[[File:Arturo Ferrarin - Roma-Tokyo.svg|thumb|Route of Arturo Ferrarin’s journey Rome-Tokyo]] The '''Rome–Tokyo Raid''' ({{langx|it| Raid Roma-Tokyo}}) was an Italian long-distance air expedition across Eurasia between 14 February and 31 May 1920. It was organised by [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]] and [[Harukichi Shimoi]] and completed by the aviators [[Guido Masiero]] and [[Arturo Ferrarin]] together with their respective engineers Roberto Maretto and Gino Capannini.
==Origin of the idea== Gabriele D'Annunzio conceived the idea of the Rome–Tokyo Raid{{ efn-la |The Italian word ''raid'' is borrowed from English, and still carries some of the obsolete English sense of an expedition. See [[ wikt:raid#Italian |Wiktionary]], for the Italian word, and follow links from there. (The English word is [[cognate]] with Eng. ''ride''.)}} in March 1919:<ref name="treccani">{{cite web|title=FERRARIN, Arturo|url= https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/arturo-ferrarin_(Dizionario-Biografico)|first=Giuseppe |last=Sircana|access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref> it was born from his meeting during the [[First World War]] with the Japanese poet [[Harukichi Shimoi]], who had enlisted in the [[Arditi]].<ref name="s24">{{cite news|url=http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2013-11-03/l-universita-tokyo-celebra-gabriele-d-annunzio-ideatore-primo-raid-aereo-roma-tokyo-pilota-arturo-ferrarin-142636.shtml?uuid=ABjjp9a|title=L'Università di Tokyo celebra Gabriele D'Annunzio, ideatore del primo raid aereo Roma-Tokyo del pilota Arturo Ferrarin|access-date=14 December 2022|publisher=Il Sole 24 Ore|first=Stefano |last=Carrer|date= November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://ilpiccolo.gelocal.it/cronaca/2012/01/18/news/dai-giapponesi-lodi-agli-assalti-di-cadorna-1.3081316|title=Dai giapponesi lodi agli assalti di Cadorna |access-date=15 December 2022 |publisher =Il Piccolo|date=18 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="GI">{{cite news|url=http://www.ilgiornaleditalia.org/news/primopiano-focus/846974/Con-eliche-di-legno-e-ali.html|title=Con eliche di legno e ali di stoffa verso il Sol Levante|access-date=15 December 2020|date=31 May 2013|first=Mario |last=Vattani|publisher=Il Giornale d'Italia|archive-date=3 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203005748/http://www.ilgiornaleditalia.org/news/primopiano-focus/846974/Con-eliche-di-legno-e-ali.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ali">{{cite web|url=http://www.alieuomini.it/pagine/dettaglio/crociere_primati,6/il_raid_roma_tokio_del,18.html|title=Il raid Roma-Tokio|website=Ali e uomini|access-date=15 December 2022 |archive-date=23 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223092437/http://www.alieuomini.it/pagine/dettaglio/crociere_primati,6/il_raid_roma_tokio_del,18.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> D’Annunzio, a veteran of the [[Flight over Vienna]], originally intended to undertake the expedition himself and for this reason he was helped and supported by the Italian government, which saw it as a possible means of distracting him from the [[Italian Regency of Carnaro|Fiume adventure]].<ref name="treccani"/><ref name="ali"/>
As it turned out, D'Annunzio, was not distracted from [[Rijeka|Fiume]] and gave up the idea of flying himself. Although this plan involved eleven aircraft, only Ferrarin, with his engineer Gino Cappannini,<ref name="GI"/> was ultimately able to reach the Japanese capital purely by flying, totalling 112 flying hours.<ref name="ali"/><ref>{{cite book|first=Pietro |last=Ratti Veneziani|title= La trasvolata atlantica Italia - Brasile. L'inizio di una nuova era |year=2012 |publisher=IBN Editore| isbn=978-88-7565-142-8| page=17}}</ref> Masiero and Maretto travelled the section between [[Delhi]] and [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] by train and the one between [[Guangzhou]] and [[Shanghai]] by ship.<ref name="treccani"/> All the other crews failed to complete the journey and one aircraft even crashed, killing its two crew members.
