Among WWII aviation enthusiasts, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) is renowned for possessing some of the rarest German and Japanese aircraft of that conflict, many of which are the last of their kind. But nestled among their ranks is the only Italian aircraft of WWII in the museum’s collection, a now exceedingly rare Macchi C.202 Folgore (Thunderbolt).

But while the NASM’s Folgore is in excellent condition following a restoration during the early 1970s, its individual history has long been murky. However, thanks to new research in both Italy and the United States, the Smithsonian may finally get a better insight into the wartime history of their Folgore during its time in the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force), and in learning how and when it was brought to the United States.