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Some aviation experts consider the FIAT G55 Centauro the best single seat fighter produced for the Italian air force in
World War Two. The Fiat G55 Centauro was a redesigned version of the G50 Freccia. Differences included a DB 605 A-1
engine, an improved fineness ratio of the fuselage and a redesigned wing, built in 2 sections ,bolted together at the
centerline for greater efficiency. Metal stressed skin was used and the metal framed airlerone was fabric covered.
The first prototype was flown on April 30, 1942 and production started in the beginning of 1943. The initial model was
the G55/0 which held a 20mm MG 151 cannon and (4) 12.7mm Breda SAFAT machine guns. The "O" model was succeeded by the
"I" model which held three 20mm MG151's and two Breda SAFAT machine guns. Deliveries of the G55 to the 53rd Stormo and
the 353rd Squadriglia of the 20th Gruppo just started when Italy surrendered to the Allies on September 8, 1943.
Because of Italy's surrender, the G55 did not see combat with the Regia Aeronautica. However, factories which were
building the G55's were still under the control of the Republica Sociale Italiana (Salo Republic) in northern Italy,
and several thousand were ordered. The G55 became the RSI's standard aircraft for their air force. Shortages began
to develope as the DB 605 A-1 engines became scarce and only 105 FIAT G55's were produced by the time the Allies
overran all of Italy.
Other models developed based on the G55 which were the G55/II with 5 20mm cannons and the G55/S Torpedo Fighter, which
carried one 2,176 lb Whitehead fiume torpedo beneath the fuselage. Both of these variations of the G55 flew in 1944.
After the war, production of the G55 resumed for foreign export and the newer G55/A's and G55/B's were built. Fiat
reinstalled the production lines to produce the G.55A armed with either 2 wing-mounted 12.7mm machine guns or 2
20mm canon plus the 2 12.7mm machine guns in the cowling. 19 went to the Italian air force and 30 were supplied to
Argentina. Argentina returned 17 that were then sold to Egypt in 1948, being armed with 4 12.7mm machine guns. A
2-seat trainer version, the G.55B was built in 1946 with 10 going to the Italian air force and 15 to Argentina in
1948.
Specifications
| Model |
Fiat G55 single seat interceptor |
| Max Speed |
385 mph |
| Ceiling |
42,650 Ft |
| Range |
746 miles |
| Horsepower |
1,475 hp Fiat R.A 1050 (DB605 A-1) |
| Length |
30' 10 1/2" |
| Height |
10' 3 1/4" |
| Weight |
8,179 lbs (Loaded) |
| Engine |
Fiat RA.1050 RC 58 Tifone (license-built Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1) V-12 inline liquid-cooled piston |
| Armament |
20mm MG151 (250 rounds), 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun |
Article by Adam Savery
Sources:
Special thanks to Adam Savery for contributing the G50 and G55 information through War Planes of the Second World War.
Fighters; Volume Two: Author William Green. Hanover House: Garden City, New York. 1961
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