1-300 WWI Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare Variant #1

1-300 WWI Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare – Variant #1
These 1-300 WWI Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare Variant #1 decals reproduce the distinctive Italian tricolor aircraft roundel used during World War I. This version features a green center, surrounded by a white ring and red outer ring, reflecting one of the principal national marking arrangements carried by Italian military aircraft during the Great War.
Italy entered World War I on the Allied side in May 1915. Its military aviation arm, the Corpo Aeronautico Militare, expanded rapidly from an organization primarily concerned with reconnaissance and artillery observation into a substantial air force operating fighters, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, and ground-attack machines.
During the early part of the war, Italian aircraft markings were far from standardized. National identification could include tricolor-painted rudders, green-white-red sections beneath the wings, circular cockades, or combinations of these markings. Colors, dimensions, and placement could vary considerably between manufacturers, units, and individual aircraft.
The Italian tricolor cockade was eventually standardized as a circular aircraft marking with green at the center, white in the middle, and red on the outside. An official order dated December 21, 1917 specified the tricolor roundel for application to the sides of the fuselage and upper wing surfaces.
Italian aviation also used a reversed color arrangement during the later stages of the war, producing roundels with red at the center and green on the outside. The Italian Air Force's historical account notes that the order of the colors was reversed during 1917–1918, probably to reduce the possibility of misidentification with French aircraft. Because both arrangements appeared during the Great War, period photographs are especially useful when representing a specific aircraft or unit.
The Corpo Aeronautico Militare operated a wide variety of Italian and Allied-designed aircraft, including the Hanriot HD.1, SPAD VII and XIII, Nieuport fighters, Ansaldo SVA series, Ansaldo A.1 Balilla, Pomilio reconnaissance aircraft, and Caproni bombers. Flight Deck Decals also offers several of these Italian WWI aircraft as miniature subjects.
Product Features
Designed for 1-300 / 6mm WWI Italian aircraft miniatures
Represents aircraft of the Corpo Aeronautico Militare
Features the classic green center, white middle ring, and red outer ring
Suitable for Italian fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, bombers, and other WWI aircraft where historically appropriate
Useful for aircraft such as the Hanriot HD.1, SPAD fighters, Ansaldo SVA series, Ansaldo A.1, Pomilio aircraft, and Caproni bombers
Complements Italian tricolor rudder and fin markings
Particularly useful for representing the earlier/original Italian tricolor roundel arrangement
Variant #2 is also available for aircraft carrying the reversed red-center version
Printed on thin waterslide decal paper
Decals must be individually cut from the sheet before application
For wargamers building Italian air forces of World War I, the green-centered tricolor roundel provides one of the most distinctive national markings of the Corpo Aeronautico Militare. Because Italian markings varied substantially throughout the conflict, having both Variant #1 and Variant #2 allows aircraft to be matched more closely to the particular unit, aircraft, and period being represented.