cheddar cheese
Major General
What do you think the best early Italian monoplane fighter was? (Or 'Series 0's as I like to call them, dont know if thats true or not)
Despite some structural problems, Id say the Reggiane Re-2000. It was the fastest of the 3 and highly manoeverable, more so than the CR.42 and Bf-109E. Looking at the 3, it also looks the most modern with its enclosed cockpit, largely due to the fact it was heavily based on the Seversky P-35. Not many were built, and a lot were sold off to Sweden and Hungary.
The G.50, whilst highly manoeverable, was far too slow. The MC.200 was slightly faster and similarly manoeverable, and was used more than both the other two.
REGGIANE RE-2000 FALCO
Role: Single-seat fighter and fighter bomber
Engine: 1 x Piaggio P.IX RC 40 radial engine; 1000 hp
Bis, GA and Cat.: 1 x Piaggio P.IX Bis RC 40; 1000 hp
Length: 26,21 ft
Height: 10.49 ft
Wing span: 36,08 ft
Wing area: 219,58 sq/ft
Empty weight: 5573 lbs
Useful Load: 2009 lbs
Loaded weight: 7606 lbs
Max. Speed: 329 mph at 17,388 ft.
GA and Cat.: 323 mph
Service ceiling: 36754 ft.
GA and Cat.: 32808 ft
Range (at 19,685 ft and 267 mph):
GA: 1243 miles
Cat.: 802 miles
Climb to 19,685 ft: 6'10"
GA and Cat.: 7'45"
Armament: 2 x 12,7mm Breda SAFAT MG with 300 rounds each. The "Intercettore", "Bis" and "GA" versions had the possibility to attach a "Spezzoniera Automatica Nardi" under the fuselage, consisting of two launchers each composed of two lines of twenty-two 2 kilos frag-bombs, for a total of 88 frag-bombs.
Crew: 1
In Service: 1941
Countries in Service: Italy, Hungary Sweden
Aircraft built: 158 (28 for RA - 70 for Hungary - 60 for Sweden)
http://home.att.net/~historyzone/Reggiane.html
FIAT G.50 FRECCIA
Model: Fiat G50bis single seat fighter
Max Speed: 293 mph
Ceiling: 32,480 Ft
Range: 620 miles
Horsepower: 840 hp
Length: 27' 2 1/3"
Height: 9' 2 1/4"
Weight: 5,560 lbs (Loaded)
Engine: Fiat A74 R.C.38(DB605 A-1)
Armament: 2x 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun (300 r.p.g)
http://www.comandosupremo.com/G50.html
MACCHI MC.200 SAETTA
Tipo:
Caccia Intercettore Monoposto
Progettista:
Ing. Mario Castoldi
Primo Volo nel:
dicembre 1937
In servizio nel:
1939
Equipaggio:
1
Dimensioni:
Lunghezza: 8,19 m
Apertura Alare: 10,58 m
Peso Max.: 2540 kg
Armamento:
2 mg da 12,7 mm
Carico bellico: bombe fino a 320 kg (Mc.200 CB)
Motore:
Fiat A.74 R.C.38 da 649 Kw (882CV)
Vel.Max.:
503 km/h a 4500m
Autonomia:
870 km
Esemplari:
1784
http://www.regiaaeronautica.it/home.htm
Apologies for the Italian, im sure you can work it out
Despite some structural problems, Id say the Reggiane Re-2000. It was the fastest of the 3 and highly manoeverable, more so than the CR.42 and Bf-109E. Looking at the 3, it also looks the most modern with its enclosed cockpit, largely due to the fact it was heavily based on the Seversky P-35. Not many were built, and a lot were sold off to Sweden and Hungary.
The G.50, whilst highly manoeverable, was far too slow. The MC.200 was slightly faster and similarly manoeverable, and was used more than both the other two.
REGGIANE RE-2000 FALCO
Role: Single-seat fighter and fighter bomber
Engine: 1 x Piaggio P.IX RC 40 radial engine; 1000 hp
Bis, GA and Cat.: 1 x Piaggio P.IX Bis RC 40; 1000 hp
Length: 26,21 ft
Height: 10.49 ft
Wing span: 36,08 ft
Wing area: 219,58 sq/ft
Empty weight: 5573 lbs
Useful Load: 2009 lbs
Loaded weight: 7606 lbs
Max. Speed: 329 mph at 17,388 ft.
GA and Cat.: 323 mph
Service ceiling: 36754 ft.
GA and Cat.: 32808 ft
Range (at 19,685 ft and 267 mph):
GA: 1243 miles
Cat.: 802 miles
Climb to 19,685 ft: 6'10"
GA and Cat.: 7'45"
Armament: 2 x 12,7mm Breda SAFAT MG with 300 rounds each. The "Intercettore", "Bis" and "GA" versions had the possibility to attach a "Spezzoniera Automatica Nardi" under the fuselage, consisting of two launchers each composed of two lines of twenty-two 2 kilos frag-bombs, for a total of 88 frag-bombs.
Crew: 1
In Service: 1941
Countries in Service: Italy, Hungary Sweden
Aircraft built: 158 (28 for RA - 70 for Hungary - 60 for Sweden)
http://home.att.net/~historyzone/Reggiane.html
FIAT G.50 FRECCIA
Model: Fiat G50bis single seat fighter
Max Speed: 293 mph
Ceiling: 32,480 Ft
Range: 620 miles
Horsepower: 840 hp
Length: 27' 2 1/3"
Height: 9' 2 1/4"
Weight: 5,560 lbs (Loaded)
Engine: Fiat A74 R.C.38(DB605 A-1)
Armament: 2x 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun (300 r.p.g)
http://www.comandosupremo.com/G50.html
MACCHI MC.200 SAETTA
Tipo:
Caccia Intercettore Monoposto
Progettista:
Ing. Mario Castoldi
Primo Volo nel:
dicembre 1937
In servizio nel:
1939
Equipaggio:
1
Dimensioni:
Lunghezza: 8,19 m
Apertura Alare: 10,58 m
Peso Max.: 2540 kg
Armamento:
2 mg da 12,7 mm
Carico bellico: bombe fino a 320 kg (Mc.200 CB)
Motore:
Fiat A.74 R.C.38 da 649 Kw (882CV)
Vel.Max.:
503 km/h a 4500m
Autonomia:
870 km
Esemplari:
1784
http://www.regiaaeronautica.it/home.htm
Apologies for the Italian, im sure you can work it out