Amedeo Mecozzi (17 January 1892 – 2 November 1971) was an Italian fighter ace of World War I, a general of the Italian Regia Aeronautica and a military theorist credited as the founding father of the "Attack air force" doctrine, which made him a strong opponent to general Giulio Douhet's theories.

[2] He joined the Italian Army as an engineer[1] and spent a year as a volunteer in Somalia[2] before applying for pilot's training in 1915.

[2] In March 1916 he began flying reconnaissance missions for 45a Squadriglia,[1] at some hazard; he often brought home an airplane damaged by enemy fire.

His determination to continue fighting despite battle damaged aircraft won him renown; on 8 January and 19 February, he was granted a Bronze Medal for Military Valor.

[2] He scored his first victory the day after Christmas, 1917, teaming with his wingman to send an enemy reconnaissance plane down in flames.

Mecozzi eagerly rushed off to the wreckage of his victim, only to find outraged farmers whose barn was burning along the wrecked plane.

[2] On 26 May 1918, he used his Hanriot HD.1 to pick off a second reconnaissance machine with a hundred round burst, then ran his guns dry to down an Austro-Hungarian Albatros D.III from Fliegerkompanie 42j.

[2] Also in June, Mecozzi was noted as changing his aircraft's insignia from a question mark on a black ball to two blue bands around the fuselage.

For some years after that, he edited Rivista Aeronautica, a supposedly independent magazine covertly supported by the air force.