The Z.506C model of the Airone seaplane was a 14-passenger airliner but this first airframe, I-ALAL, was a special which in March and April 1938 made a route proving flight from Lido di Roma to Buenos Aires and back, covering 24,000 km at an average speed of over 300 km/h. Small Ala Littoria titles worn in cheatline. Where is that monument or lighthouse? I-ALAL impressed for military duties in June 1940. Photo supplied by the Fasisct era Italian Library of Information in New York City. Photo from: Smithsionian Institution

US troops get some rest and recreational after the successful Sicilian campaign, sharing the beach with a Z.506B that had been run aground. Photo from: National Archives at College Park, Maryland

Having left the factory in April 1942, this is the only surviving Z.506 in the world. It is considered one of the best seaplanes ever built. Its code 84-4 is genuine from the 1950s; the serial is not visibly worn.

Conceived as a long range civil transport seaplane in 1935, the CANT Z.506 'Airone' gained more fame in its modified version for military use. The last remaining of almost 350 built can be admired right here at its former home base. She was built as a model B for the ASW role and later converted into the S model for SAR duties. Serial not painted on the aircraft.