Born in Rome on September 15, 1891, to Federico and Matilde Cazzaniga, in a family originally from Borgomanero (Piedmont) who moved to the capital in 1887 for his father’s work at the General Inspectorate of the Treasury, Federico Zapelloni grew up in an environment marked by a sense of duty. His father, who became an advisor to the Court of Auditors, had four sons who all became officers: Giuseppe, an infantry captain wounded on Pasubio; Alessandro, an artillery lieutenant decorated with a Silver Medal on Grappa; Pier Luigi, a Bersaglieri lieutenant with a Silver and a Bronze Medal; and Federico himself, who would leave an indelible mark on aviation.
After graduating from the Torquato Tasso High School in Rome, Zapelloni responded to the call to arms in 1911, becoming a sergeant in the 81st Infantry Regiment and then a second lieutenant in the 82nd. He took part in the Libyan campaign with the 60th Regiment from 1913 to 1914.
But his real passion was flying: as early as 1907, at the age of only 16, he designed and built a monoplane glider, “Il Veleggiatore Zapelloni” (The Zapelloni Sailplane), with which he made his first flight near Forte Bravetta in Rome, anticipating the pioneers of Italian aviation by years.
During the Great War, in 1915, he obtained his airplane pilot’s license and then his military pilot’s license, becoming an instructor in Pisa on Blériot, Nieuport, and Parasole Macchi aircraft. He insisted on being sent to the front and, in 1916, was assigned to the 13th Bombing Squadron “della Comina,” equipped with heavy Caproni Ca.33s—giant slowpokes vulnerable to Austrian fighters. Promoted to captain in 1917, he took command.
A man of remarkable determination and fortitude, Zapelloni distinguished himself for his constant audacity and contempt for danger. He invented an ingenious maneuver: allowing himself to be pursued by the enemy, then abruptly pulling up by stalling the engines, causing the Caproni to stall and forcing the fighters to fly over him, ending up in the sights of the forward machine gun. His missions were epic. On April 20, 1917, over Chiapovano, he repelled two fighters and bombed the target despite 16 bullets in the aircraft. On the night of May 2, in the Istrian mist, he struck the Opicina station and flew low to hit the enemy searchlights. On May 14, he repaired an engine in flight, working precariously on the wing and burning his hands. In nine months, he commanded 63 bombing raids, striking railway junctions such as San Peter, workshops in Idria, and the arsenal in Pola. He took part in the great night raids on Pola, the most important and well-fortified Austrian naval base, planned with Gabriele d’Annunzio: on the night of August 2-3, 1917, 36 Caproni aircraft dropped 8 tons of explosives on the Austrian naval base, repeating the attack on subsequent nights. He was awarded two Silver Medals, a third converted to Bronze in 1922 due to regulatory limits, and a War Cross. The culmination was the Gold Medal for Military Valor, awarded by Royal Decree on May 11, 1922, for a daring solo nighttime action on December 30-31, 1917, in extreme conditions—the first of its kind in any air force, a source of Italian pride. During the final battle of the war, Vittorio Veneto, he destroyed the footbridges over the Piave River built by the Austrians.
Gabriele d’Annunzio dedicated his book “La Riscossa” to him and, as a friend of Gianni Caproni, he often flew with Fiorello La Guardia – future mayor of New York – whom he met at the school in Foggia, where Zapelloni was an instructor for American pilots. After the war, he was a member of the Armistice Mission in Vienna and then joined the Royal Air Force in 1923. A brilliant inventor, he designed the catabaligrafo, an officially adopted targeting sight, and the F.Z. aircraft torpedo project. He graduated in Political Science in Perugia in 1932 and was an aeronautical attaché in Madrid (1925-1927), aide-de-camp to Vittorio Emanuele III, military judge, and squadron commander. Promoted to general, he commanded the Sardinian Air Force and was an inspector of schools.
On September 8, 1943, while on leave to recover from surgery in Rome, he escaped the Germans by going into hiding. Retired in 1944, he promoted economic initiatives in Brazil and Venezuela and cultural initiatives in Italy. President of the Association of Aviation Pioneers (1967-1977), he died in Rome on January 16, 1979.
Buried in Ferentino, he has a bust at the Vittoriano and a medal collection at Vigna di Valle. Federico Zapelloni embodied the heroism of Italian aviation: daring in the skies of the Great War, innovative in peacetime, always at the service of his country.