==Crew== The officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers chosen by D'Annunzio were:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aereimilitari.org/forum/topic/9260-il-raid-roma-tokio-di-ferrarin/|website=aereimilitari.org|title=Il raid Roma-Tokyo di Ferrarin|date=12 September 2008 |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avia-it.com/act/Editoriali/Editoriali_luglio_2010/45_Da_Roma_a_Tokyo.pdf|publisher =Rivista Aeronautica|first=Ovidio |last=Ferrante|title=Da Roma a Tokyo... per una trasvolata memorabile|date=February 2010|access-date=15 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210111/http://www.avia-it.com/act/Editoriali/Editoriali_luglio_2010/45_Da_Roma_a_Tokyo.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=usurped}}</ref>
*Lieutenant Edoardo Scavini, second lieutenant Carlo Bonalumi, [[Caproni Ca.33]] biplane *Lieutenant Luigi Garrone, Lieutenant Enrico Abba, engineers Alfredo Momo and Alfredo Rossi, [[Caproni Ca.40]] triplane *Lieutenant Leandro Negrini, second lieutenant Giovanni Origgi, engineer Dario Cotti, Caproni Ca.33 biplane *Lieutenant Virgilio Sala, Lieutenant Innocente Borello, engineer Antonio Sanità, [[Caproni Ca.44]] biplane *Lieutenant Guido Masiero, engineer Roberto Maretto, [[Ansaldo SVA]] 9 biplane *Lieutenant Arturo Ferrarin, engineer Gino Cappannini, Ansaldo SVA 9 biplane *Pilot Lieutenant Giuseppe Grassa, Captain [[Mario Gordesco]], Ansaldo SVA 9 biplane *Captain Umberto Re, cinematographer Bixio Alberini, Ansaldo SVA 9 biplane *Captain Ferruccio Ranza, engineer Brigidi, Ansaldo SVA 9 biplane *Lieutenant Amedeo Mecozzi, Lieutenant Bruno Bilisco, Ansaldo SVA 9 biplane *Lieutenant Ferruccio Marwari, engineer Giuseppe Da Monte, Ansaldo SVA 9 biplane
==The expedition: Italy to India== Ferrarin and Masiero set off on 14 February 1920 at 11 from [[Centocelle Airport|Centocelle airport]] in Rome.<ref name="GI"/><ref name="ali"/> Their first stop was at [[Gioia del Colle]], Puglia, as both aircraft were experiencing technical problems.<ref name="ali"/> The next stop was at [[Vlora]], in [[Albania]], where there were still Italian troops who had been occupying the city since 1914. After Vlora they stopped at [[Thessaloniki]] and from there they moved [[İzmir]], at that time [[Occupation of Smyrna|occupied by the Greeks]].<ref name="GI"/><ref name="ali"/>
From İzmir they headed for [[Antalya]] but technical problems forced them to make a landing at [[Aydın]].<ref name="ali"/> They flew to Antalya, then [[Italian occupation of Adalia|occupied by the Italians]], then on to [[Aleppo]] and [[Baghdad]]. In the Iraqi capital Ferrarin was forced to land on a field where a soccer match was taking place. On 23 February they left for [[Basra]], where Ferrarin waited for Masiero for three days before resuming the flight for [[Bandar Abbas]], though he was interrupted by bad weather which forced him to land at [[Bushehr]]. Finally reaching Bandar Abbas, after a first failed attempt due to a problem with his radiator, Ferrarin eventually managed to reach Chabahar.<ref name="GI"/><ref name="ali"/>
==The expedition: India to China== From there Ferrarin wanted to reach [[Karachi]] directly but, due to an engine problem, he was forced to land near a village inhabited by rebels who opposed British rule. Luckily the villagers mistook the Italian tricolor for the flag of [[Bulgaria]], an enemy of Britain during the First World War. Taking advantage of this mistake, Ferrarin managed to leave the village unharmed and resume his journey towards Karachi. There Ferrarin rejoined Masiero who had managed to fly directly from Bandar Abbas.<ref name="ali"/>
From Karachi Ferrarin left for [[Delhi]], which he reached after a stop in [[Hyderabad, Sindh|Hyderabad]] and a short stop at a railway station.<ref name="ali"/> He then arrived in [[Allahabad]] and from there reached [[Kolkata]]. After a long stop in there, waiting in vain for his other companions, Ferrarin resumed his flight in the direction of [[Akyab]] (one source states that he was flying a new plane, since his original one had been irreparably damaged by the carelessness of the local staff)<ref>{{cite book| first=D. |last=Ludovico |title=Aviatori italiani da Roma a Tokio nel 1920 |url= http://www.avia-it.com/act/biblioteca/libri/PDF_Libri_By_AVIA/Aviatori%20Italiani%20da%20Roma%20a%20Tokio%20nel%201920%20-%20Ludovico%20D..pdf |place=Milano |publisher=Etas)| url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222032139/http://www.avia-it.com/act/biblioteca/libri/PDF_Libri_By_AVIA/Aviatori%20Italiani%20da%20Roma%20a%20Tokio%20nel%201920%20-%20Ludovico%20D..pdf |archive-date=2014-02-22 }}</ref> and from there reached [[Yangon]],<ref name="GI"/><ref name="ali"/> the last staging post under British control - for the Baghdad to Burma stretch, the British authorities had given the pilots full support, providing help for repairs and guidance on routing.<ref name="ali"/>
Masiero reached Yangon first, and Ferrarin then set off to follow him by way of [[Bangkok]], [[Ubon Ratchathani]] and [[Hanoi]], where he caught up with him. On 21 April Ferrarin set off again. He made two short landings, the first on a small island in the South China Sea and the second near [[Macao]], before reaching [[Guangzhou]]. From there he proceeded to [[Fuzhou]] and then [[Shanghai]].<ref name="ali"/>
