General Corradino D'Ascanio was born on February 1, 1891, in Popoli, Pescara, and died on August 6, 1981, in Pisa. He was an Italian aeronautical engineer. D'Ascanio designed the first helicopter that was produced for sale by the company Agusta. He also created the first motor scooter for Ferdinando Innocenti. After a disagreement between D'Ascanio and Innocenti, he helped Enrico Piaggio develop the original Vespa.
Biography
D'Ascanio showed an early interest in flight and design. By age fifteen, after studying how birds fly and how their body weight compares to their wingspan, he built an experimental glider. He launched it from hills near his hometown.
After graduating in 1914 with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Politecnico di Torino, he joined the Italian Army’s volunteer group called the "Weapon of Engineers, Division Battalion Aviatori" in Piedmont. His job was to test airplane engines. On March 21, 1915, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and sent to France to select a rotary engine for Italy’s military aviation group. He returned with an agreement to produce the Gnome et Rhône-designed Le Rhône engine.
After brief pilot training on a Farman MF.7 aircraft in Corsica, he returned to engineering. He designed a patented device to improve maintenance monitoring in flight squadrons, which is estimated to have saved fifty lives. He also helped test the first radio equipment used in Italian aircraft.
In 1916, D'Ascanio joined Fabbrica Aeroplani Ing. O. Pomilio, a company that made equipment such as SP2, Type C, and D Type models. After World War I ended, the Pomilio brothers sold their company. In 1918, they moved with key staff, including D'Ascanio, to Indianapolis, United States, to form the Pomilio Brothers Corporation.
After returning to Italy in 1919, D'Ascanio settled in Popoli, focusing on control mechanisms for helicopters. He earned several patents for his work. In 1925, he founded a company with Baron Pietro Trojani. The company, commissioned by the Ministry of Aeronautics, produced its third prototype, the coaxial D'AT3, in 1930. This helicopter had two double-bladed, counter-rotating rotors. Control was achieved using auxiliary wings or servo-tabs on the edges of the blades, a design later used by other engineers. Three small propellers on the airframe helped control pitch, roll, and yaw. Piloted by Marinello Nelli at Ciampino Airport in October 1930, the D'AT3 set modest records for speed, altitude (18 meters), duration (8 minutes 45 seconds), and distance (1,078 meters). D'Ascanio’s altitude record was later unofficially broken in 1932 by the Soviet-built Yuriev-Cheremukhin TsAGI-1EA helicopter, which reached 605 meters (1,985 feet). This helicopter also used tubular fuselage structures for anti-torque stabilization.
During the Depression, the fascist government of Benito Mussolini focused on standard production items. In 1932, D'Ascanio’s company collapsed. He then worked for Enrico Piaggio at his father’s company, designing high-speed adjustable pitch propellers for Piaggio Aero. His work was so important during World War II that he was promoted to General in the Regia Aeronautica. He resumed helicopter development under instructions from Enrico Piaggio in 1942.
Like many Italians, D'Ascanio became unemployed after the Piaggio factory was destroyed by Allied bombing. Italy had an agreement to avoid researching or producing military or aerospace technology for ten years, making him unemployable in Italy. He was approached by Ferdinando Innocenti, a pre-war tubing manufacturer who wanted to create a motor scooter. Innocenti aimed to compete with motorcycles by offering a cheaper, weather-protected alternative.
The design of the proposed Lambretta scooter was inspired by pre-WWII Cushman scooters made in Nebraska, USA. These olive-green scooters were widely used in Italy after being ordered by the U.S. government for field transport by paratroopers and Marines. The U.S. military used them to move around during battles, such as the Battle of Monte Cassino and in the Dolomites and Austrian border areas, where roads and bridges were destroyed by enemy forces.
The motor scooter
Ferdinando Innocenti asked D'Ascanio to design a vehicle that was simple, strong, and inexpensive. The vehicle needed to be easy to ride for both men and women, able to carry a passenger, and keep the rider’s clothes clean. D'Ascanio, who disliked motorcycles, created a new type of vehicle. It used a frame made from a single piece of metal, had a handlebar for changing gears, and placed the engine directly on the rear wheel. A front shield protected the rider from rain and dirt, unlike motorcycles with open fronts. The design allowed space for legs, making it easier for women to ride, as their skirts made motorcycle riding difficult. The front fork, similar to an airplane’s landing gear, made it simple to replace wheels. A special gear system inside the vehicle avoided the need for a motorcycle chain, which caused oil and dirt problems. This basic design allowed for future improvements and new models to be developed quickly.
D'Ascanio later had a disagreement with Innocenti, who wanted to use rolled metal tubes instead of the stamped frame D'Ascanio had designed. This allowed Innocenti to restart parts of his business from before the war. D'Ascanio separated from Innocenti and shared his design with Enrico Piaggio, who began producing the Vespa scooter in 1946. Innocenti faced challenges with his design and launched the Lambretta scooter in 1947. By 2005, the Vespa had become one of the world’s most famous scooter brands, with 16 million units made in 130 different models.
In 1948, D'Ascanio attended a meeting about helicopters in Philadelphia, where he was praised as an important pioneer. He continued working for Piaggio, improving designs for the Piaggio PD.3 and PD.4 models. However, Piaggio struggled to keep up with American companies like Sikorsky Aircraft due to legal and financial challenges, and many of D'Ascanio’s helicopter ideas remained unfinished.
In 1964, D'Ascanio joined the Agusta Group, a major Italian helicopter maker. In 1969, he designed a small training helicopter called the Agusta ADA, which could be used for farming but was not developed because Agusta focused on military needs.
From 1937 to 1961, D'Ascanio taught design at the University of Pisa while working for Piaggio. He also wrote many scientific papers between 1954 and 1980. For his contributions to Italy and aviation, he was honored with the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the President of Italy.
D'Ascanio passed away in Pisa on August 6, 1981.