Diego Manzocchi 11.3.1940 Traditional Cache
Diego Manzocchi 11.3.1940
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Peruskätkö lentokoneen pakkolaskupaikan lähistöllä. Terrain arvo kuvaa lähestymistä helpommasta suunnasta, lähistöllä on jyrkänteitä, joita ainakin pimeälllä kannattaa varoa.
DIEGO MANZOCCHI. Talvisodan vapaaehtoinen lentäjä Italiasta. Kaksi päivää ennen Talvisodan päättymistä 11.3.1940 Ylikersantti Manzocchi lähti 13:40 Utista Luutnantti Puhakan parina torjumaan Fiat G50 hävittäjällään Lahden kaupunkia pommittamaan matkalla olleita Venäläisiä pommikoneita. Tehtävän aikana hän haavoittui pommikoneiden torjuntatulesta. Manzocchi irtautui taistelusta ja suuntasi kohti Uttia ja Haukkajärveä jonka jäälle auratulta kentältä Fiat hävittäjät toimivat. Voimat kuitenkin ehtyivät matkalla ja Manzocchi joutui tekemään pakkolaskun Ikolanjärven jäälle. Tunnollisena lentäjänä hän halusi koneen säilyvän mahdollisimman ehjänä pakkolaskussa ja laski laskutelineet alas mahalaskun sijaan. Epäonneksi laskukiito päättyi siihen kun koneen pyörät törmäsivät järven jäälle auratun talvitien penkkaan ja kone kiepsahti katolleen. Manzocchi ei päässyt omin avuin pois koneesta. Kun Kuusankoskelta tulleet pelastajat saivat hänet illalla klo 17 kaivettua ulos koneen alta oli lentäjä jo menehtynyt. Kätköpaikalta on näkymä viereiselle pakkolaskujärvelle. Loggauksen jälkeen voi vaikka pitää minuutin hiljaisuuden Suomen itsenäisyyden puolesta taistelleelle Italialaiselle. Manzocchi on haudattu Hietaniemen sankarihautausmaalle Helsinkiin. Seikkaperäisempi tarina Manzocchista löytyy englanninkielisestä osiosta. Manzocchin pakkolaskun jälkeen Fiat FA-22 korjattiin ja se luovutettiin takaisin LLv26 :lle 19.4.1941. FA-22 palveli jatkosodassa 28.8.1944 lennettyyn viimeiseen lentoonsa asti. Sodan jälkeen 31.5.1945 se poistettiin käytöstä. (eng) DIEGO MANZOCCHI an Italian volunteer in the Winter War Among the foreign volunteer pilots of the Winter War there is one, who though well-known to and respected by his fellow pilots, is less known to the broader public, the Italian fighter pilot Diego Manzocchi. Diego Manzocchi was born in northern Italy on December 26th, 1912. Already as a youngster he became interested in airplanes and in the aviation heroes of the time. Aged 19, he volunteered for and was accepted to the Aeronautica Militare, the Italian Air Force. In the autumn of 1939 Diego was a 27 years old bachelor. While on holiday at the Italian Riviera he met Justin D. (whose surname is not known) from France. He fell for her so completely, that immediately after his holiday he started planning a flight to France, just to get to meet her again. September 29th 1939 was the day he chose to execute his plan. He took off from the Cameri airfield (close to Milan) in a Fiat CR 20 fighter, First he flew north of Turin on a southwest course over the Gran Paradiso National Park. At Brianconi he crossed the Franco-Italian border, and finally made a successful forced landing in a field by the Durance River. In France the authorities treated Manzocchi well. They questioned him and found him “not dangerous” to the security of France. As a reason for his defection he gave his disapproval of the fascistic government in Italy as well as the career discrimination he had suffered and other personal reasons. As a result of all this he was interned in France. Finally he arrived in Paris, only to discover that he had been but a married French woman’s holiday romance at the Italian Riviera. Any dreams and expectations regarding Justine he had to lay to rest. Soon after this he met with two Canadian pilots on their way to help Finland in its time of need. They gave him the address of the Finnish volunteers recruiting office in Stockholm, Sweden, and also other useful advice. On January 29th 1940 he arrived in Sweden. In Stockholm the Finns at the recruiting office interviewed him thoroughly and were satisfied with what they heard. They provided Manzocchi with money for the train ticket and he was ordered to report at the recruiting office in Tornio. From Tornio he was ordered to Lapua to join the “Detachment Sisu”, which had been established as a unit for volunteer foreign combatants. At Lapua Manzocchi was found to be an experienced pilot. He was ordered to join Squadron 26, which used Fiat G 50 fighters familiar to him, operating from Utti. He probably had his first flight in a FiAF Fiat before noon on February 29th 1940. In the afternoon on that day he made his first operative flight as the wingman of Lieutenant Puhakka over the Gulf of Vyborg. Manzocchi met his fate on March 11th 1940, two days before the end of the “Winter War”. At 11:20 Lieutenant Puhakka and Staff Sergeant Manzocchi scrambled to intercept enemy planes over the Gulf of Vyborg. They did not make enemy contact on the flight and returned to base. After the planes had been serviced they took off again at 13:40 on another interception mission, this time in the vicinity of Lahti. When they got close to Artjärvi, they saw a Soviet bomber formation of about 100 planes, with fighter escort, flying in the direction of Lahti at an altitude of about 3000 meters. They attacked and during the attack Manzocchi was wounded by a bullet to his lung, either from defensive fire from a bomber or from the fire of one of the escorting Soviet fighters. Wounded, Manzocchi decided to make a forced landing on the frozen lake Ikolanjärvi. On approach he lowered the landing gear, probably aiming to minimize any further damage to the plane. Unfortunately the plane hit a bank of the iceroad, flipped over and continued skidding along the ice. Ice and snow kept packing into the open cockpit and causing contusions to Manzocchi’s face. The plane stopped belly up, with the probably unconscious Manzocchi hanging head down in the seat-belt. When the rescue crew got to the site and removed him from the plane it was already past 5 pm. Manzocchi was taken to the military hospital, where the doctor could only declare him dead. In Finland Diego Manzocchi, fallen for the freedom of Finland, is still appreciated. Whatever his reasons for leaving his own country, he served his short time in the FiAF impeccably and with honor. The Government of Finland paid its deep respect by awarding him the Finnish Pilots Badge, “Honoris Causa (62). Diego Manzocchi is buried at the Soldiers Grave at Hietaniemi cemetery in Helsinki.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)