RAF Gatow in the context of Heraldic badges of the Royal Air Force

On 23 October 1936, a nine-point protocol was signed by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in Berlin. It was the first concrete expression of the Italo-German rapprochement that began earlier that year. It was signed by the foreign ministers Galeazzo Ciano and Konstantin von Neurath. On the same day in Berlin, the Anti-Comintern Pact between Germany and Japan was initialed by Ambassador-at-Large Joachim von Ribbentrop and Ambassador Kintomo Mushanokoji.

Ciano's visit to Germany was his first trip abroad as foreign minister. He met von Neurath on 21 October and the two conferred over the next two days. Following the signing of the protocol, Ciano met German Führer Adolf Hitler at his retreat in Berchtesgaden on the Austrian border. He gave Hitler stolen British cabinet correspondence in an effort to turn Hitler against the British. Hitler confirmed the Mediterranean as Italy's sphere of influence and told Ciano that Germany would be ready for war in three years.