The Great Torino Era

 The Great Torino Era

Il Grande Torino 1949 Soccer Team

        I recently came across a video on YouTube that presented aerial views of Italy.  One portion of the video centered on Turin and included a short history of its soccer team.  While I remain a novice when it comes to soccer, still hung up on why the 90-minute clock runs up and not down, I enjoy watching soccer matches in Italy in rooms crowded with energetic fans, especially when they are rooting for the regional favorite, Naples.  Our passion for football equates to the Italians’ hysteria for calcio (soccer), which, to add confusion, they correctly call football since, after all, it’s all about footwork.

Their top-level teams, equivalent to our 32 NFL teams, are the Serie A teams, which are 20 in number.  Italy's passion for calcio runs deep and is ingrained in the country's culture.  Soccer is more than just a sport in Italy; it's a part of daily life and a national obsession.  Italy's love affair with the sport is multifaceted, deeply rooted, and enduring.  It transcends mere athletic competition to embody the country's history, culture, and collective spirit. 

It was the video’s presentation on the Turin Football Club from its mercurial rise to fame and crushing disintegration that caught my attention.  The Turin Football Club (Torino FC) was founded in 1906 as Football Club Torino.  Mediocre from its beginning, the team’s fortunes did not begin to change until the 1940s.  Throughout that decade, Torino rebuilt under the leadership of Hungarian Ernő Egri Erbstein, by recruiting the best personnel, bringing in top-notch footballers like Romeo Menti from team Fiorentina and Guglielmo Gabetto from their local rival team, Juventus.  Before the 1942/43 season, they signed Valentino Mazzola and Ezio Loik from Venezia.  The team advanced in ranking and notoriety, growing over the years to become one of the best teams in the world.  They finished the 1945-46 season by beating Naples, Rome, and Livorno, including one team by the never repeated score of 10-0.  The 1946-47 season saw them again finish on top of their league, scoring 104 goals, which included a 16-game unbeaten streak.  In the follow-on 1947-48 campaign, they duplicated their league victory.  Their record that year featured a run of 21 consecutive wins and 125 season goals while conceding only 33.  By 1949, they’d won their fifth title in a row, in addition to the Coppa Italia national cup competition, and had caught the nation's imagination.

They were unstoppable and looked forward to the upcoming World Cup scheduled for 1950, returning after a 12-year interruption that began with the outbreak of WWII.  Turin’s players formed the backbone of the Italian National team.  As

Team and Entourage Arrive in Lisbon

five-time champions of Italy, they were considered untouchable gods who, on weekends, took form on the field.  Its players were supported by the Turin working class and had caught the nation's imagination.  Ahead of their time, their tactical concepts proved unstoppable, allowing them to dominate the domestic game.  Their records still stand to this day.  

In preparation for the 1950 World Cup, Torino FC, having by then been christened Il Grande Torino, traveled to Lisbon for a benefit match with the Portuguese Sport Lisboa e Benfica Team.  By the time of this Lisbon goodwill game, the Torino team had not lost a home match for over six years.  The match was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, May 3rd, 1949.  On Sunday, May 1st, the Torino squad, along with club officials and journalists, departed Milan’s Malpensa Airport for Lisbon. 

The game saw the Portuguese team win 4-3 before 40,000 fans inside Estádio Nacional stadium.

Turin’s loss may have been an omen, for this marked the last time the Il Grande Torino squad would ever again take the field.  An aircraft accident the following day put an end to their stellar achievements and ambition when it wiped out all but two of the Torino FC footballers (a reserve first-string goalkeeper and defender) who hadn’t gone on the trip. 

 Their chartered flight was aboard a relatively new G.212 CP aircraft built in 1947 by the Italian aeronautical company Fiat Aviazione and operated by AVIO Linee Italiane (ALI Airlines), an airline also owned by Fiat.  Following the Second World War, the CP version,

The Monterosa Crew Compartment

nicknamed Monterosa after the mountain mastiff on the border between Switzerland and Italy, was outfitted for passenger use, mainly for international connections based in Milan at Malpensa Airport.  It was a low-wing tri-motor transport aircraft equipped with retractable landing gear and powered by three American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Wasp engines, each with 14 radial cylinders.  It cruised at 184 miles per hour and had a maximum range of 1,864 statute miles.  Built from 1947 to 1950, the total number built, though not precise, is variously reported as 19 to 26.  The crew of four consisted of a pilot and co-pilot, a flight engineer, and a radio operator. ¹  

Following the match, the two sides enjoyed the evening together at dinner.  The Torino team then decided to head back to Italy early the next morning. 

Fiat G 212 CP Interior

Their return journey would take a little over two hours, with the team's arrival expected at 17:00L (local time). 

