Hi Parmigiano,
>Here an english summary of the German evaluation test from the G55 site.
Thanks!
I'd add that English readers should be aware that it is not a summary of exactly the report reproduced on Kurfürst's site.
Here is a translation of some comments from the German report:
"General
The exterior form and the overall impression of the aircraft displayed there was good. The achieved performance is partially owed to the very small radiators. This applies especially to the Macchi 205 V and the Reggiane 2005."
Note: The Macchie 205 N overheated in the climb, so it seems obvious that "small" is used in the sense of "insufficiently dimensioned" here.
On the Fiat G 55:
"As a summary one has to state:
The Fiat G 55 is equal to the German fighters in climb and altitude performance, superior in armament and range, inferior in speed (currently 25 km/h), though it has to be considered that the Italian DB 605 yields 100 HP less.
Since according to the statement of the designer the DB 603 can be mounted without major changes, the aircraft greatly gains in attractiveness - considering the current performance -, as it with the DB 603 would be superior in any regard to all current fighters."
Note: The report is ambiguous about the supposed climb rate superiority at high altitude which would be a result of the Fiat's lower wingloading, noting a poorer power loading compared to the Bf 109 G-4 as counter-acting factor.
With regard to the characteristics of the Fiat G 55:
"The flying characteristics are not as good as those of the Bf 109 G-4 and the Fw 190 A-5."
The German interest in the G 55 was clearly motivated by the hope to be able to install the DB 603 with a 30 mm MK 108 engine cannon in addition to the two 12.7 mm machine guns in the cowl and to the two 20 mm wing cannon (that apparently were projected at the time the report was written).
Regards,
Henning (HoHun)