picture 170450

A de Havilland Vampire FB.Mk 52 serial 4-38, of the 4° Stormo, Napoli/Capodichino AB, 1953. Left in its high-speed silver finish overall, this Vampire received the ‘anti glare panel’ in black and in form typical for examples manufactured by the Italian company Aermacchi of the early 1950s. This was ‘underlined’ through the addition of a red colour, creating a kind of ‘mouth’ impression. National insignia was applied in six positions (notable are unusually large roundels on undersurfaces of the wing) and the unit insignia – the famous black prancing horse – on a small white shield, outlined in black, on the fin. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)