Re: WW1 Italian pilot ace's prancing horse

[Carscribe@domain.elided]

Let's not forget where Francesco got the prancing horse-- It was from a downed German aircraft, where it had been affixed as a reminder of home and hearth; the same prancing horse is the city crest of Stuttgart. 

Taking trophies from kills was a popular activity then as many air operations were within a short drive of the field, and there were even occasions of pilots landing alongside recent crashes to recover a trophy. 

Being the city crest of Stuttgart (the background used there is a bit more gold, but in most respects identical), it is not really surprising that it's the same prancing horse then found in the center of the Porsche crest (itself created at the behest of the American importer, Max Hoffman). So the same prancing horse can be found on both machines from Zuffenhausen and Maranello in another one of war's strange twists.

Cheers,
Paul Mitchell

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