Adriano Mantelli was born on 13 February 1913.

He was commissioned (in Servizio Permanente Effettivo) on 7 October 1934.

He served as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, using the nom de guerre ”Arrighi”. During his time in Spain, he served in the XVI Gruppo.

On 26 September, A HREF="italy_cenni.htm">Giuseppe Cenni claimed a Breguet XIX and a Potez 540 as a shared with Sottotenente Adriano Mantelli.

On 8 May 1937, Duilio Fanali flew the 65^a Squadriglia’s first mission, a reconnaissance over Castuera, together with the ace Tenente Mantelli, who was temporarily assigned to the 65^a Squadriglia.

Totally, Mantelli claimed nine victories in Spain.

On 12 February 1940, he was promoted to Capitano.

He continued to serve during the World War II.

In 1943, he served in the Direzione Costruzioni Napoli.

Mantelli ended the war with 9 biplane victories.
During his career he had been decorated with two Medaglia d’argento al valor militare, one Medaglia d’argento al valor aeronautica, one Croce al merito di guerra, one Medaglia commemorativa della campagna di Spagna and one Medaglia di benemerenza per i volontari della guerra Spagna.

He continued to serve in the Italian Air Force after the war and retired as a Generale.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1936
	26/09/36		½	Potez 540	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.32			1a Squadriglia
1	??/??/3?		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			XVI Gruppo
2	??/??/3?		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			XVI Gruppo
3	??/??/3?		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			XVI Gruppo
4	??/??/3?		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			XVI Gruppo
5	??/??/3?		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			XVI Gruppo
6	??/??/3?		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			XVI Gruppo
7	??/??/3?		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			XVI Gruppo
8	??/??/3?		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			XVI Gruppo
9	??/??/3?		1	Enemy aircraft	Destroyed	Fiat CR.32			XVI Gruppo

Biplane victories: 9 and 1 shared destroyed.
TOTAL: 9 and 1 shared destroyed.

Sources:
Air War over Spain - Jesus Salas Larrazabal, 1974 Ian Allan Ltd, Shepperton, Surrey, ISBN 0-7110-0521-4
Annuario Ufficiale Delle Forze Armate Del Regno D’Italia Anno 1943. Part III Regia Aeronautica – 1943 Istituto Poligrafico Dello Stato, Roma
Giuseppe Cenni, pilota in guerra – Giuseppe Pesce, 2002, USSMA, Rome, kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro.
Wings Over Spain - Emiliani Ghergo, 1997 Giorgio Apostolo Editore, Milano
Additional information kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro, Alfredo Logoluso and Ludovico Slongo.