FROM THE CORRIERE DELLA SERA (Newspaper) OF 13th February 1942

Motive: SILVER MEDAL FOR CAPTAIN MANCINI

The Pilot, Captain Luigi Mancini from Torricella, a Fascist (crossed out with red ink) since 1919 in Milan, he marched on Rome wearing the Fascist ribbon, as a volunteer for the Great War, a legionary amongst a stream of people, he also took part in the War in Africa and the War against Greece. As well as being a fighter by descent, he is a journalist and the author and editor of the only Aeronautical Encyclopaedia in the world.
Captain Mancini distinguished himself many times with courageous actions in Greece and in Yugoslavia, actions that he carried out with great sang-froid (composure) and with the expert assessment of a pilot, so that he was awarded the Silver Medal for Military Valour for the following reasons:

“ABLE AND EXPERT OLD PILOT FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR, HE ASKED FOR AND OBTAINED THE POSITION OF FIGHTER-PILOT WITH AN ACTIVE UNIT, IN WHICH HE OPERATED AS THE DRIVING FORCE, ENTHUSIASTICALLY AND CONVINCINGLY; MANY TIMES HE CARRIED OUT DIFFICULT WARTIME MISSIONS AGAINST PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS OBJECTIVES THAT WERE DEFENDED WITH EFFICIENT ANTI-AIRCRAFT ARTILLERY; VOLUNTEERING FOR A BOMBING AND SHOOTING ACTION, HE FLEW BELOW ALL SAFETY LEVELS AND HIT THE HEAD OF AN IMPORTANT ENEMY VEHICLE COLUMN, CAUSING THEIR EXPLOSIVES TO BLOW UP WITH THE ALMOST TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE COLUMN OF VEHICLES, HE THEN CONTINUED TO SHOOT ABOVE ENEMY TROUPS THAT WERE ADVANCING TOWARDS THE FRONT LINE, MOWING THEM DOWN AND CAUSING THEM TO DESPAIR. IN ANOTHER RISKY ACTION HE BOMBED THE BRIDGE OVER THE VOJUSSA, THUS INTERRUPTING AND BLOCKING THE PASSAGE OF ENEMY TROUPS, AND EVEN THOUGH HIS PLANE WAS HIT BY EXTREMELY VIOLENT ANTI-ARICRAFT FIRE, HAVING SEEN AN ENEMY BATTERY, HE FLEW VERY LOW SKIMMING THE GROUND, MANAGING TO HIT THEIR CENTRE, REDUCING THEM TO SILENCE. HE NEVER RETURNED TO HIS AIRFIELD UNLESS HE HAD COMPLETED THE MISSIONS ASSIGNED TO HIM.”