STJOHN'S AIR FORCE

摘要

Visitors to the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle, north of Rome, might be forgiven for wondering at a strange roundel on the fuselage of one of the exhibits. It's a white eight-pointed cross on a red background, an emblem that in fact goes back at least 900 years, originating in mediaeval Jerusalem. As such, it's arguably by far the oldest aviation insignia in the world.