Ethiopia hails return of its first plane, stolen by Mussolini in 1930s
Red two-seater named after Emperor Haile Selassie’s daughter abandoned in 1936 after Italy invaded country
Lorenzo Tondoin Palermo
Wed 31 Jan 2024 13.25 CET
Almost nine decades after it was stolen by Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, the Italian government has officially returned Ethiopia’s first plane.
The official handover of the aircraft, named Tsehay in honour of the princess daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie, was celebrated on Tuesday by the Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.
“Today is a day of great pride for Ethiopians as we celebrate the official handover of ‘Tsehay’ by the Italian Government,” Abiy wrote on his social media account on X, alongside photographs of the red two-seater plane.
Today is a day of great pride for Ethiopians as we celebrate the official handover of “Tsehay” by the Italian Government. I extend my immense gratitude to Prime Minister @GiorgiaMeloni for her support over the past year in facilitating its return.
By the time it was abandoned in Addis Ababa in May 1936, as Italian forces approached the Ethiopian capital, the aircraft had accumulated about 30 hours of flight time.
According to historians, the aircraft was requisitioned and taken to Italy after Mussolini occupied Ethiopia, known then as Abyssinia, in 1935. Addis Ababa fell to the fascists the following year.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... i-in-1930s 