Francesco Luigi Giuseppe Baracca was born in Lugo, Emilia-Romagna. He was the son of wealthy landowner Enrico Baracca and his wife countess Paolina Biancoli. Baracca initially studied at a private school in Florence before entering the Military Academy of Modena in October 1907. He became a cavalryman with the prestigious Piemonte Reale Cavalleria Regiment upon his commissioning in 1910. Baracca then became interested in aviation and learned to fly at Reims, France, receiving his pilot's license on 9 July 1912.
After Italy entered the war on the Entente side in May 1915, Baracca was sent to Paris to convert to Nieuport two-seaters. Upon his return in July, he was assigned to the 8a Squadriglia Nieuport. The Nieuport 11 single-seat fighter entered service in April 1916, and on 7 April, flying this new fighter, Baracca scored his first victory. This was also Italy's first aerial victory in the war. His favourite manoeuvre was to zoom in unseen behind and below an enemy and fire his machine gun from pistol range.
Around this time, Baracca adopted as a personal emblem a black prancing horse on his Nieuport 17, in tribute to his former cavalry regiment. This prompted some to call him, "The Cavalier of the Skies". Flying the Nieuport 17 and then, from March 1917, the SPAD VII, he scored both individually and in combination with other Italian aces.
Baracca's second victory was an Austrian Lohner over Gorizia on 23 April 1916. After his third victory, he transferred to 70a Squadriglia. Promoted to Capitano, on 28 November, he shot down his fifth aircraft in battle, obtaining registration in the Register of Aces. On 1 January 1917, Baracca shot down an Austrian Brandenburg plane of Flik 12 near Castagnevizza flying on Ni 17 2614. On 11 February, Baracca, with Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, serg. Giulio Poli, and Corporal Antonio Pagliari, shot down Corporal Ludwig Fleck's Br. C.1. On 26 April, Baracca shot down the Br. C.1 of the Zgsf. Josef Majsai and the Leut. Emmerich Treer of Flik 35 with the help of Serg. Goffredo Gorini and Attilio Imolesi near San Martino del Carso, reaching 8 victories and receiving the cross of the Military Order of Savoy.
Baracca remained with the unit until, with 9 victories, he transferred to the newly formed 91st Squadriglia, known as the "Squadron of the Aces", on 1 May 1917. By that time, his ever-increasing list of victories had made him nationally famous. On 1 May, during a reconnaissance mission over Monfalcone, piloting the Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 229.08 of Flik 12, Frank Linke-Crawford clashed with Baracca's SPAD S.VII. On 10 May, Baracca shot down Zugsführer Rudolf Stöhr's Hansa-Brandenburg D.I of the FliK 41J near Vertoiba and achieved his ninth official victory. On 13 May, Baracca obtained another victory in collaboration over Br. C.1 of ace Julius Busa and observer Hermann Grössler of Fluggeschwader 1 (FlG I) on Mount Korada. On 20 May, as part of the tenth Isonzo offensive, Baracca hit a Brandenburg reconnaissance aircraft of Flik 12 on Monte Santo in Gorizia. On 3 June, Baracca shot down the Hansa-Brandenburg C.I of the Zgsf. Johann Rotter with the Oblt. Max Bednarzik from the Fluggeschwader 1 or FlG. I between Plava and Monte Cucco di Plava.
Baracca temporarily upgraded to a Spad XIII in October 1917, using it to achieve a couple of victories on 22 October, and on a win scored on a joint sortie with Pier Piccio on 25 October. As a result, Baracca returned to the more manoeuvrable Spad VII, remarking, "It doesn't matter if the VII is equipped with a single gun. Provided you are a good fighter, a single gun is just enough." Nevertheless, after repair, he sometimes returned to the Spad XIII.
A dedicated fighter pilot, Baracca found life away from the front unbearable and remained as much as possible with the 91st Squadriglia, even after being promoted to Maggiore in November 1917. Baracca remained a modest, sensitive man conscious of his duty and compassionate to both his squadron comrades and to his defeated enemies. He would try to visit his victims in hospital afterwards, to pay his respects, or he would place a wreath on the grave of those he killed. He had raised his score to 30 by the end of 1917.
