9/08/2010
Warbirdfare
The Fiat G.50 Freccia ("Arrow") was a World War II Italian fighter aircraft. First flown in February 1937, the G.50 was Italy’s first single-seat, all-metal monoplane with an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear to go into production. At the beginning of 1938 the Freccia was in service with the Regia Aeronautica. Several were sent to reinforce the Aviazione Legionaria, in Spain, where they proved to be fast and, typical of most Italian design, very manoeuvrable. On the other hand, pilots disliked the sliding cockpit canopy, which was not easy to open quickly and interfered with vision, so in later production an open cockpit was adopted.
There were 118 G.50s available when Italy entered World War II (97 in front line duty), most assigned to the 51 Stormo based in Ciampino airport, just outside Rome and in Pontedera, with 22 Gruppo of 52 Stormo. On 10 June 1940, when Italy declared war against France, 22 Gruppo G.50s went into action, followed by the 48 aircraft of 20 Gruppo.
Appreciated mainly for their strength, G.50s were used primarily for attack roles in the second half of the war. During the opening phase of the Allied invasion of Sicily, the G.50 was the most numerous aircraft used by Regia Aeronautica to counter-attack Allied landings. Just before the invasion, the Regia Aeronautica moved to Southern Italy 50 Stormo Assalto, a specialized ground attack unit, equipped with Fiat G.50bis fighter-bombers. As soon the invasion started, on July 10, 1943, further unit were rushed to the area. Forty-five Fiat G.50 bis of 158 and 159 Gruppi Assalto, from Pistoia. were committed – with other Italian and German ground attack units - to attack ships, landing craft and troops. Intercepted by an overwhelming fighter “umbrella”, the G.50 formations suffered heavy losses, among them, that of Tenente Colonnello Guido Nobili, commander of 5 Stormo Assalto.
By the time of the Italian Armistice with the Allies, only a few were left in Italian service, some were used as part of the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, while four others were used by the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana as fighter trainers. The top scoring Italian pilot in a Fiat G.50 was Furio Lauri, who was credited with 11 "kills" before the end of 1941 with a final score of 18.
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 10.58 m (34 ft 8 in)
- Height: 3.05 m (10 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 16.82 m² (181.00 ft²)
- Empty weight: 1,964 kg (4,330 lb)
- Loaded weight: 2,200 kg (4,840 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 2,395 kg (5,280 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× Fiat A.74 R.C.38 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 650 kW (870 hp) at 2,520 rpm for takeoff
Performance
- Maximum speed: 504 km/h (313 mph) at 4,500 m (14,765 ft)
- Range: 570 km (354 mi)
- Service ceiling: 8,900 m (29,200 ft)
- Rate of climb: 15.3 m/s (3,030 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 131.7 kg/m² (26.9 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.286 kW/kg (0.176 hp/lb)
Armament
- 2× 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, 370 rpg
- 8× 15 kg (33 lb) or 2× 50, 100, or 150 kg (110, 220, or 330 lb) bombs
** Fiat G.50 Freccia - Warbird Fare
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