Flying Barrel • wp.archivoaereo.com

Among the many inventions to which Italians have contributed and among the inventors who in the past played a role in their realization, there is no doubt that the creation of the jet aircraft is one of the most important. Our compatriots were certainly not alone, nor were they the first to be interested in solving this problem. It would suffice to consider, for brevity, only two examples: the 1910 Bertrand monoplane and the research of the Romanian Henri Coandă, who built a biplane presented at the Paris exhibition in October 1910.

Nevertheless, the work of Italian aircraft designers and engineers, among whom we must remember Canovetti, Campini, and the theories of Robida, still holds particular interest even after so many years and should be regarded with respect. Among the pioneers of Italian jet flight, Antonio Mattioni and his “Botte volante” (“Flying Barrel”) hold a place, rightly considered a partial and indirect ancestor of the jet aircraft that now thunder through the skies.

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The Genesis of a Revolutionary Concept

Antonio Mattioni was born in Cividale del Friuli on July 20, 1880. His aviation research began in 1908, when flight was still in its infancy. Driven by passion, he traveled to Schio to meet Count Almerigo da Schio, who was building an airship.

In this complex environment, Mattioni soon developed two highly effective patents for airship control, which were subsequently sold abroad. To expand his knowledge, he then went to England. Upon returning to his homeland, he settled in Savona, where in 1910 he began contemplating the construction of aircraft of his own design, featuring new and, in many aspects, revolutionary characteristics. His research continued for over a decade, solely on a theoretical basis and with modest experiments involving flying models.

After moving to Florence, he profitably engaged in publishing and crafts, accumulating the necessary funds to realize his aeronautical ideas. In 1920, investing all his financial resources, he began construction of an aircraft with a tubular fuselage and very original and unique properties for its time, in an old hangar at Campo di Marte in Florence. He was assisted by pilot Vasco Magrini and his brother, who had some knowledge of practical mechanics. For the tests, the inventor, who wanted to leave nothing to chance, decided to entrust the aircraft to Vasco Magrini, considered one of the best pilots of the era.

Innovations in Design and Early Flight Tests

The rather unusual aircraft, instead of a normal fuselage, had a wide tube that extended to the tail and inside of which a military-surplus Gnome Le Rhóne rotary engine of 80 hp at 1150 rpm was placed, driving a two-bladed propeller operating outside the tunnel.

Immediately behind the engine, in the rear part of this unique tubular fuselage, was a mechanically controlled device that could reduce or increase the passage of airflow. This flow, upon crossing the cylinder, was heated during engine operation and, rotating with the exhaust gases, increased speed based on the Venturi principle, providing more thrust for the aircraft with the aim of improving its performance. The pilot’s cockpit was located between the long landing gear struts and the metal ties that reinforced the wing consoles and the central tube.

In 1922, the strange machine began taxiing on the field, but already at this stage, Magrini, who was at the controls, realized the ineffectiveness of the tail section and understood that substantial changes were necessary to enable flight. The aircraft was then sent to the hangar, where major work was carried out: the cylinder was reduced in length and shaped more like a real fuselage, which, especially in the rear, no longer differed from traditional ones. The characteristic pilot’s position, however, remained unchanged.

On December 29, 1923, at Campo di Marte in Florence, the “Flying Barrel,” as the Florentines jokingly called it, made its first flight. The strange apparatus quickly ran across the short field and suddenly lifted off the ground, pitching up sharply, forcing the pilot to attempt to return to earth. The landing, however, was not “soft”: the aircraft fell onto its tail, damaging the landing gear, while the tightly strapped test pilot sustained minor bruises.

Vasco Magrini described his impressions as follows: “After several hops on the lawn, I finally decided to try the machine completely; against the inventor’s will, I pulled the lever and remained for a moment with a stopped heart, waiting to see the effect of the maneuver. The machine violently rushed into the sky in an unstoppable fast swirl. Surprised, I tried to correct the maneuver, and the not-too-obedient apparatus, running on a low-power engine but still at high speed, assumed a horizontal position, from which it gradually descended for landing. The landing was unsuccessful not due to an erroneous maneuver, but due to the lack of timely operation of the aerodynamic brake, placed in the central part of the large cylindrical wing.”

Mattioni did not despair and, together with the pilot, began to study the dynamics of the test, identifying the cause of that first partial failure in the incorrect position of the aircraft’s center of gravity. He then resumed work with new energy, making some improvements that were to be decisive: the wing was lowered, and the engine was moved from the center of the tunnel to a lower position, supported by its internal part.