==The expedition: China to Japan== [[File:Aereo raid Roma-Tokio.jpg|thumb|The aircraft used by Ferrarin for the raid, exhibited in the Japanese Imperial Museum]] From Shanghai, where he stopped for a week, he went in to [[Qingdao]], which was then [[Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory#Later history|occupied by Japanese forces]]. Welcomed by the Japanese authorities, he was promised that when he arrived in Japan he would be presented with a golden samurai katana and that his plane would remain on display in Tokyo.<ref name="ali"/> It was in fact exhibited until 1933, but them destroyed due to irreparable deterioration.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.corriereadriatico.it/SPETTACOLI/gabriele_d_39_annunzio_un_mito_nel_giappone_del_39_900/notizie/349554.shtml|title=Gabriele D'Annunzio. Un mito nel Giappone del '900|access-date=15 December 2022|publisher=Corriere Adriatico|date=3 November 2013|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202000303/http://www.corriereadriatico.it/SPETTACOLI/gabriele_d_39_annunzio_un_mito_nel_giappone_del_39_900/notizie/349554.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>
From Qingdao he reached the Chinese capital [[Beijing]], where he spent a week, honored by the local population and authorities, then he left again for [[Goubangzi]], near [[Shenyang]] then for [[Sinŭiju]] in Korea, at that time an integral part of the [[Japanese empire]].<ref name="ali"/>
[[File:Japanese aviators welcome Italians LCCN2014719605.tif|thumb|Japanese aviators welcome Italians LCCN2014719605]] The next stop on the journey was [[Seoul]], a destination imposed on Ferrarin by both the Japanese authorities and the Italian representatives in Korea.<ref name="ali"/> From Seoul he headed to [[Daegu]], which was the last stop on mainland soil.<ref name="GI"/> On orders from the Japanese authorities, Ferrarin was forced to follow a longer and more northern route than the one he envisaged because there was an absolute ban on flying over the strongholds of [[Pusan]] and [[Tsushima, Nagasaki|Tsushima]].<ref name="ali"/> Despite the imposed change of course, Ferrarin reached [[Osaka]] on May 30, where he was welcomed by the entire citizenry.<ref name="GI"/>
Landing in Yoyogi Park,<ref name="s24"/> Ferrarin reached the last leg of the journey, Tokyo where, in addition to the usual crowds that had met him at all his stops since he arrived in China, he had the honor of being received by the royal prince [[Hirohito]] and by [[Empress Teimei]].<ref name="ali"/>
Ferrarin went on to publish his travel memoirs in the book ''My Flight Rome-Tokyo'' in 1921.<ref name="treccani"/>
==The other crews== A total of eleven aircraft and their crews attempted to journey, but only the planes of Arturo Ferrarin and Guido Masiero reached Japan. The other crews ran into accidents, even fatal ones, which prevented them from reaching Tokyo .
The first crew to drop out were Abba and Garrone, who lost their plane in Thessalonika. Sala and Borello’s Caproni had a breakdown along the course of the [[Büyük Menderes River|Meander]] while Origgi and Negrini ended their journey in [[Konya]]: they were captured on September 2 and their aircraft destroyed. In the [[Syrian Desert|Syrian desert]] it was the turn of Scavini and Bonalumi, aboard a Caproni trimotor, to abandon the enterprise.<ref name="ali"/>
The most serious accident of the raid took place in [[Bushehr]] as Gordesco and Grassa had a fatal accident: their plane, an SVA9 like that of Masiero and Ferrarin, broke down on take-off and, after catching fire, it crashed.<ref name="GI"/> In Japan, the Empress Teimei decreed that funeral rites should be conducted in their honor at a temple in Tokyo, in the presence of the Italian pilots who had arrived safely.<ref name="ali"/>
==Criticism== Despite the success of the enterprise, the raid was criticized in Italy. Left-wing parties, while recognizing the value of what Ferrarin had accomplished, challenged the excessive spending of public money and the sloppy organization.<ref name="treccani"/>
==Legacy== In 2020, for the centenary of the raid, the [[Italian Air Force]] dedicated a special livery sported by five SIAI S.208Ms of the 60th Wing of Guidonia, with the image of Arturo Ferrarin on the tail and a cockade with the Italian and Japanese colors.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://theaviationist.com/2020/02/18/italian-air-force-special-colored-s-208ms-celebrate-100th-anniversary-of-historic-first-rome-tokyo-flight/ | first=David |last=Cenciotti|title = Italian Air Force Special Colored S.208Ms Celebrate 100th Anniversary Of Historic First Rome – Tokyo Flight |date=18 February 2020| access-date = 15 December 2020}}</ref>
The same year, a documentary was made by the municipality of [[Cadoneghe]], particularly focused on Roberto Maretto, a native of the place. In June 2021, celebrations were held in Cadoneghe with many activities in memory of the Raid.
==References== {{notelist}} {{reflist}}
{{Gabriele D'Annunzio}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rome-Tokyo Raid}} [[Category:February 1920 in Europe]] [[Category:May 1920 in Europe]] [[Category:February 1920 in Asia]] [[Category:May 1920 in Asia]] [[Category:1920 in aviation]] [[Category:1920 in Italy]] [[Category:1920 in Japan]] [[Category:Gabriele D'Annunzio]] [[Category:Aviation records]]