THE GENIUS OF CORRADINO D’ASCANIO

AMHS HONORS ABRUZZO NATIVE WHO INVENTED THE VESPA

By Ray LaVerghetta

The Vespa Rally that took place in Washington, D.C. in late September of this year presented an opportunity for our Society, and the vespisti attending the Rally, to recognize the life and work of Corradino D’Ascanio, the Italian engineer from Abruzzo who designed the Vespa. D’Ascanio is best known for his two magnificent machines, the helicopter and the Vespa, but it was the Vespa that rally attendees gathered to pay tribute to during an early morning breakfast held on September 21. D’Ascanio designed the Vespa in 1946, and it quickly became immensely successful in Italy and, indeed, all over the world.

It also became a symbol of both Italian freedom and Italian style. It was the style of the Vespa that generated its popularity and success. Born in Popoli, in the province of Pescara, in Abruzzo, D’Ascanio was interested in aeronautics from an early age. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Turin. During the World War I, he created a number of important designs in his job as a member of the Aviators Battalion of Turin (more on them below).

Following that war, D’Ascanio attempted a short venture in the U.S. with the son of Gabriele D’Annunzio, also an engineer, but returned to Italy after a year. On his return, he set up a company with a wealthy friend from Pescara — Baron Pietro Trojani. His sole purpose was to prove the viability of a concept first put forth by another Italian designer — Leonardo Da Vinci: that an aircraft could fly by means of a vertical rotating mechanism. D’Ascanio soon demonstrated the proof of that concept with his D’AT 3 prototype, which he designed and patented in 1929.

It was the first helicopter to ascend, remain airborne and descend vertically in the same spot. Its first public flight took place at Ciampino airport and was witnessed by Benito Mussolini. It broke the record for duration and distance. Mussolini was not interested in helicopters. He wanted Italian industry to develop standard aircraft. As a result, the company that D’Ascanio had set up with Pietro Trojani dissolved. D’Ascanio began to collaborate with the company Piaggio, which at that time manufactured only aircraft. In 1943, he designed the PD3, a helicopter that used a single rotor and dual counter-rotating propellers, similar to today’s models.

The Piaggio factory, as well as the PD3 prototype, were destroyed by Allied bombing during the War. Worse for D’Ascanio, as part of the peace settlement, Italy was forbidden from engaging in research and production in military and aerospace technology as well as from exporting overseas any products so developed. This meant that D’Ascanio was not only out of a job but was also effectively unemployable. Following the devastation of the war, transportation was a great challenge and Italians lacked an affordable means to get around.

The company for which D’Ascanio had been working, Piaggio, having been shut out of the aeronautics sector and sensing a good business opportunity, moved into the business of designing road vehicles. The company was familiar, of course, with D’Ascanio’s design talents and called on him for assistance. D’Ascanio went to work on designing a convenient and economical means of transportation and the rest, as they say, is history. If we take a step back to put the Vespa in the context of D’Ascanio’s career, we see that this inventor from Abruzzo had the three talents that have characterized so many successful Italians and Italian-Americans in many different fields of endeavor: creativity, resourcefulness, and an eye for style.

If we wanted to demonstrate his creativity, we need do nothing more than refer to his two magnificent machines. However, there is so much more.

D’Ascanio with millionth Vespa produced

During the World War I, he installed the first radio transmitter and receiver on an Italian plane. He built and patented the first automatic pilot on a plane. He developed a heating mechanism to keep oil from freezing on aircraft. He designed the variable pitch propeller, which was installed on the most advanced Italian aircraft. Outside of the military realm, his work had many civilian applications. Among his many designs were a soap dispenser, an olive oil press and an electric oven for baking bread and pastries. He also designed a machine for the organization and rapid retrieval of documents — a forerunner of our Information Age.

He invented a speed sensor to be used on vehicles, and a telecommunications system that worked off the electric grid. He designed a device for lifting and moving patients who were confined to bed and a machine for exercising and massage, a forerunner of today’s fitness industry. These practical and innovative devices, along with his two magnificent machines, put him in very elite company among the world’s inventors and designers, and constitute strong evidence of his creative genius. His ability to land on his feet despite the worst of times — two World Wars — and the worst of luck leaves little doubt as to the resourcefulness that accompanied his creativity. As far as his eye for style, I refer you to the Vespa, still selling in Italy and throughout the world and still attracting the gaze of admiring onlookers everywhere. ❚