Ethiopia’s Prime Minister announces the return of the first plane constructed in Ethiopia in 1935, which was taken during Italy’s fascist era and displayed in the Italian Aviation Museum in Rome.
The aircraft, named Tsehai after Emperor Haile Selassie’s daughter, has now been formally handed back to Ethiopia in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, marking a significant day of pride for the nation.
“Tsehay is the first aircraft built in Ethiopia in 1935 under the collaborative efforts of the German engineer and pilot of the emperor, Herr Ludwig Weber, and Ethiopian individuals of that era,” Abiy said.
Historians say the plane was taken to Italy after the invading forces of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini occupied Ethiopia, then Abyssinia, in 1935, taking the capital Addis Ababa the following year.
The Italian defence ministry said the monoplane, originally silver-grey in colour, had made its first flight in December 1935, describing it as a “unique specimen”.
It had a total of about 30 hours of flight time “only to be abandoned in Addis Ababa in May 1936, before the arrival of the Italians, who requisitioned it,” it said in a statement.
The ministry said the aircraft had been kept at the Italian Air Force Museum since 1941 and would be later transported to Ethiopia for display there, without giving a timeframe.
The plane was named in honour of Princess Tsehay, the daughter of emperor Selassie, Ethiopia’s state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported on its website.
