The Italian Air Force’s 31° Stormo fulfils a niche transport role, undertaking operations for national agencies and the Vatican, and, as Riccardo Niccoli discovers, it has also increasingly been tasked with the role of emergency aeromedical missions.
Currently based at Rome-Ciampino International Airport (named for pioneering military aviator G B Pastine), the 31° Stormo (31st Wing) was established on March 1, 1965, at Pratica di Mare air base, near Rome, as the 31° Stormo Elicotteri (31st Helicopter Wing). In 1975 the unit received the first of two Agusta-Sikorsky SH-3D/TS (Trasporto Speciale – Special Transport) helicopters, destined to transport the Pope within Italian national territory, thanks to bilateral agreements between Italy and the Vatican. In 1976, however, as part of a programme to reorganise the Aeronautica Militare (AM, Italian Air Force), and with the disbandment of the Reparto Volo Stato Maggiore (Air Staff Flying Unit), the 31° Stormo was relocated to Ciampino, with a resulting expansion of its VIP mission to include the transport of high-ranking Italian military and civil officials. Of the wing’s two main units, the 93° Gruppo (operating helicopters) remained at Pratica di Mare u…
