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PUBLICATIONS

Lodovico Calderara, Attilio Marchetti, Mario Calderara, Aviator and Inventor, Logisma (Firenze) 2003

IN ENGLISH

The book is still available from the publisher (http://www.logisma.it) and easy to find for sale online.

Translation of the book published in 1999 in Italian. It was fully translated into English by Lodovico Calderara himself (its co-author) adapting specifically the content to English readers.

Summary: Foreword to English edition, Foreword by Lodovico Calderara and Foreword by Attilio Marchetti – Chapter 1, World War II and the last years (1940-1944) – Chapter 2, Early years and the Naval Academy (1879-1901) – Chapter 3, The first air experiments (1902-1907) – Chapter 4, Work with Voisin and Wright (1908-1909) – Chapter 5, Circuito Aereo di Brescia 1909 – Chapter 6, D’Annunzio and Calderara – Chapter 7, Frustration and Misunderstandings (1910), The marriage of Mario Calderara (1912) – Chapter 8, The Seaplane (1911-1913) – Chapter 9, World War II (1914-1918) – Chapter 10, Post war years (1919-1925) – Chapter 11, Paris – Epilogue – Appendix Mario Calderara, Dagli Aeroplani Marini all’Aviazione Navale (from Rivista Marittima, September 1911) – Bibliography (Notes: at the end of each chapter).

Icare numero 181

Revue Icare, numéro 181 – Mario Calderara, Pionnier et premier pilote italien, Roissy, 2002

IN FRENCH

Copies of the magazine can be ordered from the Editor: https://revueicare.com/epages/box29589.sf/fr_FR/?ObjectPath=/Shops/box29589/Products/181

This publication, in French, represents a real “pearl” for anyone who is interested in the story of Mario Calderara, also for its documentary content (reproduction of various writings by Mario Calderara himself) and the quantity and quality of photographic reproductions (photographs of the time, design drawings from Calderara and even a copy of a contract between Calderara and the Wright Brothers of 1910).

Sommaire: Avant-propos (12), Editorial (13), Mario Calderara, pionnier du vol humain en Italie et en France – Lodovico Calderara (14), Notes pour un rapport sur les essais préliminaires à La Spezia – Mario Calderara (40), L’aviation future dans la Marine – Mario Calderara (48), Brevet d’invention déposé par Goupy et Calderara (52), L’accord de construction sous licence avec les Frères Wright (56), Mes souvenirs d’aviation – Mario Calderara, traduction d’Andrée et Claude Dallo.

Lodovico Calderara, Attilio Marchetti, Mario Calderara, Aviatore e Inventore, Logisma (Firenze) 1999

IN ITALIAN

The book is sold out (no longer available from the publisher) but copies of the same can still be found on some online bookstores.

A book that merges historical rigour with the passion and the most human aspects of the life of Mario Calderara, originating from the collaboration between Lodovico Calderara (son of Mario, who reports facts told directly by his father and his first-person testimony of the events he witnessed) and the Air Force General Attilio Marchetti (Aviation historian who, among other things, meticulously edited the notes to each chapter, to provide official sources and documentary evidence).

Sommario: Prefazione di Lodovico Calderara e Attilio Marchetti – Capitolo I, L’ultimo anno di vita – Capitolo II, L’infanzia a Verona (1879-1898) L’Accademia Navale (1898-1901) – Capitolo III, I primi esperimenti aviatori (1902-1907) – Capitolo IV, Il Periodo di lavoro in Francia (1908-1909) I primi voli a Centocelle (1909) – Capitolo V, Il Circuito Aereo di Brescia (Agosto Settembre 1909) – Capitolo VI, D’Annunzio e Calderara – Capitolo VII, Il matrimonio di Mario Calderara (1912) – Capitolo VIII, Le amarezze (1910) – Capitolo IX, L’idrovolante Calderara (1911-13) La visita in Inghilterra (1913) – Capitolo X, La Guerra Mondiale (1915-18) – Capitolo XI, La Scuola di Bolsena (1918-1919) – Capitolo XII, Il primo dopoguerra: L’assegnazione a Washington come Addetto Aeronautico (1923-1925) – Capitolo XIII, Attilio Calderara (1886-1952) – Capitolo XIV, Il soggiorno in Francia (1926-1939), La Seconda Guerra Mondiale (1940-1944) – Epilogo – Appendice, Mario Calderara, Dagli Aeroplani Marini all’Aviazione Navale (estratto dalla Rivista Marittima, Settembre 1911) – Bibliografia (Note: alla fine di ciascun capitolo).

