313 Gruppo forms at Rivolto

The Frecce Tricolori were formed on 1 March 1961 as the 313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico at Rivolto, in Friuli, giving the Italian Air Force a permanent national aerobatic team in place of the squadron-based teams that had represented it during the 1950s. The first official display followed on 1 May 1961 at Trento-Gardolo, flown with four Sabres and a solo aircraft. The early months were costly: the team lost two pilots in training accidents at Rivolto during 1961 alone, and a third at Forlì in 1963.

Sabres, G.91s and the MB-339

The team flew the F-86E Sabre until 1963, then moved to the Fiat G.91PAN, a modified light fighter-bomber, from 1964. The G.91 era lasted until 1981 and saw the formation grow to its present size, but it was also marked by a string of fatal accidents, including one at Mildenhall in England in 1979. From 1982 the team re-equipped with the Aermacchi MB-339A/PAN, a two-seat jet trainer, which it has flown ever since, later in upgraded form. In 1986 it crossed the Atlantic for its first North American tour, using tip tanks fitted for the ferry flights.

Ramstein, 1988

On 28 August 1988, during a display at the US air base at Ramstein in West Germany, three aircraft collided during the crossing manoeuvre known as the pierced heart. One aircraft fell into the crowd. Sixty-seven spectators and all three pilots died, and 346 spectators were seriously injured. It remains one of the deadliest air show accidents on record.

Ten aircraft and tricolour smoke

The modern display uses ten aircraft: nine in close formation and a soloist, which the Italian Air Force describes as the largest aerobatic patrol in the world. A programme lasts about half an hour and contains some twenty manoeuvres, ending with the green, white and red smoke trail of the national flag. The coloured smoke is produced by injecting vaseline oil mixed with non-polluting pigments into the jet exhaust. Special liveries marked the team’s sixtieth anniversary in 2021 and the Italian Air Force centenary in 2023.

The M-346 era approaches

On 12 September 2024, after the team’s return from its 2024 North American tour, the Italian Air Force unveiled at Istrana an M-346 Master in Frecce Tricolori colours, confirming the type as the MB-339PAN’s successor after the M-345 had previously been planned for the role. The team has suffered further incidents since: in September 2023 an aircraft crashed after take-off at Turin, killing a five-year-old girl on the ground, and in May 2025 three aircraft touched during a display at Pantelleria. The 2026 season marks the team’s sixty-fifth year.