Fabbrica Aeroplani Pomilio – Reconnaissance Biplanes of Turin (1916)

Founded in Turin in 1916 by aeronautical engineer Ottorino Pomilio alongside his brothers Ernesto and Alessandro, the Fabbrica Aeroplani Ing. O. Pomilio was an instrumental enterprise of Italian military aviation, mass-producing front-line reconnaissance aircraft during the Great War.

Industrial Construction on Corso Francia

Ottorino Pomilio, who had previously refined his design expertise within the Directorate of Military Aviation collaborating with Major Umberto Savoia, established his independent aircraft works along the western industrial axis of Corso Francia 366. In July 1916, the firm inaugurated an adjoining grass runway for testing newly assembled biplanes—an airfield that would develop into the legendary Turin-Aeritalia airport. The manufacturing works also benefited from the technical contributions of young engineer Corradino D’Ascanio, who patented an innovative aircraft clinometer precursor to the modern artificial horizon.

The Battle of the Piave and Ansaldo’s Acquisition

The company achieved industrial scale through its two-seater reconnaissance biplanes, progressing through the PC, PD, and heavily refined PE models. By late 1917 and 1918, the high-speed Pomilio PE became the premier tactical reconnaissance aircraft of the Italian air corps along the Piave river front, executing long-range photographic sorties over Austro-Hungarian defenses. In 1918, as the war concluded, the Pomilio brothers sold the Turin industrial complex to the Ansaldo group, which renamed it Cantiere Aeronautico n. 5. The site subsequently formed the historic nucleus of FIAT’s aviation division and modern Leonardo Aeritalia facilities, embedded within the contemporary urban grid of Corso Francia.

Historic Site & Location