{{Infobox person |name = Alessandro Tonini |image = |caption = |birth_date = {{birth date text|1885}} |birth_place = Cavarzere, Italy |death_date = {{death date and age|1932|11|12|1885|df=y}} |death_place = Switzerland |death_cause = |resting_place = |resting_place_coordinates = |citizenship = |known_for = |employer = *Gabardini *Macchi *IMAM |occupation = Aeronautical engineer |years_active = 1908–1929 }} '''Alessandro Tonini''' (1885 – 12 November 1932) was an important Italian aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer of the early 20th century who worked for Gabardini, Macchi, and IMAM.
==Biography== Tonini was born in Cavarzere in the Province of Venice in Italy in 1885, the son of a civil engineer.<ref name=G2p16>Callegari, Gambarotto 2012, p. 16.</ref> Passionate about the world of aviation, he began his career as an aeronautical manufacturer in Milan in 1908<ref name=M6p586>Mancini 1936, p. 586.</ref> when he founded the Rebus Works<ref name=G2p16/> for the construction of aircraft and aircraft engines.<ref name=C3p75>Cobianchi 1943, p. 75.</ref>
Tonini's first creation was the Rebus engine, produced in two types. The first, delivering {{convert|40|to|45|hp|kW|0}}, was installed on the Wright biplane which Lieutenants Mario Calderara and Umberto Savoja flew during the "Brescia Week” competition, winning all the prizes for a domestically produced Italian apparatus.<ref name=M6p586/> The second, delivering {{convert|70|hp|kW|0}}, was installed on the Rebus Works′ Monorebus monoplane, which made a flight of {{convert|15|km|mi|1}}<ref name=C3p75/> over the Malpensa airfield in Milan in June 1910.<ref name=C3p412>Cobianchi 1943, p. 412.</ref>
Together with Piero Bergonzi and Ippolito Negri, Tonini later designed two types of canard monoplane with a parasol wing,<ref name=M6p586/> creating the world's first airplanes with a monocoque fuselage.<ref name=G2p16/> One of the aircraft had a metal fuselage,<ref name=C3p414>Cobianchi 1943, p. 414.</ref> and was powered by a {{convert|50|hp|kW|adj=on|0}} Le Rhône rotary engine, while the other was a two-seater of entirely wooden construction and powered by a {{convert|25|to|30|hp|kW|adj=on|0}} Anzani engine.<ref name=M6p586/>
From 1912 to 1913, Tonini studied aeronautical construction at the ''Ecole Superiéure Aéronautique'' ("Advanced Aeronautical School") in Liège, Belgium.<ref name=A3p10>Abbate, Lazzati 1963, p. 10.</ref> Returning to Italy, he worked for a short time at Gabardini, and then was hired as technical director at SIAI at Bovisio.<ref name=M6p586/>
Some time later, Tonino moved, again as technical director, to the aeronautical works of Macchi in Varese.<ref name=A3p10/> During World War I, he designed the Macchi M.7 fighter flying boat, the Macchi M.8 reconnaissance-bomber flying boat,<ref name=C3p414/> the Macchi M.9 bomber flying boat, and the Macchi M.12 bomber flying boat, all of which saw use by Italian military forces during the war.<ref name=A3p10/>
After the end of World War I, Tonini designed the Macchi M.14 fighter, the Macchi M.15, which saw service as a reconnaissance aircraft, bomber, and trainer aircraft, the Macchi M.16 civil sport aircraft, the Macchi M.17 racing flying boat, the Macchi M.18 bomber and civilian passenger flying boat, the Macchi M.20 two-seat civil trainer and touring aircraft, and the Macchi M.24 flying boat, which saw use as a bomber and torpedo plane and as a civilian passenger aircraft.<ref name=M6p586/> Piloting an M.16 powered by a {{convert|30|hp|kW|adj=on|0}} Anzani engine, Giovanni De Briganti won the ''Coppa Mapelli'' ("Mapelli Cup") twice, in 1920 and 1921, retiring the trophy.
In 1926, Tonini moved to the Romeo Works in Naples to work for IMAM, where he designed the IMAM Ro.5 touring aircraft.<ref name=A3p10/> The Ro.5 performed well during the International Challenges in 1929 and the ''Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Royal Air Force) adopted it for use in liaison squadrons.<ref name=M6p586/>
Tonini's health deteriorated in 1929, forcing him to leave his job at IMAM.<ref name=M6p586/><ref>[https://www.aviationclassics.co.uk/issue-20-alenia-aermacchi/ Anonymous, "ISSUE 20 – ALENIA AERMACCHI," aviationclassics.co.uk, 3 October 2016 Accessed 18 December 2020]</ref> He died in Switzerland due to illness on 12 November 1932.<ref name=M6p586/>
==References== ===Notes=== {{reflist}}
===Bibliography=== * {{cite book|author=Rosario Abbate|author2=Giulio Lazzati|title=I velivoli Macchi dal 1912 al 1963|url=http://www.avia-it.com/act/biblioteca/libri/PDF_Libri_By_AVIA/Velivoli-MACCHI.pdf|language=it|publisher=Ed. Ali nel tempo|location=Milano|year=1963|access-date=8 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108200729/http://www.avia-it.com/act/biblioteca/libri/PDF_Libri_By_AVIA/Velivoli-MACCHI.pdf|archive-date=8 January 2019|url-status=usurped}} * {{cite book|author=Renato Callegari|author2=Stefano Gambarotto|title=Il Fronte del Cielo. Guida all'Aviazione nel Veneto durante la Grande Guerra 1915-1918|publisher=Istituto per la Storia del Risorgimento Italiano|language=it|location=Treviso|date=2012}} * {{cite book|author=Mario Cobianchi|title=Pionieri dell'Aviazione in Italia|language=it|publisher=Editoriale Aeronautico|location=Rome|date=1943}} * {{cite book|editor=Luigi Mancini |title=Grande Enciclopedia Aeronautica|language=it|publisher=Edizioni Aeronautica|location= Milano|date=1936}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonini, Alessandro}} Category:1885 births Category:1932 deaths Category:Italian aircraft designers Category:Italian aerospace engineers Category:People from Cavarzere