First Italian F-16 in special colour scheme and new preserved F-104 at Cervia

The first ItAF F-16 in special color scheme. (All images: Author)

The highlights of the Spotter Day held on June 20, 2008, at Cervia airbase to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the 23° Gruppo were the F-16ADF MM7251 painted in a special colour scheme (since, most probably, it will be the first and only F-16 “Special Colour” in ItAF service) and the preserved F-104S (it is actually an ASA-M) MM6940/5-30, wearing the old codes and markings used by the 23° Gruppo when the Squadron and its parent unit (the 5° Stormo) were based in Rimini.

Here you can find some photographs this Author has taken at Cervia.

The new preserved F-104 (an S/ASA-M variant) in the colors of the 23° Gruppo.
The F-104 on the apron at Cervia.
Another close up image of the “5-30” at Cervia.

More pictures of the Spotter Day and the full log of the partecipating aircraft here.



About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.