"The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" is a work that has been so adored that it has become infamous as the most stolen artwork in history. Of all the many times the piece was stolen, however, there is one incident that stands above the rest as probably the most significant theft, because it is the only time that part of the painting went missing, never to be seen again. It is an enduring historical whodunit that deserves to be remembered.
Over 700 different aircraft models and designs reached active service and serial production worldwide during the Second World War. Some were quite famous, others much less so. Among the latter was a nearly forgotten US super Heavy Bomber design, overshadowed by a far more famous plane, that ended up perhaps most remembered for a dubious distinction.
After the public announcement of the armistice ending hostilities between Italy and the Allied powers on September 8th, 1943, the Italian navy fled its ports in a desperate bid to reach the safety of Allied forces, even as German forces, carrying a terrifying new weapon, sought to capture or destroy them.
On August 26, 1980, some men wearing jumpsuits drove up in a white Dodge van and rolled a large box into a Casino in Stateline Nevada, saying that they were delivering a copy machine. It wasn’t a copy machine. Thus began what the Federal Bureau of Investigation described as “one of the most unusual cases” in the bureau’s history.