U.S. Cadets in Italy Meanwhile, in Italy, 406 U.S. cadets had been graduated as pilots from the Italian primary flying course at Foggia. Of these 406 new pilots, 121 had received advance training as bombardment pilots at Italian schools. Most of these Americans were immediately transferred to France, but 65 of them remained in Italy, assigned to various Italian squadrons, where they flew combat missions across the Italian Front as members of Italian aircrews in Italian airplanes. These 65 Americans represented between 20 to 30 percent of the entire Italian combat pilot force then serving on the Front in Italy. Click here to return to the Air Service Overview.