 On Wednesday, May 4th, at 09:40L, the chartered plane took off from Lisbon on its return flight to Italy.  The La Stampa journalist accompanying them, Luigi Cavallero, in a report on the team’s match that appeared in the 4 May Turin morning papers, had written:

“This morning the Granate rose early to prepare for their return.  In a few hours, the plane which brough to Lisbon officials, players, and journalists, will take off and then land at the Aeronautica in Turin, weather permitting, around 5 pm.” ⁴

He concluded his piece with the following wish:

 “May the clouds and the winds be favorable for us and not make us rock too much.” ⁴

As planned, they touched down in Barcelona at 13:00L to refuel.  While they waited, Il Grande Torino encountered the AC Milan team, who were also passing through on their way to play a friendly match that day against Real Madrid.  The chance meeting allowed the two teams to have lunch before their flights resumed.  

The Grande Torino G.212 was airborne again at 14:50L, but instead of returning to Milan’s Malpensa Airport, as the journalist reported, a change in destination had been made.  Their route was altered to fly directly to Turin.  While the reason for this change is not clear, they may have wanted to get home earlier to rest before an important game coming up that Sunday, at home versus Florence.  Aviators refer to this as ‘get-home-itis’.  The decision that would prove fatal may have overridden logic, basic instinct, and sound decision-making.  In this case, the weather had been unseasonal those first days of May, with Turin experiencing heavy rain and flooding.  Yet they may simply have thought it was worth a try regardless of the weather — one approach at Turin before diverting to Milan, their original destination, if a landing was not possible. 

 The crew reported in over Savona, Italy, located along the coast to the south of Turin and west of Genoa.  From there, the aircraft headed north, their destination just a half hour away. ⁴

The flight crew started the descent to Torino-Aeritalia Airport in harsh weather conditions.  Built in 1916, it is used today by the Turin Aero Club.  At the controls were two highly experienced ALI pilots.  In command was 33-year-old pilot and former lieutenant colonel Pierluigi Meroni.  Pierluigi was a highly decorated Second World War officer of the Kingdom of Italy’s Regia Aeronautica and later of the Italian Air Force.  In the right seat, his co-pilot, also a former military pilot was Cesare

View from the Basilica di Superga Over Turin

Biancardi.  Other flight crew members were Antonio Pangrazi and Celeste D'Inca.  

At 16:55L, just before their arrival, air traffic controllers informed the flight crew of the weather conditions. ³  As expected, the weather at Turin-Aeritalia Airport that afternoon was far from ideal.  They were greeted by low clouds, heavy rain, strong winds, and poor visibility.  In the high terrain of the Superga Mountain range, visibility had dropped as low as 131ft, which exacerbated the rain and strong winds.  Four minutes of radio silence followed.  In the descent, flying on instruments without visual references, Pierluigi and Cesare relied on a non-precision method of approach.  This approach relied on a Non-Directional Radio Beacon (NDB) to align itself with the runway.  These beacons, first introduced in 1932, are affected by atmospheric conditions, mountainous terrain that reflect beacon signals, and electrical storms.  It is considered ‘non-

The Awful Finality of Il Grande Turino

precision’ because it does not include precise vertical guidance, only left and right guidance to the runway.  Without this step-down altitude guidance, referred to as a glide slope today, a pilot must know where he is horizontally in relation to the beacon in order to determine where the aircraft should be vertically.  Following the NDB’s signals gave the pilots an understanding of which of 360 radials emitted by the beacon they were on.  It was the pilot’s responsibility to intercept the radial that aligned with the runway.

Aboard the Monterosa, a cockpit instrument pointed to the beacon but did so from a position anywhere around the transmitter.  When on the proper approach radial, crossing over what is called an electronic outer marker beacon cues the pilot to then descend to the minimum allowable altitude in the hope of visually identifying the airfield.  If the field is not visible, the aircraft would perform a missed approach, try again if sufficient fuel remained, or proceed to an alternate field with better weather conditions.  It was primitive at best and, indeed, not precise.  The advent of GPS and more sophisticated navigational instruments would come years later.

At 17:02L, the crew made a call to the airport to confirm the angle of approach to the runway.³ A minute after this call, while on their descent, the G. 212 CP crashed into the east wall of the thick rear embankment of the Basilica di Superga, which sat 2,205 feet atop Superga Mountain.  Located east of Turin, it was the highest terrain along the approach path.  The church lies close to the approach to Runway 28 (280 deg), seven and a half miles from the runway threshold.  Just a few feet higher and a degree or two of heading to one side, the aircraft may have avoided the massive obstruction.

