Apparently the Allies were very fond of Balbo for being a great guy or whatever. I read a bit of his wiki, he seemed to have anti-fascist leanings and was known to the American public as an aviator.
When he was killed in a friendly fire incident early in the war, a British general ordered a plane to drop a condolence package onto the Italian airfield containing a wreath and message detailing how much Balbo was loved and respected and sympathy for losing him.
I've never heard of anything like this happening, was it common in WWII? It was early in the war and the Africa campaign was known for being less brutal, so those are factors. Do we know how the Italians reacted, or if this caused any pause in conflic.
Also, what were the logistics of setting this up this operation? It seems kind of stupid to risk losing a plane and pilot when there are other ways to communicate the message. The Italians could have just shot it down and get pissed that they're being harassed after losing their favorite general.
If anyone can shed light on this particular event, it would be very appreciated! It's oddly fascinating to me, reminds me of the Chrismas football match in WWI.
It wasn't common, probably unique; after recording several cases of wreaths dropped during the First World War, Piet Hein Meijering notes it as the only incident he is aware of from the Second World War in Signed with Their Honour: The Story of Chivalry in Air Warfare 1914-45. There are a few other cases of things being dropped from aircraft - a replacement leg for Douglas Bader, dropped as part of a bombing raid in 1941, and an identity disc and toiletries for a German airman captured on Malta in 1942, but no wreaths. There's also a persistent story that sounds like an urban myth but appears to have at least some basis in reality of wooden bombs being dropped on dummy airfields.
There doesn't appear to have been any particular reaction specifically to the wreath; the incident in general sparked rumours that Balbo's aircraft was deliberately shot down but references to the wreath (if made at all) are a brief footnote. There was risk in the operation - apparently the aircraft that dropped the wreath was fired on, but not hit, by anti-aircraft guns - but in the absence of radar, and with Italian fighters being biplanes with a similar top speed to the Bristol Blenheim, it was not especially great.