Foggiani World War I and Reunion Collection

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, and news clippings related to The Foggiani, both in terms of training and service in World War I and of the 1969 return trip to Italy made by some of the pilots. The first scrapbook, which measures approximately 13 by 9 inches and is made of paper pages bound with string, contains images taken during World War I of various Foggiani pilots as well as images of various sites in Italy (including some aerial). Images of the Caproni Ca.33 (Military Ca.3, Ca.450) can also be seen in this album. The second scrapbook, which measures approximately 10 by 12 inches and is cloth-bound with adhesive coated "magic" pages, contains photographs and mementos from the 1969 trip including an official program containing the itinerary (in Italian and English); a detailed, typewritten account of the trip written by Arthur Douglas Farquhar (one of the Foggiani pilots); a list of attendees; and some additional World War I era photographs. The third scrapbook, leather-bound and measuring approximately 14 by 11 inches, is an official photo album of the 1969 trip compiled by the Italian Ministry of Defense. There is also a letter to Mr. Norman Sweetser accompanying this album. All three of the scrapbooks contain extensive caption information. This collection also contains twelve loose photographs of various sizes, mostly black and white, that appear to have been taken at a National Air and Space Museum event which included Foggiani pilots as well as members of the Caproni family. Also in the collection are a letter from Dr. Giovanni Caproni; a news clipping about the 1969 trip, in Italian; and a folio of Italian news clippings and photographs related to the 1969 trip (labeled N. Sweetser) which also includes a photocopy of a letter from the Mayor of Foggia to the Foggiani pilots.

Arrangement

In the 1980s, many items in this collection were reproduced on , a LaserDisc CAV format 12-inch (30 cm) optical disc published by the Smithsonian Institution. Print numbers applied during videodisc production are used as item-level image numbers (print numbers NASM 00147423 to NASM 00147907 and NASM 00176964 to 00176996, videodisc frame capture numbers VD-2A47423 to VD-2A47907 and VD-2B26964 to VD-2B26996) and the collection is stored in videodisc number order. Scrapbooks/albums are in original order. Some textual material in scrapbooks/albums has not been reproduced.

Biographical / Historical

"The Foggiani" is the term used to refer to American military aviators who were trained in Foggia, Italy during World War I at the Eighth Aviation Instruction Center. Due to a lack of facilities in the United States, approximately 500 Americans were sent to Foggia for flight training with American and Italian instructors. Upon completion of their training, the pilots were commissioned in the US Army Air Service. In 1969, some of the Foggiani returned to Italy for a reunion trip organized by the Italian Ministry of Defense and the Italian Air Force which included visits to various historic and cultural sites in Italy as well as audiences with various Italian dignitaries, Pope Paul VI, and members of the Caproni family.