Breda Ba.27 fighter in Chinese Service.
Like France, Italy, an early aviation pioneer, lagged behind
Germany, Britain, and the United States in the design of military aircraft.
Nevertheless, Italian designers were resourceful in compensating for
deficiencies.
Savoia-Marchetti SM79. The Savoia-Marchetti SM79, Italy’s
most important bomber, produced in a quantity of 1,330, used wooden
construction to conserve scarce wartime metals and was configured as a trimotor,
a design that compensated for the low power (780 horsepower each) of its Alfa
Romeo 126RC34 engines. As with all Italian military aircraft, weight was
further reduced by stinting on both armor and defensive armament (light machine
guns only), which proved to be fatal flaws.
The SM79 was crewed by four to five, had a wingspan of 69
feet, and carried a bomb load of 2,755 pounds. After it was generally replaced
by the larger (wingspan 81 feet 4 inches; bomb load, 6,615 pounds) CRDA (Cant)
Z1007bis early in the war, the SM79 was reconfigured as a torpedo bomber. In
this role, it proved quite successful. Top speed for the SM79 was 267 miles per
hour, service ceiling was 21,235 feet, and range was 2,050 miles.
CRDA Z1007bis. Crewed by five, the CRDA Z1007bis was a
trimotor, like the SM79. Its Piaggio P.XIbis RC40 engines produced 1,000
horsepower each, propelling the bomber to a top speed of 280 miles per hour and
a service ceiling of 26,575 feet. Range, however, was limited. Whereas the SM79
had a range of 2,050 miles, the larger and heavier Z1007bis was limited to
1,650 miles, though its bomb load, at 6,615 pounds, was more than twice that of
the SM75. About 660 of this aircraft were built.
Fiat BR20M. In between Italy’s two trimotors was the
twin-engine Fiat BR20M, crewed by five or six and powered by 1,000-horsepower
Fiat A.80 RC41 engines to a top speed of 267 miles per hour and a service
ceiling of 24,935 feet. This medium bomber had a limited range of 1,243 miles
but could carry more bombs than the three-engine SM79: 3,527 pounds. It was
deployed in early raids against Britain in November 1940.
The Italians had only one 4-engine bomber, the Piaggio
P.108. Designed by Giovanni Casiraghi, it entered service in May 1941 and was
only intermittently used. It had a crew of 6, a maximum speed of 261 mph, and a
range of 2,190 mi. Armed with 8 machine guns, it could carry 7,700 lb of bombs.
Only 33 were produced, however, 8 of which went to the Germans for use as
transports.
Italians flew five significant fighters during World War II,
including one, the Macchi C202, that is considered a classic less for its
performance than for its beautiful design. All Italian fighters were easily
outclassed by the standard fighters of Britain and the United States.
Fiat CR 42. The CR 42 Falco (Falcon) was the last important
biplane fighter of the World War II era. It was the product of the success of
the CR 32 biplane in the Spanish civil war, and it entered flight testing in
May 1938. Manufactured in greater numbers than any other Italian fighter, it
was, of course, obsolete from its inception. Although it represented the
pinnacle of biplane design—light on the controls and highly agile—it was a
biplane, and, therefore, doomed to be outclassed by modern monoplane fighters.
Nevertheless, it fought in Italy’s first World War II campaign, against targets
in southern France in 1940. The German Luftwaffe also used the aircraft for
night attack and as a trainer throughout the war. Belgian and Hungarian forces
also flew the plane. During the Battle of Britain, Italy’s Corpo Aero Italiano
(Italian Air Corps) contributed bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, and the CR 42
to the effort. Wingspan was 31 feet, and the power plant was a single Fiat A74
engine, developing 840 horsepower. The CR 42 carried two 220-pound bombs and
had a pair of 12.7-mm machine guns. Top speed was 266 miles per hour at 13,000
feet.
Fiat G50 (bis). Introduced in 1939 as the G50 and
subsequently upgraded in the “bis” version, this fighter was underpowered and
was out-gunned by Allied machines, yet it served in every theater in which the
Italians fought, most extensively in North Africa. It was powered by a single
Fiat A.74 R1C.38 radial engine rated at 840 horsepower. Top speed was 292 miles
per hour at 16,405 feet, and wingspan was 36 feet ¼ inch. Armament included two
.50-inch machine guns.
Macchi C200. Predecessor to the more famous C202, the C200
was driven by a Fiat AA74 870- horsepower radial engine to a top speed of 312
miles per hour at 14,700 feet. With two machine guns, it could carry a
600-pound bomb load and had a range of 270 miles.
Macchi C202. The C200 was introduced in 1939 and the C202 in
1941. It was an airplane with beautiful lines and saw extensive service in
North Africa, where it performed better than any other Italian fighter, which
is not to say that it could outperform the Allies. Like the C200, it had a
wingspan of 35.1 feet, but it was powered by a single Mercedes-Benz DB601
engine, which delivered more than 1,175 horsepower, giving the C202 a top speed
of 370 miles per hour at 16,500 feet. The C202 outgunned its predecessor, with
four rather than two machine guns, but it carried the same 600-pound bomb load.
Range was reduced from 270 to 240 miles.
Reggiane Re 2001 (Caproni). The last Italian fighter to be
introduced in World War II, its predecessor, the Reggiane 2000, had been
developed in 1938, but the Italian Regia Aeronautica (Air Force) judged it
underpowered and did not buy it. Refitted with a 1,175-horsepower Daimler Benz
Bd 601 engine and redesignated the Re 2001, it entered service in 1942 after
Caproni completed a series of improvements required by the Regia Aeronautica.
Only 237 were built before Italy withdrew from the war.
Although designed as an interceptor, the Re 2001 always flew
as a fighter-bomber or as a night fighter. It had a top speed of 349 miles per
hour and a ceiling of 36,000 feet. Range was an impressive 684 miles. Armed
with four wing-mounted machine guns, it could carry either a 220-pound or 550-pound
bomb, but, against naval targets, it even carried a 1,412-pound bomb.
Further reading:
Apostolo, Giorgio, and Giovanni Massimello. Italian Aces of World War II.
London: Osprey, 2000; Gunston, Bill. An Illustrated Guide to German, Italian
and Japanese Fighters of World War II: Major Fighters and Attack Aircraft of
the Axis Powers. London: Salamander, 1980; Gunston, Bill. Japanese and Italian
Aircraft. London: Book Sales, 1985.
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