Searching in stories... |
Timeline |
Options
|
|
||
|
||
|
||
Show the latest entries |
||
Searching in stories... |
Timeline |
Sant'Antimo (Naples), 28 April 1876 – † Magreglio, 15 August 1938
Nicola Romeo was an Italian engineer and entrepreneur. He served as a senator in the 18th Legislature of the Kingdom of Italy (XXVIII legislatura del Regno d'Italia).
Romeo graduated with a degree in engineering from the Politecnico di Napoli (nowadays Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) in 1899. After that, he worked for a couple of years abroad and completed a second bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in Liège, Belgium. In 1911 he returned to Italy and created "Ing. Nicola Romeo e Co.". The company manufactured machines and equipment for the mining industry. As the company became successful he wished to expand and acquired a majority of Milan-based car manufacturing company A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili) in 1915. Only three years later, in 1918, Romeo owned the whole company. A.L.F.A. was renamed to "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili Romeo". The first car carrying the Alfa Romeo badge was the 1921 Torpedo 20/30 HP. The company gained a good reputation for building elegant and safe cars as well as aircraft parts, but in 1927 it came very close to liquidation due to a series of bad investments. During a tense board meeting Romeo was asked to leave the company, although the new CEO Pasquale Gallo persuaded him to stay as president. Romeo officially departed from Alfa Romeo in 1928.
Nicola Romeo owned a number of engineering companies, not all at the same time. These included:
In 1905 he married Angelina Valadin, a Portuguese opera singer and pianist. Together they had seven children; Maurizio, Edoardo, Nicholas, Elena, Giulietta, Piera and Irene.
Nicola Romeo died on 15 August 1938 in his home at Lake Como at the age of 62. Almost seventy years after his death and on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of his birth, Naples dedicated a street to the memory of Nicola Romeo, called Via Nicola Romeo.
IMAM SpA is a branch of the Società Anonima Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali Société Anonyme Constructions Ferroulez Méridionales owned by Nicola Romeo. From 1923, he wanted to start manufacturing planes and created, within the Naples industrial site, the company IMAM.
In 1925, the company bought a license from the young Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, created in 1912.
The development implemented by IMAM will lead to the production of its first aircraft, the Romeo Ro.1, a biplane bomber also used as a reconnaissance aircraft. In its early days, the company subcontracted to Fiat Aviazione many aircraft components and parts.
In 1927, the company IMAM SpA was officially created and registered and independent from the company OFM, which enabled it to market its products under its name.
The IMAM models Ro.37 and Ro.43 did not achieve the same success as the Ro.1 but were widely used during the Balkan War. The Ro.41 model will be appreciated as a training aircraft by Regia Aeronautica.
In 1936, the company was bought by Breda Aero.
The following models, Ro.57 and Ro.58, heavy twin-engine fighters required certain knowledge and flight practices for experienced pilots. The Ro.63, a liaison and observation aircraft, of comparable and even superior quality and reliability to its German competitor Fieseler Fi 156 can never be manufactured in sufficient quantity to meet orders due to war restrictions.
After being bought in 1946 by Finmeccanica, in 1950, the company IMAM SpA is merged into the Aerfer group another aeronautical company of the Finmeccanica group subsidiary of the public group IRI. In 1969, Aerfer merged with Fiat Aviazione to form Aeritalia.
The IMAM Company has maintained in the name of its productions, the Ro sign for Romeo, the name under which the first device was marketed, Ro.1.
Aerfer has produced:
— — — = = — — —
You choosed to show only the famous things! (Via the Options menu)