Balbo, Count Italo (1896–1940)

Italian aviator and politician. He was one of the main figures in Mussolini's ‘March on Rome’ but later quarrelled with him over the alliance with Germany.

A well-known aviator, famed for his long-distance flights to demonstrate Italian aviation, he served as minister of aviation in the 1930s. His popularity irked Mussolini, and he was despatched as governor to Libya in 1936. This did not stop him voicing his objections to Mussolini's growing friendship with Hitler and he tried to persuade Mussolini to stay out of the war. Shortly after Italy's entry into the war, Balbo was flying back to Libya from Italy when his aircraft was shot down over Tobruk by Italian anti-aircraft guns and he was killed.