November 9, 1971 is a date that will remain etched forever in the memory of our country. Exactly 50 years ago, in Livorno, the most serious accident involving our armed forces since the end of the Second World War took place: 46 Italian victims, including some Sardinians, as was the Sardinian soldier who lost life in the operations of recovery of the corpses, and 6 those in England.
A drama even more felt by Manlio Tomassini, 70 years old from Sermoneta (Latina), who that day escaped the tragedy by chance and who now, on the occasion of the anniversary, would like to reunite the other survivors and the relatives of the dead paras. Tomorrow he will go to the Altare della Patria in Rome to bring a bouquet of flowers in memory of the soldiers who were killed. Among these, Ettore Carta from Urzulei and Pietro Dessì from Cagliari.
HISTORY - On 9 November 1971 a C130, the Gesso 4 as it was named in the code, leaves from Pisa, towards Villacidro. However, it falls into the sea, in the Meloria Shoals, in the waters in front of Livorno. On board were 46 Italian paratroopers and 6 British soldiers. No one survived.
The NATO exercise called "Cold Stream" ("Cold Current") was held in Sardinia in that month and included the take-off of nine Lockheed C-130 Hercules military aircraft and a Hawker Siddeley Andover departing from Pisa-San Giusto to carry out a launch of Italian paratroopers on the areas of operation. The Hercules, freshman XV216, belonging to the No. 24 Squadron of Lyneham, sank at dawn on November 9th.
THE PROCEDURE - The planes took off one after the other spaced out by a time interval such that when the first arrived on the designated area and launched the last paratrooper, the Launch Director of the following aircraft ordered the launch to the first paratrooper he had on board, and so on until the last plane of the formation. The flight altitude had to be very low to escape radar detection; only near the launch area did the planes have to pull up, that is, make a sort of wheelie, then return to low altitude and return to the base.
Manlio, nickname "Masticacarne" because he was a butcher by profession, after the first launches in Pisa he was sent to the Vannucci of Livorno, 120 mortar company. "I was specialized in shooting, a very important task for each group, so much so that only 3 people were assigned to this role ".
What did it consist of?
"I had to tell the mortars when to raise the mortar, do all the calculations in short, and within three shots they had to hit the target."
Why did you choose to join the military in the parà?
“I was 13 or 14 and I was at the seaside, playing. There was a gentleman who was a paratrooper and he talked about that job as being done by special people. I've been staring at it ever since. So during the three days I passed the quizzes, with excellent results, and they sent me to do all the extra special visits to get into the paras. I was very afraid of not being able to overcome them, of having something wrong. It would have been a tremendous disappointment. Luckily it didn't happen and they caught me ”.
Let's retrace the day of the tragedy with his eyes.
“I start the night before: we are all in the recreation room of the barracks, some play table football, others drink coffee, and the pilots who have to take us to Sardinia also drink alcohol. I go to sleep and leave them there. In the morning we wake up early, we get on the trucks to start the exercise with the English. I start from the barracks with destination assigned to Gesso 4, probably the loading sheet was already filled out. We were 24 or 25 of the mortars. We get on the plane, I remember it as if it were now, I sit in the central part, left side. Let's fasten our seat belts. Then an order arrives: the mortar company must get off and on Gesso 5 (the next plane, ed) ”.
And so you change, no questions asked.
“No questions, no explanations are given in these environments. After taking off, after 4 or 5 minutes, our plane makes two turns in circles, we all wonder why, it was not normal. We hear the English pilots talking, but we don't understand. However we do the launch regularly. Then we learned that the pilot had seen the Gesso 4 at sea, which was, among other things, force 7 or 8, and for this reason he was making those laps, to locate the position and communicate it ”.
You instead continue to Villacidro.
“Yes, the others and I understand that there is something strange. There we had to group with those of the sixth company of Gesso 4 and continue on foot to Elmas. At night we walked and during the day we had to hide in huts where among other things there were also sheep. We heard the voices of the captain, the officer, we sensed a serious accident but no one told us anything and in the meantime our companions had not arrived ".
A journey of tens of kilometers.
"About forty. Besides, it was raining heavily. Two or three people did not make it, they remained on the street and then recovered by the trucks. It took us three days. Only upon arrival in Elmas did they announce the tragedy of Meloria ”.
What did he think?
“That being a tactical flight, in which the planes had to proceed below 50 meters in order not to be detected by the radar, on a windy day like that of November 9th, with strong sea, why trigger the exercise anyway? We weren't at war, the operation could have been postponed, why did they let us leave in those conditions? Couldn't they have determined, for example, a higher flight height? Then it all happened in a few seconds, in my opinion there was an air gap, it is the only conceivable cause. The reconstruction says that the plane touched the sea with its tail as it ascended, it does not seem probable to me ”.
The sea has been rough for days.
“In fact, the recovery of the bodies took place a long time later. And recognition was also difficult. We think that someone had exchanged their places with someone else, maybe two friends who wanted to be close. The names came out only after the roll call. Among other things, I have, as a volunteer, guarded the coffins at least 30 times. And I remember Giannino Caria , the Sardinian who died during the recovery operations. I didn't know him personally, but I have his tragic end in mind. There was also another Sardinian in that period, a pupil of mine whom I had nicknamed 'Meat Grinder', I would say unpunished today with a smile ”.
Did he know the victims instead?
“Three of them slept in my same dormitory, one of them I went to the funeral. My mother, on the other hand, learned that I was alive only after a few days, when I managed to call, there were no communications today ”.
How did you come back to Tuscany from Elmas?
“Given the sea conditions we stayed there for a while, they stayed us at the airport, in a shed, providing us with cots. The good thing is that from Livorno they sent us a plane with sustenance because the paratroopers had a 'privileged' diet compared to the normal army, for example meat every day, even chocolate. Then a Navy ship brought us back to Livorno. And shortly after, on November 17th, they made me do another jump ”.
He was scared?
“If I said no it would be a lie. But I knew how to win it ”.
What did he do after his military service?
“I went back to my job and opened a butcher's shop. I got married, then separated, and remarried ”.
Now, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, he has launched an appeal to find some of his comrades.
“Yes, I would like to find who was with me, those who changed planes, from Gesso 4 to Gesso 5, I looked for them in various ways but I have not received any feedback. Tomorrow I will go to the Altare della Patria in Rome to lay 46 red roses in memory of the dead Italian paras and 6 chrysanthemums for the British military. Doesn't the state think about remembering them? I'll do it. I've never seen ceremonies for the Meloria on TV. Other massacres are remembered, even in the presence of the President of the Republic, this one is not. For now it will be me, my children, and some friends ”.
What is left of that day?
“It's something that marks you, I'm alive I don't know for what reason, I never understood if they had initially sent me on Gesso 4 due to a mistake by those who directed the operations. Nobody gave explanations. And then I have another memory ”.
Which?
“While we Italians were organizing the recovery of the remains in detail, the British said a sentence: 'But which tomb is more beautiful than the sea?'. Maybe they were right ".