Alessandro Miglia


Alessandro Miglia was an Italian aviator and military officer, notable for his participation as a squadron commander in the Decennial Air Cruise led by Italo Balbo. He was declared missing in flight in 1939.

Biography

Born in Susa in 1900 into a family with military traditions, Alessandro Miglia initially pursued a maritime career. After serving on sailing ships and steamships, he became a Reserve Officer in the Regia Marina and served aboard Royal Submarines.
Attracted to aviation, he applied to join the Regia Aeronautica in 1923 and qualified as a military pilot in 1924. He became part of the air formations led by Italo Balbo, participating in early mass formation flights: the Western Mediterranean Cruise, the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise, and the Italy-Brazil Transatlantic Cruise, for which he was awarded the Gold Medal of Aeronautic Valor.

Decennial Air Cruise

The highlight of his flying career was his participation in the 1933 Decennial Air Cruise, a mass transatlantic flight from Orbetello to Chicago and back, organized by Balbo to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the March on Rome. During this expedition, Miglia, holding the rank of Captain, commanded the IV Squadron, identified by black markings and named Stella Nera. He piloted the Savoia-Marchetti S.55X seaplane bearing the registration I-MIGL.
The event garnered significant media attention and propaganda value; special commemorative stamps were issued, including the well-known Balbo Triptych, overprinted with the codes of participating aircraft, including Miglia's.
After the Decennial Air Cruise, Miglia was promoted to Major for special merits, and continued his career in the Regia Aeronautica.

Disappearance

On 27 April 1939, Maj. Miglia disappeared while on a flight with fellow aviator. They had departed from Qasr bin Ghashir aboard a Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 aircraft, bound for El-Maden, a location beyond Tobruk near the Egyptian border. The aircraft never reached its destination and is presumed to have crashed in the Libyan Desert due to a severe Ghibli storm. Despite search efforts by the Italian Air Force and Navy in Libya, in which Governor Italo Balbo himself participated, no wreckage or remains of the two pilots were ever found. The Villaggio Azzurro at Bari Palese Airport was later named in memory of Alessandro Miglia. A cenotaph was erected in the cemetery of his hometown, Susa, in his honor.

Honours