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In September 1944, my father and 29 other pilots ferried Bell King Cobras to Rome via New Foundland, England and France, to be ultimately given to Russia thru the Lend Lease Program. While in Italy, Dad picked up the shot-up cowling of a crashed Macchi 200, that a group of GIs were using for target practice, as a souvenir. It hung in our garage for decades, and now lives in my basement. Naturally I couldn't resist posing the model on the cowl.