Soon afterwards, Baracca, Piccio, and Ruffo di Calabria were tasked with evaluating the new Ansaldo A.1 Balilla fighter. Baracca was personally decorated by King Victor Emmanuel III at La Scala at this time. It was March 1918 before Baracca convinced his superiors that he belonged back at the front. He was not long back before he found himself in a situation similar to the previous late October: his squadron was forced to withdraw by enemy advances on 27 April. It was about this time that he adopted the griffin as an insignia for the planes in his unit. Most of his pilots adopted it, though some still flaunted the prancing stallion as a gesture of respect for their commander.
Baracca saw little action in 1918, but he added more victories, for a total of 34, before failing to return from a strafing mission on the Montello (hill) area on 19 June. The Italians were taking advantage of their air superiority to fly treetop ground attack missions into a storm of small-arms fire. In the 06:30 troop support mission, Baracca and rookie pilot Tenente Franco Osnago were hit by ground fire and split from one another. A few minutes later, both Baracca's home airfield and Osnago saw a burning airplane fall. According to other sources, Baracca had left Osnago to provide him with top cover as he dived on the enemy trenches. Osnago lost sight of his commander, and then he saw something burning in a nearby valley. Some days later, on 24 June, after an Austro-Hungarian retreat, Baracca's remains were recovered from where they lay, four meters from the burnt remnants of his Spad VII. A monument in his memory was later built on the site. Osnago, Ferruccio Ranza, and a journalist named Garinei retrieved his body for the large funeral that was held in his home town of Lugo.
His body, when found, reportedly bore the marks of a bullet to the head. His pistol was out of its holster, but away from his body, leading to suspicions that he elected to take his own life rather than die in a crash or be taken prisoner. An Austrian pilot reportedly claimed to have shot him down in combat. This claim is allegedly supported by evidence, but the most accepted version is that Baracca was hit by ground fire. Research in Austro-Hungarian records indicates that he was killed by the gunner of an Austrian two-seater while attacking from above and behind. Ltn Arnold Barwig in Phönix C.I 121.17, piloted by Zgsf Max Kauer, claimed to have shot down the Italian ace. The Austrian crew also photographed the shot-down aeroplane and noted the time and place of engagement.
Baracca's total of 34 victory claims can largely be verified from known Austro-Hungarian losses and surviving military records, establishing the Italian as one of the highest-scoring Allied pilots during the conflict. After the war, his home in Lugo was turned into the Francesco Baracca Museum, which displays mementoes, uniforms, and medals from Baracca's life, as well as rudders and guns taken from shot-down aircraft. In the 1920s, a SPAD VII once flown by Baracca in December 1917 was presented for display, which was subsequently restored by GVAS (the Italian aeronautical preservation society).
On 17 June 1923, a unique encounter intertwined the destinies of the Prancing Horse and Enzo Ferrari forever. Enzo Ferrari wrote about that encounter: 'When I won my first Savio Circuit in Ravenna in 1923, I met Count Enrico Baracca and Countess Paolina, parents of the flying hero. One day the Countess said to me, "Ferrari, why don't you put my son's prancing horse on your cars? It'll bring you good luck." The Horse was and will always be black; I added the canary yellow background, the colour of the city of Modena.' The Prancing Horse symbol would not appear on Scuderia Ferrari cars until 9 July 1932. The roller coaster at Ferrari World on Yas Island Flying Aces is named after him and themed to him.
Many roads in Italy are named after Baracca. The airport of Bolzano, the Roma-Centocelle Italian Air Force base, and the Lugo di Romagna airfield are all named after Baracca. A huge monument to his memory dominates the main square of his home town at Lugo di Romagna. He was decorated with the Order of Karađorđe's Star with swords and a number of other decorations.
Gallery · 4 related images
