Mussolini’s Eagles in China 1933–1938

On 7 September 1933, military officers of the Italian Air Force led by Colonel Roberto Lordi travelled to China to carry out a directive agreed upon by the Italian fascist and Chinese nationalist governments. His task was to establish a factory for the assembly of Italian aircraft—notably Breda, F.I.A.T, Caproni and S.I.A.I.—and a school for the training of pilots of the Republic of China. The initiative was developed in competition with a similar American mission which had operated since 1932 in Hankou, led at the time by Colonel John H. Jouett. After nearly five years of close cooperation, Italy’s diplomatic focus had drifted towards Japan, and the mission was forced to return to Italy. _Mussolini’s Eagles in China 1933–1938: The Regia Aeronautica in Nationalist China_ is the first major study of this brief but fascinating footnote in Chinese nationalist and Italian fascist diplomatic history, providing new perspectives on this critical period in China and the strengths and weaknesses of Italian military aircraft.