Guido Nobili was born on 5 May 1908.

He was commissioned in (Servizio Permanente Effettivo) on 1 October 1929.

The XXIII Gruppo was formed on 22 April 1937, under the command of Maggiore Andrea Zotti. It was named ”Asso di Bastoni” (“Ace of Clubs”) after its badge. The three Squadriglie were the 18^a Squadriglia (Capitano Guido Nobili “Notabili”), the 19^a Squadriglia (Capitano Enrico Degli Incerti “Tocci”) and the 20^a Squadriglia (Capitano Antonio Larsimont Pergameni “Laimo”).

On 28 September, XXIII Gruppo transferred to Almaluèz, near Belchite.

On 12 October, the Republican Air Force intervened heavily to support International battalions and tanks in an attempt to break through the enemy lines at Fuentes del Ebro.
During the day, the VI Gruppo lost a good part of numerical, considering that part of the 31^a Squadriglia had previously been detached to Cordoba. Therefore, immediately the same morning, the Comando dell’Aviazione Legionaria ordered the XXIII Gruppo to transfer to Sanjurio (Zaragoza).
At 10.30, 29 CR.32s led by Maggiore Andrea Zotti, took off from Almaluèz and arrived over Sanjurio around noon. However, before landing, Maggiore Zotti decided to lead his pilots to explore the area between Villafranca and Fuentes del Ebro. Here they spotted four Polikarpov RZ “Natachas” escorted by nine I-16s “Ratas” (above them) and 15 I-15 “Curtiss” (below them). The Italian fighters attacked the Republican aircraft and at the end of the dogfight, that lasted about fifteen minutes, the Italians claimed seven (eleven according to other sources) fighters destroyed for no losses, although several CR.32s were hit and damaged. Combat was very hard for the Italians because their fighters were weighted by pilots’ personal luggage. Pilots that scored, either individually or jointly, were Sergente Giuseppe Mottet (20^a Squadriglia) (1 I-16), Sottotenente Giampiero Del Prete, Capitano Antonio Larsimont Pergameni (CO of the 20^a Squadriglia), Sergente Francesco Penna, Sottotenente Aldo Felici, Capitano Enrico Degli Incerti (CO of the 19^a Squadriglia) (1 I-16), Sottotenente Pio Tomaselli (19^a Squadriglia), Franco Lucchini (19^a Squadriglia), Capitano Nobili, Sergente Maggiore Giovanni Carmello (18^a Squadriglia), Sergente Carlo Dentis, Sottotenente Giuseppe Enrico Zuffi, Sergente Federico Tassinari (19^a Squadriglia), Sergente Maggiore Alfonso Mattei and Sottotenente Bruno Trevisan. It seems that Lucchini’s, Tassinari’s and Mattei’s claims was a shared between these three pilots.

During the Spanish Civil War, he totally claimed 9 victories.

It seems that Nobili stayed in Spain after the end of the Civil War and when the only Fiat CR.42 was sent to Spain in the first weeks of 1940, it went to the Escuela de Caza, then based in Reus airport and commanded by Maggiore Nobili.

On 8 June 1940, Maggiore Guido Nobili became CO of the 157^o Gruppo. The three squadriglie commanders were Capitani Mario Frulla (384^a Squadriglia), Aldo Li Greci (385^a Squadriglia) and Gustavo Garretto (386^a Squadriglia).
The Gruppo operated Fiat CR.42s and belonged to the 1^o Stormo until 25 July 1940.

On 13 June 1940, bombers from the 30^o and 36^o Stormi attacked the airfields in Tunis area escorted by the 1^o Stormo’s fighters. The SM 79s of the 108^o and 109^o Gruppi under command of Generale Giuseppe Barba and Colonnello Carlo Drago took off from Castelvetrano at 07:05 in two formations. In the meantime 15 SM 79s of the 30^o Stormo (five each from the 193^a, 194^a, and 195^a Squadriglie) took off from Sciacca and formed with the 36^o Stormo’s formation. On take-off, Tenente Arrighi’s bomber crashed but the crew was unhurt. The bombers then met 15 CR.42s from the 157^o Gruppo, which had taken off from the island of Pantelleria on seeing the bombers passing overhead. The Italian fighters had taken off from Trapani at 04:40 and had landed at Pantelleria at 05:10. They were three fighters from the 385^a Squadriglia (Capitano Aldo Li Greci (CO), Sottotenente Giacomo Cremona and Maresciallo Marcello Baccara), six fighters from the 386^a Squadriglia (Capitano Gustavo Garretto (CO), Sottotenente Angelo Carminati, Sergente Fausto Fiorani, Sottotenente Andrea Dalla Pasqua, Sergente Maggiore Giuseppe Tomasi, Sergente Giuseppe Gullà) and six from the 384^a Squadriglia (the war diary of the Squadriglia isn’t available but it seems that Sergente Teresio Martinoli, Sottotenente Luigi ’Gigi’ Caneppele and Maggiore Nobili (CO of the 157^o Gruppo) were part of the formation together with three other pilots).
At around 08:35 when the fighters were flying towards Tunis, Sottotenente Carminati was suddenly taken ill and collided with Sergente Fiorani, both pilots crashed from 6000 metres. The 386^a Squadriglia’s formation became totally uncoordinated with Dalla Pasqua, Tomasi and Gulla returning to Pantelleria after searching for wreckage after their comrades’ aircraft while Garretto went on, lost contact with the bombers and flew alone over Tunis at 6000 metres, finally returning at 09:50.
Over the target, the 36^o Stormo pilots reported being attacked by French fighters tentatively identified as Curtiss that were immediately attacked and dispersed by the escorting CR.42s. Only the SM 79 of Tenente Poggi of the 259^a Squadriglia was slightly damaged in the tail and in a fuel tank.
Two Moranes was damaged and one of them as seen to dive away trailing smoke. Sergente Martinoli, Sottotenente Caneppele and Maggiore Nobili each fired their guns at an enemy fighter. Sergente Martinoli claimed a French twin-engined aircraft over Tunis during this mission (it seems that the claim was only made in his personal logbook) while the 385^a Squadriglia’s fighters returned with nothing to report so it seems that only the 384^a Squadriglia’s made contact with the French interceptors.
The 36^o Stormo attacked Ksar-Said and Menzel-Temime airstrips with 50 and 100 kilos bombs while the 30^o Stormo hit El Aouina from 4000 metres with 120 50 kilos and 40 100 kilos bombs. Colonnello Serra’s SM 79 was hit and damaged by AA.
All bombers were back at around 10:00 but on landing at Sciacca the Savoia of Tenente Mazzotti (‘194 – 5’) run into a grove of olive trees and was written off.
The French fighters were almost surely Morane Saulnier MS.406s and Potez 630s (perhaps the twin-engined aircraft engaged by Martinoli) from 2ème escadrille GC I/9 but no other detail regarding this combat is known from French sources (and no losses or claims were recorded). It is also possible that first Escadrille of GC III/5 took part in the action.

