The Italian Military Aviation in Nationalist China
General Roberto Lordi and the Italian Mission in Nanchang (1933–1937)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12050401 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Orazio Coco (0000-0002-6950-4173, Hong Kong Baptist University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 697-720 |
| Publication date | 2021-11-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The International History Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0707-5332 • E-ISSN: 1949-6540 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/07075332.2021.1984277 |
| OpenAlex | W3213796626 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
On 7 September 1933, military officers of the Italian Air Force led by Colonel Roberto Lordi departed from Naples to reach China with the task, agreed upon by Italian fascist and Chinese nationalist governments, of building a factory assembling Italian-made aircrafts and training pilots for the Republic of China. The mission was stationed at Nanchang, in today’s Jiangxi province. The initiative was developed in competition with a similar American mission, which had operated since 1932 in Hankou, in the Hubei province, at the time led by Colonel John H. Jouett. The Italian government won Chiang’s attention with the agreement to use the military airfield and Italian aircrafts against the Communist resistance, which pleased the expectations of the Generalissimo. In April 1934, the headquarters of the Chinese military aviation finally moved to Nanchang. The mission’s commander, Roberto Lordi, was promoted Brigadier General of the Italian Royal Air Force and appointed Chief of Staff of the Chinese Air Force. This article presents, through extensive use of unpublished private and public archive documents, the controversial history of the Italian military mission and unveils the circumstances that changed the fortune of that successful story, as well as the career and personal life of its commander
Aviation · China · Communism · Economic history · Government (linguistics · Management · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Engineering · History · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |