The death was announced last week of an Italian ‘Red Baron’ who listed bombing Malta as one of his achievements of his wartime exploits.

Rino Rustignoli died in February at the age of 92. Up to a few months ago, he was still getting around in his small car in Forli, despite his age. Then a fall and the resulting immobility led to his death.

Born in 1915, he studied and became a pilot at the Accademia Aeronautica of Pola in 1936, the Italian city later ceded to Yugoslavia. By 1938 he was flying over Spain taking part in the Spanish Civil War on the side of Franco, one of the 50,000 Italian soldiers and 763 planes that Mussolini sent to help his friend, a mission for which Italy was never paid.

Rino ‘Rusti’ Rustignoli took part in 62 operations over Spain and was an expert pilot when World War II broke out. He took part in missions first in Albania, then in Libya and over Malta.

After the war he had to adapt to changed circumstances since he had a wife and two children to provide for, and this led him to do any kind of work he could find in Forli. He never spoke about his past, save for very recently.