Italo Balbo's Transatlantic Flight (1933)

The dream of any aviator of the Western world of the 1920s and 1930s was to accomplish the Atlantic crossing aboard an airplane, much like the aspiration of a navigator Christopher Columbus was to cross the same ocean by boat. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh amazed the world by crossing the Atlantic solo and non-stop. Only six years later, Italo Balbo commanded the Atlantic crossing of 24 seaplanes piloted by Italians. This crossing, which did not bring technological innovations, was one of the most spectacular in the history of aviation.