For some unknown reason, the pilots didn't realize they were flying low.  The aircraft was about 3000 feet lower than it should have been at that point on the approach.  This error allowed the terrain to become an accomplice in the subsequent disaster.  It is not known whether the local barometric pressure, necessary for the altimeter to display the correct altitude, was radioed to the pilots prior to their descent or, if supplied, entered into the cockpit altimeter.  A typical altimeter adjustment at this point, however, would not have accounted for 3000 feet.  Their call regarding the approach angle may have indicated some confusion in the cockpit.  However, it resulted, this dramatic error in altitude was compounded by the strong crosswinds that blew the plane off course, shifting their flight path over the mountainous terrain, which the poor visibility eliminated any chance of seeing.  The result put the plane on a wrong, deadly approach to the runway. 

Wreckage Against the Embankment of the Basilica di Superga

      At 17:05L, the airport tried to contact the aircraft again, but by then, the aircraft had disintegrated when it struck the wall at a speed of 110 mph.  The force of the impact collapsed the fuselage against the wall as if it were a giant accordion.  In an abrupt requiem to their dream, all that remained of the aircraft was its tail section.  All 31 on board died instantly — 4 crew members joined 27 passengers that included 18 players, 3 team executives, 2 trainers, 3 journalists, and an interpreter. 3

Similar in nature to the Il Grande Torino crash, on 3 April 1996, a US Air Force CT-43A, familiar to many of us as a Boeing 737, crashed into a mountainside on approach to Dubrovnik, Croatia, while carrying U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other passengers.  There were no survivors.  Subsequent investigation determined that the crash was due to pilot error and an improperly designed NDB instrument approach procedure. ⁴

In the aftermath of this national disaster, Fiat decided, for whatever reason, to cease production of the Monterosa.  Its production lines were dismantled in 1950, just three years after that model’s inaugural flight on 19 January 1947.  The remaining G. 212s continued to crash.  Of the 12 three-motor aircraft to leave the Fiat factory, seven were destroyed while in operation. ²  

Official investigation of the crash attributed its cause to bad weather, poor radio aids, and an error in navigation.  The crew made a navigational error, not realizing they had lost more than 3000 feet during the final minutes.  This navigation error was attributable to the poor weather conditions that affected the direction finder system.  Poor visibility and the lack of suitable assistance from the air traffic controllers were considered contributory factors.

Following the funerals that took place two days following the tragedy, where thousands of mourners packed the streets of Turin, four league games remained to complete the season.³  The Sunday Torino versus Fiorentina game was postponed.  In the following weeks, the final four games

Announcement of other Disaster 
in the Sports Newspaper

were played by the club’s second-team players.  Out of respect, their opponents also took the field with their reserves.  The reserve Torino players went into action and won all four games.  Having won the league championship, Torino was awarded the Serie A title. The following season, teams were asked to donate a player to help the team rebuild.  Turin, however,  never truly recovered from the disaster.  Considered one of, if not the greatest blow to Italian culture in modern times, it became known as the Superga Tragedy.

Generations of supporters make the pilgrimage to the Basilica every year on the anniversary of the crash.  A memorial Mass is held in the Turin Cathedral.  Later, the team’s current captain, in solidarity with his fallen teammates, stands beside a memorial to the lost team and reads the names of all who perished on that eventful day. 

Like the Calitrani we see visit the cemetery to call on their deceased family members, Il Grande Torino is not forgotten, nor will it ever be. They still live in the hearts of Italian sportsmen. These fallen heroes, masters of the round ball, were a stellar team dominating Italian domestic football with a phenomenal record of success, on the verge of international glory until the moment tragedy overcame them, and they perished together.  Their shocking demise still haunts Italy, especially Torino, and serves as a reminder that life can instantly turn on a dime.  In the twinkling of an eye, it marked the end of one of the greatest Italian teams to ever grace a football pitch of its era.

As Jim McKay would say every weekend in his introduction to ABC’s Wide World of Sports, sports extend “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”  But unlike the outcome of a game, where there is always next week, if not next season, to recover, the Superga Tragedy to this day endures as an insurmountable loss to the psyche of the Italian nation.

From That Rogue Tourist,

Paolo

Names of the Lost Il Grande Torino Players:

Valerio Bacigalupo      Ezio Loik

Aldo Ballarin               Virgilio Maroso

Dino Ballarin              Danilo Martelli

Émile Bongiorni         Valentino Mazzola (Captain)

Eusebio Castigliano    Romeo Menti

Rubens Fadini             Piero Operto,

Guglielmo Gabetto     Franco Ossola

Roger Grava                Mario Rigamonti

Giuseppe Grezar         Giulio Schubert

1  Fiat G.212, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_G.212

2  From an interview regarding the Book “The Commander Remained on the Hill” by Troiani Luigi, Morrone Editore editions, 2022, https://lavocedinewyork.com/arts/libri/2022/11/21/il-comandante-meroni-resto-sulla-collina-di-superga-in-attesa-della-verita/ 

3  Remembering il Grande Torino, https://www.violanation.com/2022/5/4/23057152/remembering-il-grande-torino

4  1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 Crash, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Croatia_USAF_CT-43_crash