Dante Giacosa 1
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Dante Giacosa was 23 when he was finally able to look for a job so that he would no longer be a burden on his father. He had previously studied mechanical engineering and had been in the military for a year, where he
not
only followed the usual training but also drew drawings for the weapons instructions.
Here he graduated with better marks than in his previous studies. The job applications in 1928 came during the difficult period of the economic crisis. The interviews at Olivetti and the first one at Fiat following an
advertisement were unsuccessful. The father of a girlfriend was the president of a major mechanical engineering company.
A month later, he actually got a job as a design engineer at Fiat, earning 845 lire a month, which would be around €430 today. Unfortunately, he ran into the same senior Alfano from his first interview. But his boss was
Cesare Momo, a little older and with enormously successful experience as an engineer.
He became Giacosa's mentor and teacher. He also learned that Momo himself had been supervised by many capable engineers, but strangely enough, they soon left the company. He himself had done the same, but later
came back under the Fiat umbrella when his current employer was bought out.
The first project was the Pavesi tractor, a four-wheel drive vehicle with an incredibly large possible angle between the front and rear axles, which could be assembled into a row, with each part driving in exactly the same
track
as the front part, and of course suitable for almost any terrain. So one year later Giacosa found himself in the military department.
He himself described the work with Momo as 'extremely useful and valuable'. But there must also have been interest in his work and several other orders from the military sector. The vehicles had special mountain
requirements resulting from the war against Austria-Hungary. At the same time, the young engineer became close to the truck sector.
It is astonishing to learn from his biography that he even helped to prepare the 'last Coppa delle Alpi with the 525 SS'. As I said, the last Coppa, because Fiat had already started to give up participation in races in 1927 after
deaths. As is well known, the economic difficulties grew in 1930/31.
This led to regroupings, after which Giacosa found himself in the industrial vehicle engines department. However, it should be noted that he was again under special observation by the office manager Nebbia, with whom a
'close and lasting friendship' developed over the years.
Giacosa took his first career step at the end of 1932, not even 28 years old. It was his appreciation for some superiors and the art of listening that enabled him to achieve this and more career advancements. Until then, he
had worked in the agricultural and industrial machinery and diesel engine sectors, as well as making a foray into the particularly successful aircraft department.
Now he was responsible for the development of water-cooled engines, among other things. Once again he saw his boss Bona as a stroke of luck, and became friends with him. Together with him he turned his attention
once again to an aircraft engine. Among other things, they worked on the problem of ensuring that the engine was filled at high altitudes using supercharging.
However, his interest clearly turned to the car sector. He describes the new car models of the time almost exuberantly, mentioning in particular the 508 S, a sporty version of the Balilla with higher compression, which
competed with great success in the Economy Competition of the Mille Miglia.
But he viewed the rise of fascism in the last ten years with some disgust, but did not take a clear political stance. He apologized, in a way, for not having paid attention to politics as a student. The struggle to keep up with
the
workload and the infinitesimal pocket money must have been too great for him.
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