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.
— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) January 30, 2024
"Tsehay" is the first aircraft… pic.twitter.com/douDChQnl2
Built in 1935 during the reign of Selassie, the aircraft was a collaborative effort between the German pilot Herr Ludwig Weber and Ethiopian engineers. In December 1935, Weber embarked on the plane’s maiden flight, covering a distance of about 30 miles (50km) from Addis Ababa. The flight lasted for about seven minutes.
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.
The Italian defence ministry described the plane, which had been kept at the Italian Air Force Museum since 1941, as a “unique specimen”.
The minister of defence, Guido Crosetto, said: “This delivery represents a very strong message that, in the aftermath of the Italy-Africa summit, [Italy] wants to highlight the strong bond between our two countries and wants to emphasise the value of dialogue and the importance of international cooperation.’’
Leaders and representatives from 45 African nations, including the presidents of Tunisia, Senegal, Kenya, the Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe and Somalia, were in Rome on Monday to hear the details of Rome’s so-called “Mattei plan”, a policy inspired by Enrico Mattei, the founder of the oil company Eni who in the 1950s pushed for Italy ostensibly to support African countries to develop their natural resources and improve their economies.
