 74^a, 75^a and the 84^a Squadriglie) were engaged in a sharp dogfight with the Gladiators. The Australians were able to shot down the CO of the 74^a Squadriglia, Capitano Guido Bobba, who was killed when his fighter fell in flames into the sea and damaged Tenente Lorenzoni’s fighter, who landed at T2 (and came back to Z1 the day after). Three more CR.42s were damaged when Tenente Angeloni was forced to land at T5 before reaching Z1, Sergente Veronesi’s fighter was damaged and Sottotenente Prati was forced to make an emergency landing short of T2 (his fighter was reportedly undamaged and only suffering for a slight engine breakdown). Maggiore Falconi’s fighter was also heavily damaged but managed to return. The morning after Angeloni was able to return to Z1 with his aircraft.
Capitano Guido Bobba was awarded a posthumously Medaglia d’Argento al Valor Militare. He was replaced as CO of the 74^a Squadriglia by Tenente Mario Pinna.

On 2 January 1941, a spare S.79 torpedo bomber arrived to Ain el Gazala from Berka, and was ordered to attack Sollum Harbour together with the level bombers. Capitano Massimiliano Erasi took off at 12:05. However after considering the escort of CR.42s from the 4^o Stormo to be insufficient, he returned immediately, landing at 13:00.
He took off again at 16:45, this time alone. At 18:05, in the twilight, he released his torpedo against an unidentified British ship. Erasi was back at 19:15 without being able to estimate the outcome of his attack.
Although not mentioned by Erasi, it seems that the 23^o Gruppo’s fighters also were present. The unit recording an escort mission to S.79s bombing Sollum Harbour. While coming back from the action Maggiore Falconi led his men in a strafing attack in the Sidi Rezegh area, claiming three armoured cars destroyed. Falconi’s CR.42 returned hit in many places by the AA reaction.

He was promoted to Tenente Colonnello on 5 January 1941.

During March 1941, 23^o Gruppo CT moved back to Sicily to take part in the raids against Malta again.

While commanding 23^o Gruppo, Falconi also carried out night fighter interceptions in the defence of Palermo, flying an all black MC.200. These missions was carried out together with Tenente Claudio Solaro. In this task, they used an all black MC.200.

During the summer of 1942 23 Gruppo returned to North Africa.

On 11 January 1943 MC.200s from 13^o Gruppo attacked British airfields in the Uadi Tamet area. These fighter-bombers were escorted by MC.202 from 18^o Gruppo. Acting as close escort on this mission were four aircraft from 95^a Squadriglia under the command of Capitano Giorgio Solaroli. A little bit higher up were Maggiore Gustavo Garetto with six aircraft. As top cover at 6000 to 7000 metres were six MC.202s from 23^o Gruppo under the command of Capitano Mario Rigatti and above these were six more under the command of Tenente Colonello Falconi.
The Italian aircraft were attacked by RAF and 18^o Gruppo managed with difficulties to defend the fighter-bombers. During the combat were Sotto Tenente Telleschi and Maggiore Garetto shot down together with a MC.200 from 13^o Gruppo. All three pilots managed to escape by parachute. The pilot from 13^o Gruppo managed to reach the Italian lines but the other two pilots were captured. It is probable that Telleschi and Garetto were claimed by the British ace Flying Officer Neville Duke of 92 Squadron in Spitfire Mk.Vb EP338 'QJ-S' (victory 8 and 9).
The Italian attack were however a success and a fuel depot, a transport aircraft, which was surprised while taxiing, and several parked aircraft were destroyed in the British airfield. Also six British Spitfires were claimed in the combat. One of them were claimed by Solaroli, one by Sergente Luigi Gorrini (who also claimed one damaged) and a third by Maresciallo Felice Longhi, who returned with his aircraft damaged by enemy fire on several places. The Italians also claimed hits on 9 additional enemy aircraft.

In 1943, he served as CO of the 3^o Stormo.

Falconi ended the war with 1 biplane victory.
During his career, he was decorated with three Medaglie d’argento al valor militare, the Medaglia di bronzo al valor militare, the Medaglia di bronzo al valor aeronautico, two Croci al merito di Guerra, the Medaglia commemorativa operazioni militari in A. O. I., the Medaglia commemorativa della campagna di Spagna and the Medaglia di benemerenza per i volontari della guerra A. O. I. e Spagna, the Medaglia commemorativa della campagna di Albania.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1940
1	07/09/40		1	Hurricane (a)	Destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Valetta	23o Gruppo
	24/11/40	sunset	1/6	Enemy aircraft (b)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Luqa	23o Gruppo
	24/11/40	sunset	1/6	Enemy aircraft (b)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Luqa	23o Gruppo
	24/11/40	sunset	1/6	Enemy aircraft (b)	Shared destroyed on the ground	Fiat CR.42		Luqa	23o Gruppo
	26/12/40	-15:05	1/13	Gladiator (c)	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.42		Sollum area	23o Gruppo

Biplane victories: 1 and 1 shared destroyed and 3 shared destroyed on the ground.
TOTAL: 1 and 1 shared destroyed and 3 shared destroyed on the ground.
(a) Regia Aeronautica claimed two Hurricanes in this combat but both British aircraft escaped with only minor damage.
(b) The 23^o Gruppo claimed three destroyed on the ground but only one Wellington of 148 Squadron was destroyed.
(c) Claimed in combat with Gladiators from 3 RAAF Squadron, which claimed 2 and 3 probables without any losses, and possibly Hurricanes from 33 Squadron, which claimed a damaged CR.42 during the day. The 23^o Gruppo claimed 1 Hurricane and 1 Gladiator and the 10^o Gruppo claimed 2 and 2 probable Gladiators while losing one CR.42 and getting five more damaged.

Sources:
3^o Stormo, storia fotografica - Dai biplani agli aviogetti - C. Lucchini and E. Leproni, 1990 Gino Rossato Editore kindly provided by Jean Michel Cala with translations kindly provided by Birgitta Hallberg-Lombardi
Aces High - Christopher Shores and Clive Williams, 1994 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-898697-00-0
Aces High Volume 2 - Christopher Shores, 1999 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-902304-03-9
Annuario Ufficiale Delle Forze Armate Del Regno D’Italia Anno 1943. Part III Regia Aeronautica – 1943 Istituto Poligrafico Dello Stato, Roma
Gloster Gladiator Home Page - Alexander Crawford.
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
National Archives of Australia
Additional information kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo.