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Guido Masiero

Capitano Guido Masiero was a World War I flying ace credited with five confirmed and ten unconfirmed aerial victories. He was a prewar lancer who used his civilian engineering expertise to wrangle a transfer to aviation duty.

Early life and service
Guido Masiero was born into a middle-class family in Padua in the Kingdom of Italy on 24 August 1895. He studied engineering before joining the Italian Army's 5th "Novara" Lancers on 4 December 1913. He used his technical knowledge as grounds for a transfer to the Italian Army's air service. ==World War I aviation service==
World War I aviation service
Masiero began aviation schooling on 1 February 1915. On 1 August 1915, he was rated a qualified pilot on the Maurice Farman aircraft. He completed pilot's training and was assigned as a sergente to 7a Squadriglia (later to be redesignated 26a Squadriglia) reaching the front on 15 October 1915. He qualified as a Voisin pilot on 15 November 1915. In December 1915 Masiero began to fly a Voisin for 26a Squadriglia. He flew 58 reconnaissance sorties over the Carso and sometimes returned with battle damage. At some point prior to February 1917, Guido Masiero was commissioned as a sottotenente. After the squadron was disbanded on 4 March 1917, Masiero was hastily reassigned to 103a Squadriglia at Brindisi. He then transferred to the Nieuport training unit at Malpensa on 14 May 1917. On 29 July 1917, he was promoted to tenente. Next, on 10 September 1917, he was forwarded to the 86a Squadiglia at Ponte San Pietro for further training on the new Ansaldo SVAs. As the SVAs were still under development, Masiero was sent to 91a Squadiglia on 27 October 1917. This was cut short by demands for all pilots to fight in the Battle of Caporetto; Masiero arrived on 2 November 1917 with 78a Squadriglia. On 7 November 1917, Masiero staked his first victory claim, but it went unconfirmed. He then joined with Mario Fucini, Razzi, and Antonio Chiri for his first official victory on 13 November 1917. Six days later, he scored a solo win, but his second claim on the 19 November went unconfirmed, as did one submitted for the following day. It was not until 10 December 1917 that he scored again, to balance out his count of confirmed and unconfirmed wins at three each. Four days later, another claim went unconfirmed. Finally, on 26 December 1917, in two separate fights, Masiero became an ace, sharing both victories with a number of other Allied pilots. Masiero was promoted to tenente from sottotentente on 17 January 1918. He would go on to make six more victory claims during the first six months of 1918, to no avail. On 29 March 1918, he left 78a Squadriglia for posting to 3a Sezione SVA to fly the new Ansaldo SVAs. A review committee meeting immediately postwar disallowed at least six previously confirmed victories, leaving Masiero's tally at five confirmed. ==Post-World War I==
Post-World War I
In December 1918, the month after World War I ended, Masiero was assigned to the Experimental Directorate of the Italian Army's air service. He would spend a year there before his military discharge. ==Honors and awards==
Honors and awards
• Citation on 4 October 1916 • War Merit Cross • Bronze Medal for Military Valor: February 1917 • Silver awards of Medal for Military Valor: first awarded 20 November 1917 (in the field); 2 more awards circa 1919; one more award for 1937–1938 • Croix de guerre (Belgium) ==Notes==
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