Brigadier General Ferruccio Ranza (9 September 1892—25 April 1973) began his military career as a World War I flying ace credited with seventeen confirmed victories and eight unconfirmed ones.

He won a Bronze award of the Medal for Military Valor for carrying out an artillery spotting mission under heavy fire[2] on 1 April 1916.

[1] However, Ranza had no success in aerial warfare until he transitioned to Nieuports and joined 77a Squadriglia on 22 June 1916.

[1] Ranza ended World War I having flown 465 combat sorties and had posted 20 aerial victory claims.

[1][3] The Bongiovanni military intelligence commission verified 17 of Ranza's victory claims in their report of 1 February 1919.

From January to September 1935, he returned to Italian East Africa being promoted in March to Brigadier General.