Tenente Colonnello Nobili took command of the 5^o Stormo on 15 May 1942.

On 18 March 1943, he was promoted to Colonnello.

In the evening during the invasion of Sicily on 10 July, the 239^a Squadriglia, 5^o Stormo, entered action with its newly delivered Re.2002 fighter-bombers for the first time. They attacked and sank the illuminated hospital ship Talamra in Augusta harbour.
Spitfires from 229 Squadron, led by Squadron Leader Graham Cox (LZ820/X-U) were patrolling over shipping in the Syracuse-Cape Passero area when they were directed to go to the stricken vessel’s aid shortly after 19:00, sighting eight radial-engined aircraft, which they identified as MC.200s. In rapid succession, Squadron Leader Cox shot down three – probably including MM7337 flown by Colonnello Nobili, CO of the 5^o Stormo, whose aircraft apparently hit the steel cable of a barrage balloon as it fell – Tenente Renato Beverina (MM7353) and Maresciallo Zaccaria Perozzi (MM7361), all of whom were killed. A fourth fighter-bomber was pursued by Flying Officer O. C. H. Stanford-Smith (JK220/X-M), Flying Officer R. H. Small (JK536/X-K) and Flight Sergeant Taylor (LZ808/X-D), which they jointly claimed probably destroyed. This was probably the seriously damaged aircraft flown by Sergente Luigi Banfi, which crash-landed at Reggio di Calabria.
Nobili was decorated with a posthumously Medaglia d’argento al Valor Militare.

Maggiore Giuseppe Cenni took command of the 5^o Stormo after the death of Nobili.

At the time of his death, Nobili was credited with 9 biplane victories.
During his career, he was decorated with two additional Medaglie d’argento al Valor Militare, one Croce al merito di guerra, one Medaglia commemorativa della campagna di Spagna and one Medaglia di benemerenza per i volontari della guerra Spagna.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1937
	12/10/37	10:30-	1	Enemy fighter	Shared destroyed	Fiat CR.32		Villafranca-Fuentes del Ebro	18a Squadriglia

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

Sources:
53^o Stormo - Marco Mattioli, 2010 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84603-977-5
Ali in Spagna - Giuseppe Federico Ghergo and Angelo Emiliani, kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo
Ali nella tragedia - Giulio Lazzati, 1970 Mursia, Milan, ISBN 88-425-2132-9, kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro
Annuario Ufficiale Delle Forze Armate Del Regno D’Italia Anno 1943. Part III Regia Aeronautica – 1943 Istituto Poligrafico Dello Stato, Roma
Aviatori Italiani - Franco Pagliano, 1964 Longanesi Milano, kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo
Aviobrigada X - Alfredo Lagoluso, 2001 no. 97, 98 and 99 of Storia Militare (October-December 2001), kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo
Desert Prelude: Early clashes June-November 1940 - Håkan Gustavsson and Ludovico Slongo, 2010 MMP books, ISBN 978-83-89450-52-4
Guerra di Spagna e Aviazione Italiana - Ferdinando Pedriali, 1992 USSMA, Rome, kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro
Il 5^o Stormo - Giuseppe Pesce and Nicola Malizia, 1984 STEM Mucchi, Modena
Il 23^o Gruppo Caccia - Nicola Malizia, 1974 Bizzarri, Roma, kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro
Le giovani aquile – Antonio Trizzino, 1972 Longanesi Milano, kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro
Quelli del Cavallino Rampante - Antonio Duma, 1981 Editore Dell'Ateneo, Roma, kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro
Spitfires over Sicily - Brian Cull with Nicola Malizia and Frederick Galea, 2000 Grub Street, London, ISBN 1-902304-32-2
Wings Over Spain - Emiliani Ghergo, 1997 Giorgio Apostolo Editore, Milano
Additional information kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro and Ludovico Slongo.