Mario Calderara, publication promoted and sponsored by Associazione dei Pionieri dell’Aeronautica, 1997 Rome.

The full publication is available at the link below (bilingual publication).
Libretto-Ass-Pionieri-Mario-CalderaraDownload

Texts and Graphics Ovidio Ferrante, Translation in English Vincenzo Camporini, General organisation P. Luigi Bacchini, with photos and documents from Ufficio Storico Marina Militare, Ufficio Storico Aeronautica Militare, Archivio Storico Caproni, Museo “G. Caproni” di Trento.

VIDEOS

Two historical films that show Mario Calderara in flight are kept at the Italian Air Force Historical Office:

  • Wright Flyer flight in Centocelle, 1909. The movie also includes shots from the plane while flighing, demonstrating the skillfulness of the cine-operator (the shots were made by turning the coil by hand, not by motor, and the movie is nevertheless very fluid);
  • The first flights of the Calderara Seaplane in the Gulf of La Spezia. The movie includes the footage of the exit of the aircraft from the hangar and the detachment of floats from the surface of the water (facilitated by the presence of wings as is the case for modern hydrofoils).

Extended excerpts from this second film are visible, starting from minute 4’07” (and up to 8’30”), in the short documentary (9’26”), “Mario Calderara e il primo idrovolante italiano” (Mario Calderara and the first Italian seaplane) taken from the video collection “Forgotten Wings” made by the Audiovisual Production Center of the Italian Air Force.

Aeronautica Militare – 1909 Mario Calderara 1°pilota di aeroplano italiano (Available in Italian only)

Please note that, althouth the documentary is fully dedicated to Mario Calderara, the other excerpts (preceding the filming of the hydroplane) are from films of the time but not related specifically to Mario Calderara. However when the narrator starts talking about the hydroplane project (minute 3’41”), pictures of the Calderara-Goupy biplane are shown, followed by some scale models which are exhibited at the Naval Technical Museum of La Spezia, mentioned further below.

The full video of the first film has been published on youtube (see below).

The full video of the Wright Flyer flight in Centocelle (Rome), 1909

Memorabilia

Historical Museum of the Italian Air Force

The following are exhibited at the Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare in Vigna di Valle (http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/storia/museostorico/Pagine/default.aspx):

Museo Vigna di Valle
  1. The jacket/uniform of Mario Calderara;
  2. the original and working Wright Flyer engine which flew to Centocelle, next to a replica of the Flyer itself.

See also on Events: An Engine for Flying: the Wright n. 4 (2002); Starting the Original Wright Engine (2017)

Naval Technical Museum of La Spezia

Busto Mario Calderara

The Museo Tecnico Navale di La Spezia della Marina Militare (Italian Navy) (https://www.marina.difesa.it/cosa-facciamo/per-la-cultura/museotecnav/Pagine/default.aspx) displays a bust of Mario Calderara, as well as various scale models of planes designed by Mario Calderara (cf. Virtual tour of the museum, minute 5’30”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbMJLCfekVg)

Gianni Caproni Museum in Trento

The Museo dell’Aeronautica Gianni Caproni in Trento (http://www.museostorico.it/index.php/Luoghi/I-luoghi-della-Fondazione/Museo-dell-aeronautica-Gianni-Caproni) holds and displays the original of the pilot patent no. 1 issued to Mario Calderara, donated to the Museum by the family.

Smithsonian Air and Space Musem, Washington

An information panel on Mario Calderara is on display in the Aviation Pioneers section at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, USA (https://airandspace.si.edu/).

Other places in memory of M.C.

Busto Mario Calderara - MARISTAELI Catania

A bust of Mario Calderara is present at the MARISTAELI base in Catania of Marina Militare, named after him, and there are in Italy several streets named after Mario Calderara, including the one in Fiumicino, next to the Rome Airport.

Links

Encyclopedias (in Italian)

Official documents

Other websites (in Italian)

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