Sometime on Dec. 17, 1944, a plane flown by U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Elwood Lawson of Escondido was struck by enemy anti-aircraft fire in the skies over the Italian coastal city of La Spezia an… ...

The aircraft was powered by three Piaggio P.XI R.C.40 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, which produced 745 kW (999 hp) each, and the Alcione had a maximum speed of 285 mph and a range ...

By most accounts, Balbo’s plane was mistaken as an enemy aircraft, and shot down by Italian fire. World War II began the previous year, with Britain and Italy on opposite sides.

Two Italian F-35s flying in formation with a Challenger CL-604 of the Royal Danish Air Force. The aircraft in the background wears the old coating, while the one in the foreground wears the new one.