Friuli Air Assault Brigade
Encyclopedia
The Friuli Air Assault Brigade is a Air Assault
brigade
of the Italian Army
, based mainly in the north-east of the country.
The Friuli
Infantry Brigade was formed on 1 November 1884, in Milan
and consisted of the 87th Infantry Regiment Friuli and the 88th Infantry Regiment Friuli. The brigade fought in World War I
but was dissolved after the war on 28 December 1926.
In 1939 the 20th Infantry Division Friuli was formed by renaming the existing 20th Infantry Division Curtatone e Montanara and commanded the brigades traditional regiments - the 87th and 88th Infantry regiments. (for the divisions history see 20th Infantry Division Friuli
)
On 15 April 1960, the Friuli Infantry Division was reduced to brigade, losing all its traditional regiments and receiving as replacement the 78th Infantry Regiment Lupi di Toscana. The Brigade was headquartered in Florence
and most of its units stationed in the surrounding region of Tuscany
. The structure of the Friuli Infantry Brigade was:
With the abolishment of the regimental level in Italy on 23 September 1975, the brigade changed name and became the Friuli Motorized Brigade. The new structure was:
On 1 January 1986, the Friuli Brigade and the Folgore Parachute Brigade
, in conjunction with some units of the Army's Light Army Aviation and the Navy's
San Marco Regiment
, became the Rapid Intervention Forces of the Italian Military
, deployable on short notice for out of area missions. After the end of the Cold War
and the subsequent reduction of the Italian Army the Friuli assumed the command of the units of the dissolved Trieste Mechanized Brigade on 1 June 1991, and changed its name to Friuli Mechanized Brigade. The brigades headquarter was moved from Florence to Bologna
and with the reintroduction of the regimental level in 1992 the brigade was then composed of the following units on 1 January 1993.
During the 1990s the brigade was reorganized to become Italy's first and only Air Assault
Brigade. The 33rd Tank and 121st Infantry regiments were dissolved; the 21st Self-propelled Artillery Regiment was transferred to the Pinerolo Armored Brigade in Southern Italy. In 1997 the brigade received the 4th Army Corps
' 3rd Cavalry Regiment Savoia
Cavalleria, which was transferred from Meran in the north to the city of Grosseto
in Tuscany. On 1 January 1999, the 7th Army Aviation Regiment Vega
and on 1 May 2000, the 5th Army Aviation Regiment Rigel
were transferred to the brigade, which on the second date changed its name to Friuli Air Assault Brigade. On 1 January 2005, the
6th Bersaglieri Regiment was transferred to the Aosta Mechanized Brigade
.
All regiment
s are battalion
sized.
tank destroyer
s and 36 Puma 4x4
armoured personnel carrier
s and the Trieste infantry regiment with 26 Puma 6x6
armoured personnel carriers. Each of the two Army Aviation regiments is equipped with 30 A129 "Mangusta" Attack Helicopters and 12 AB 205A-1 transport helicopters.
Air assault
Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces...
brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
of the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
, based mainly in the north-east of the country.
History
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
Infantry Brigade was formed on 1 November 1884, in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and consisted of the 87th Infantry Regiment Friuli and the 88th Infantry Regiment Friuli. The brigade fought in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
but was dissolved after the war on 28 December 1926.
In 1939 the 20th Infantry Division Friuli was formed by renaming the existing 20th Infantry Division Curtatone e Montanara and commanded the brigades traditional regiments - the 87th and 88th Infantry regiments. (for the divisions history see 20th Infantry Division Friuli
20 Infantry Division Friuli
The 20th Infantry Division Friuli was a Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II.- History :The 20th Infantry Division Friuli was formed in 1939 by renaming the existing 20th Infantry Division Curtatone e Montanara...
)
On 15 April 1960, the Friuli Infantry Division was reduced to brigade, losing all its traditional regiments and receiving as replacement the 78th Infantry Regiment Lupi di Toscana. The Brigade was headquartered in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and most of its units stationed in the surrounding region of Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
. The structure of the Friuli Infantry Brigade was:
-
78th Infantry Regiment Lupi di Toscana (with three Infantry battalions) - Armored Battalion Friuli
- Field Artillery Group Friuli
- Engineer Company
- Signal Company
With the abolishment of the regimental level in Italy on 23 September 1975, the brigade changed name and became the Friuli Motorized Brigade. The new structure was:
- 78th Infantry Battalion Lupi di Toscana
- 87th Infantry Battalion Senio
- 225th Infantry Battalion Arezzo
- 19th Armored Battalion M.O. Tumiati
- 35th Field Artillery Group Riolo
- Logistic Battalion Friuli
On 1 January 1986, the Friuli Brigade and the Folgore Parachute Brigade
Folgore Parachute Brigade
The Folgore Parachute Brigade is the largest unit of paratroopers of the Italian Army; a second smaller unit is the 4th Alpini Parachutist Regiment. The name Folgore is Italian for lightning....
, in conjunction with some units of the Army's Light Army Aviation and the Navy's
Marina Militare
The Italian Navy is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of military forces of Italy; formed in 1946, from what remained of the Regia Marina . As of 2008, the Italian Navy had 35,200 active personnel with 180 commissioned ships, 19 Floating Docks, and 123 aircraft...
