Airborne Knights

In the West's efforts to arm Italy against the threat of Red attack, the 1947 Italian Peace Treaty has proved embarrassing: it limits the Italian air force to 350 aircraft. This means that whenever the U.S. delivers new planes to Italy, the government must scrap older planes, although they may still be useful as trainers or transports. But the Italian government thought of an ingenious--and legal--dodge: instead of destroying the old planes, it transferred them to the Knights of Malta,* who are theoretically sovereign, issue their own passports, send diplomats to half a dozen Roman Catholic countries. Last week Rome admitted with a broad smile that three years ago the Italian government turned over 36 three-engined Savora-Marchetti bombers to the Knights, who converted them to ambulance planes. Recently, Italy turned 40. more bombers over to the Knights, with more to follow soon. Said an Italian official: "It would be a pity to destroy these perfectly good planes."

* A Roman Catholic order which fought in the Crusades, later defended the island of Rhodes (off the mainland of Turkey) against Mussulman pirates. In 1530 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V gave the Knights sovereign control of the island of Malta, which they made one of the ramparts of Christendom. In 1814 the Knights lost Malta to the British, retired to Rome. Today their 5,500 members (including 280 Americans) run 200 hospitals and boys' towns in Europe and Latin America.

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