Buscaglia was born in
Novara,
Piedmont, in 1915 and entered the Italian
Accademia Aeronautica (Air Force Academy) in October 1934. In 1937, he was made
Sottotenente (2nd Lieutenant). On 1 July 1937, Buscaglia was assigned to the 50th Squadron (32nd Bomber Wing), then equipped with the obsolete
Savoia-Marchetti S.M.81, but later replaced with the more efficient
SM.79. In 1939, he was promoted to full Lieutenant. The following February, he was transferred to the 252nd Squadron (46th Bomber Wing), and with this unit, he took part in his first military mission on 21 June 1940. On 25 July, he volunteered to join the
Reparto Speciale Aerosiluranti ("Special Torpedo-Bomber Detachment") of the
Regia Aeronautica, later renamed the 240th Torpedo-Bomber Squadron, based in
Libya. On the night of 17 September 1940, Buscaglia obtained his first success with a torpedo-armed SM.79, heavily damaging the cruiser
HMS Kent. In early December, he also successfully attacked the cruiser
HMS Glasgow. In January 1941, Buscaglia's unit was transferred to
Catania, from where he took part in the action with some German
Ju 87s in which the carrier was badly damaged. Promoted to
captain, Buscaglia was made commander of a new torpedo unit, the 281st Squadron, based at the
Grottaglie airport in
Apulia. From there, he took part in the
Battle of Cape Matapan. By 1942, Buscaglia had already obtained the
Silver Medal of Military Valor five times, and the German
Iron Cross second class. In April, he was selected to command the new 132nd Torpedo Group, subsequently sinking several ships in the Mediterranean. On 12 August of that year, together with the German ace
Hans-Joachim Marseille, he was received in
Rome by
Benito Mussolini, who promoted him to
major. On 12 November 1942, during an action against the
Allied invasion of North Africa, Buscaglia's aircraft was shot down by a British
Spitfire. He was declared "killed in action" and a
Gold Medal of Military Valor was awarded posthumously. However, although wounded and badly burned, Buscaglia had survived, having been captured by Allied troops and transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp in the
United States at
Fort Meade. After the
armistice of 8 September 1943, Buscaglia was asked to fight alongside the Allies, as a member of the newly formed
Aeronautica Cobelligerante del Sud. In the meantime, in the northern part of Italy still occupied by Germany, a wing of the
Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (the Air Force of the puppet
Italian Social Republic), the
1° Gruppo Aerosiluranti, was named after him. On 15 July 1944, Buscaglia assumed command of the 28th Bomber Wing, equipped with
Martin Baltimores and based on Campo Vesuvio airport, near
Naples. On 23 August, while attempting to fly one of the new aircraft without an instructor, Buscaglia crashed on take-off. He died the following day in a hospital in Naples. The 3rd Wing of the current
Aeronautica Militare Italiana, based at
Villafranca di Verona, was named after him. == Bibliography ==