San Marco Regiment
San Marco Regiment
The San Marco Regiment , located in Brindisi, are the marines of the Italian Navy. Until the middle of the 1990s the unit was known as the “San Marco Battalion” , until it was expanded beyond battalion size because of the new geopolitical situation after the end of the Cold War and an increasing...
, became the Rapid Intervention Forces of the Italian Military
Military of Italy
The Italian armed forces are the military of Italy, they are under the command of the Italian Supreme Council of Defence, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. The total number of active military personnel is 293,202...
, deployable on short notice for out of area missions. After the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and the subsequent reduction of the Italian Army the Friuli assumed the command of the units of the dissolved Trieste Mechanized Brigade on 1 June 1991, and changed its name to Friuli Mechanized Brigade. The brigades headquarter was moved from Florence to Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
and with the reintroduction of the regimental level in 1992 the brigade was then composed of the following units on 1 January 1993.
- Command and Signal Battalion (later renamed Command and Tactical Support Battalion)
-
4th Tank Regiment (later renamed 33rd Tank Regiment) -
6th BersaglieriBersaglieriThe Bersaglieri are a corps of the Italian Army originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Piedmontese Army, later to become the Royal Italian Army...
Regiment - 78th Infantry Regiment Lupi di Toscana
-
225th Infantry Regiment Arezzo (later replaced by the Macerata ) -
66th Mechanized Battalion Valtellina (later renamed 66th Infantry Regiment Trieste) -
21st Self-propelled Artillery Group Romagna (later renamed 21st Self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment Trieste) -
Logistic Battalion - Engineer Company (merged in September 1993 into the Command and Signal Battalion)
During the 1990s the brigade was reorganized to become Italy's first and only Air Assault
Air assault
Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces...
Brigade. The 33rd Tank and 121st Infantry regiments were dissolved; the 21st Self-propelled Artillery Regiment was transferred to the Pinerolo Armored Brigade in Southern Italy. In 1997 the brigade received the 4th Army Corps
COMALP
- External links :*...
' 3rd Cavalry Regiment Savoia
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
Cavalleria, which was transferred from Meran in the north to the city of Grosseto
Grosseto
Grosseto is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies 14 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain, on the Ombrone river....
in Tuscany. On 1 January 1999, the 7th Army Aviation Regiment Vega
Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...
and on 1 May 2000, the 5th Army Aviation Regiment Rigel
Rigel
Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation Orion and the sixth brightest star in the sky, with visual magnitude 0.18...
were transferred to the brigade, which on the second date changed its name to Friuli Air Assault Brigade. On 1 January 2005, the
6th Bersaglieri Regiment was transferred to the Aosta Mechanized Brigade
Aosta Mechanized Brigade
The Aosta Mechanized Brigade is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Italian Army, based on the island of Sicily.- Structure :* "Aosta" Combat Service Support Battalion in Messina* 6° Cavalry Regiment "Lancieri d’Aosta" in Palermo...
.
Structure
- Combat Service Support Battalion FriuliFriuliFriuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
in BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
(Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-RomagnaEmilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
) -
3rd Cavalry Regiment SavoiaSavoySavoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
Cavalleria in GrossetoGrossetoGrosseto is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies 14 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain, on the Ombrone river....
(TuscanyTuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
) - 66th Air Assault Infantry Regiment Trieste in ForlìForlìForlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
(Emilia-Romagna) -
5th Army Aviation Regiment RigelRigelRigel is the brightest star in the constellation Orion and the sixth brightest star in the sky, with visual magnitude 0.18...
in Casarsa della DeliziaCasarsa della DeliziaCasarsa della Delizia, simply known as Casarsa, is a comune in the Province of Pordenone in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 80 km northwest of Trieste and about 15 km east of Pordenone....
(Friuli-Venezia GiuliaFriuli-Venezia GiuliaFriuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
) -
7th Army Aviation Regiment VegaVegaVega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...
in RiminiRiminiRimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
(Romagna)
All regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s are battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
sized.
Equipment
The Savoia cavalry regiment is equipped with 40 CentauroB1 Centauro
The Centauro is a wheeled tank destroyer designed for light to medium territorial defense and tactical reconnaissance. It was developed by a consortium of manufacturers, the Società Consortile Iveco Fiat - Oto Melara...
tank destroyer
Tank destroyer
A tank destroyer is a type of armored fighting vehicle armed with a gun or missile launcher, and is designed specifically to engage enemy armored vehicles...
s and 36 Puma 4x4
Puma (AFV)
The Puma light wheeled armoured fighting vehicle family consists of the Puma 6x6 and the Puma 4x4. The vehicles were developed and are produced by the Consorzio Iveco Fiat - Oto Melara of Italy for the Italian Army...
armoured personnel carrier
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
s and the Trieste infantry regiment with 26 Puma 6x6
Puma (AFV)
The Puma light wheeled armoured fighting vehicle family consists of the Puma 6x6 and the Puma 4x4. The vehicles were developed and are produced by the Consorzio Iveco Fiat - Oto Melara of Italy for the Italian Army...
armoured personnel carriers. Each of the two Army Aviation regiments is equipped with 30 A129 "Mangusta" Attack Helicopters and 12 AB 205A-1 transport helicopters.