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A P-40L-15CU, Serial Number 42-10857, coded
X49, belonging to the 86th FS/ 79th FG (12th
AF) and named ‘Gipsy Rose Lee’, landed due to
engine failure on the beach at Capoportiere on
January 31st, 1944. The pilot Lt.M.Mauritz was
captured. The aircraft lay in the sea off the coast
for decades, was recovered in 1998, and today it
is the only preserved example of a P-40L.
From Pianna delle Orme, we moved 120
kilometers north to the edge of the town of Vigna
di Valle on the shores of Lake Lago di Braciano,
to the Museum of the History of Military Aviation
(Museo storico dell` Aeronautica Militare di
Vigna di Valle).
Here too, we were interested in Macchi
fighters, and this museum boasts all three main
types of Macchi series fighters, the C.200, C.202
and C.205. In the case of these exhibits, there is
some doubt about their 100% authenticity, while
in the case of C.205 these doubts are certainly
justified. Our plan for this summer's trip to the
Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon, serial number MM80074, ex US NAVY N7486C, is apparently the only surviving Harpoon in museums outside the United States.
The outdoor exhibit includes a collection of machines from the Italian Financial Guard,
Guardia di Finanza. This Piaggio P-166 visited Prague on October 17, 2007. As an owner
and rider of a Piaggio scooter, I have a personal relationship with this brand!
Collection of Macchi M racing seaplanes M.39, M.57 and M.72
Also from the Financial Guard is this Breda-Nardi NH-500MC licensed helicopter.
Another machine of the same type and in the same colouring, but of course with
a different fuselage marking, is in the collections of the Volandia Museum.
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April 2024