Fiat G.55 Centauro
Rickusty -
7,470 views
- 9 months ago
Video taken at the "Vigna di Valle" museum, north of Rome.
Grazie Marco per il grande cellulare usato per le riprese!
From wikipedia:
------------------------------
The Fiat G.55 Centauro (Italian: "Centaur") was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the Italian Air Force in 1943-1945. It was designed and built in Turin by Fiat.
Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Macchi C.205, the Fiat G.55 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
Design and development
By 1939, all the main Italian aircraft factories had begun designing a new series of fighter, with inline engines as opposed to the radial engines that powered the Italian fighters in early WWII. This process brought to the first generation of Italian fighters equipped with the Italian built copy of the Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine, the so-called Serie 1/2, whose most prominent representative was the Macchi C.202 Folgore. However, the process didn't stop, and already in 1941 designers shifted their attention on the new Daimler-Benz DB 605. Fiat designer Giuseppe Gabrielli, while experimenting a new version of his Fiat G.50 fighter, equipped with the DB 601, started a new design that was to be powered by the Daimler-Benz DB 605.
The first G.55 prototype flew on 30 April 1942, immediately showing its good performance and flight characteristics. It was armed with one Mauser MG 151/20 20 mm cannon, installed in the hub with 200 rounds, and four Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm machine guns, two in the upper engine cowling and two in the lower part, with 300 rounds each, in "Sottoserie O" airframes. This layout soon proved to be troublesome, both for rearming and for the servicing of the lower machine guns: for this reason, the two lower machine guns were removed, and replaced with a Mauser MG 151 20 mm cannon in each wing, in the later production series, the Serie 1.
The prototype flew to Guidonia, where it was put into trials against the other fighters of the so-called Serie 5 Macchi C.205N Orione and the Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario. The trials showed that the Centauro was the best performer, and it won the tender set by the Regia Aeronautica. The C.205N was good at low and medium altitudes, fast and with good diving characteristics but its performance dropped considerably over 8,000 meters, particularly in handling. The Re.2005 was the fastest at high altitudes, but suffered from structural weakness. The G.55 prototype reached 620 km/h full loaded, a little less than expected, but had a strong airframe and was the best one regarding handling and stability at every altitude. The only negative assessment noted by G.55 pilots was the pronounced left-hand yawing at takeoff. This was partially remedied by a slight offset positioning of the vertical stabiliser to counteract engine torque.
Grazie Marco per il grande cellulare usato per le riprese!
From wikipedia:
------------------------------
The Fiat G.55 Centauro (Italian: "Centaur") was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the Italian Air Force in 1943-1945. It was designed and built in Turin by Fiat.
Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Macchi C.205, the Fiat G.55 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.
Design and development
By 1939, all the main Italian aircraft factories had begun designing a new series of fighter, with inline engines as opposed to the radial engines that powered the Italian fighters in early WWII. This process brought to the first generation of Italian fighters equipped with the Italian built copy of the Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine, the so-called Serie 1/2, whose most prominent representative was the Macchi C.202 Folgore. However, the process didn't stop, and already in 1941 designers shifted their attention on the new Daimler-Benz DB 605. Fiat designer Giuseppe Gabrielli, while experimenting a new version of his Fiat G.50 fighter, equipped with the DB 601, started a new design that was to be powered by the Daimler-Benz DB 605.
The first G.55 prototype flew on 30 April 1942, immediately showing its good performance and flight characteristics. It was armed with one Mauser MG 151/20 20 mm cannon, installed in the hub with 200 rounds, and four Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm machine guns, two in the upper engine cowling and two in the lower part, with 300 rounds each, in "Sottoserie O" airframes. This layout soon proved to be troublesome, both for rearming and for the servicing of the lower machine guns: for this reason, the two lower machine guns were removed, and replaced with a Mauser MG 151 20 mm cannon in each wing, in the later production series, the Serie 1.
The prototype flew to Guidonia, where it was put into trials against the other fighters of the so-called Serie 5 Macchi C.205N Orione and the Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario. The trials showed that the Centauro was the best performer, and it won the tender set by the Regia Aeronautica. The C.205N was good at low and medium altitudes, fast and with good diving characteristics but its performance dropped considerably over 8,000 meters, particularly in handling. The Re.2005 was the fastest at high altitudes, but suffered from structural weakness. The G.55 prototype reached 620 km/h full loaded, a little less than expected, but had a strong airframe and was the best one regarding handling and stability at every altitude. The only negative assessment noted by G.55 pilots was the pronounced left-hand yawing at takeoff. This was partially remedied by a slight offset positioning of the vertical stabiliser to counteract engine torque.
yc7Ija6PQd8