In 1924 and 1925, the somewhat altered “Flying Barrel” flew repeatedly, making excellent short takeoffs after brief runs. Unfortunately, the tests could not be continued due to a lack of funds. But what was the “Flying Barrel” and what were its characteristics? We provide the exact description from patent No. 228976, 1926:

“The fuselage consists of a cylinder, at the entrance of which a rotary engine is installed, having a propeller of smaller diameter than the fuselage cylinder. Air is thus drawn into the internal part of the cylinder. Here there are twelve sectors, controlled by hinges and connected to an equal number of cables, then gathered into a single cable passing through the common axis of the cylinder; in this way, the pull rods, by means of a lever, can occupy the corresponding section of the cylinder, leaving a central opening for air passage. The inventor of this device, called an ‘air brake,’ reserves for it the function of resisting movement by reducing and graduating the aircraft’s speed, in addition to acting as a parachute after landing. For regulating the sectors, they are equipped with return springs which, despite the action of the air, bring them to the internal walls of the fuselage cylinder, releasing the corresponding control cable. On the sides of the cylinder in its front part, wings with normal ailerons are attached by means of struts. There are also elevators, rudder, and a supporting tail skid similar to those of conventional aircraft. Beneath the fuselage and between the landing gear struts is the cockpit for the pilot and, possibly, passengers, equipped with all necessary transmission mechanisms. The cockpit is of the enclosed type (limousine) with appropriate openings for viewing and access to the cabin itself. According to the inventor, such an apparatus would be maximally stable, incapable of side-slipping, spinning, or wing-skidding, with the possibility of strong speed reduction due to the aerodynamic brake, would require a short space for takeoff and run, and finally, would have a maximum coefficient of mechanical safety.”

A Vision Unrecognized and a Legacy Reclaimed

Mattioni, as we have seen, prudently protected his invention, patenting it in Italy and in some other European countries, and waited in vain for official recognition and financial assistance with which he would have continued experiments for the practical realization of other similar, but more advanced, aircraft. It was an opportunity for our country to obtain, as early as 1923, airplanes based, albeit partially and in rudimentary form, on the principle of jet flight; but as too often happened in our history, the shortsightedness and criminal negligence of our bureaucrats also subjected this invention to mercilessly sharp criticism. The requests Mattioni confidently addressed to the government received the invariable reply: “The invention is of no interest.”

After further fruitless attempts to interest the authorities and the aviation industry, Antonio Mattioni, morally and materially ruined (he spent over a million 1923 lire to create the aircraft, giving up all his property), stepped aside, returning to publishing. For many long years, nothing more was heard of him. The aircraft itself was abandoned for many years in the hangar where it was built and subsequently became an object of curiosity for those who saw it. In 1941, due to the war, it was destroyed.

In 1950, the inventor, now seventy years old and long residing in Udine, received the first just, though belated, recognitions. First from the Ministry of Aeronautical Defense, and soon after, also from the Florence City Council. Subsequently, the National Institute for the Examination of Inventions, at Mattioni’s own insistence, officially recognized the priority of the “Flying Barrel” over other types of jet aircraft.

In 1956, the Mayor of Florence, Mr. Giorgio La Pira, during a solemn ceremony in Palazzo Vecchio, presented Antonio Mattioni with a gold medal in memory of his invention and the first flight from Campo di Marte on December 29, 1923. Awards were also bestowed by the Cividale City Council, which, in addition to presenting him with an artistic parchment, later wished to recognize their famous compatriot by naming a street in the historic city center after him.

After many years of neglect and oblivion, Antonio Mattioni received, albeit belatedly, the accolades he so fully deserved. These were the first and last joys after so many disappointments.

Antonio Mattioni died in Udine on January 11, 1961. On May 2, 1976, through the efforts of the Association for the Development of Historical and Artistic Studies of Cividale, the National Association of Aviation Officers, and the Aeronautic Weapon Association, a memorial plaque was placed on his birthplace on Zarutti Street.

Technical Specifications

Modification	Botte Volante
Wingspan, m	6.00
Length, m	6.5
Height, m	3.60
Fuselage diameter, m	2.00
Engine type	1 Piston engine Gnome Rhone
Power, hp	1 x 80
Crew, crew members	1