Mario Pezzi entered aeronautical history. Assigned to the 1st Experimental Center, on May 7, 1937, he set the altitude record by reaching 15,655 meters aboard a Ca.161. For this occasion, Pezzi wore a special pressurized and electrically heated spacesuit and a watertight helmet, similar to those worn by modern astronauts. However, the record was immediately broken by the Englishman Adams, forcing Lieutenant Colonel Pezzi to attempt the feat again on October 22, 1938, with the same Caproni Ca.161 modified as the “special Ca.161 bis,” equipped with a Piaggio engine with a dual compressor and a watertight cabin, a forerunner of modern pressurized cabins, reaching an altitude of 17,083 meters: an exceptional record that remains unbeaten today for piston-engine aircraft. For accomplishing this historic feat, Pezzi was awarded the Gold Medal for Aeronautical Valor and promoted to the rank of Colonel. Transferred to the East African Air Force Command, he was appointed Chief of Staff in 1941. In December 1943, he assumed command of the Air Unit, which operated until February 1945. In September 1948, he was appointed Director General of Military Personnel of the Air Force, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defense in 1950, and finally, in 1955, he was appointed Secretary General of the Air Force, his final posting until his retirement. He died in Rome on August 26, 1968.
