Fiat G.55

A surviving Fiat G.55 at the Museo storico dell'Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, on Bracciano lake, in Lazio region.

Class Overview

Number Built - This version

15

Number Built - All versions

349^{[N 1]}

Technical Specifications
Length	Wingspan	Height
9.37 m (30 ft 9 in)	11.85 m (38 ft 10 in)	3.13 m (without the antenna mast) (10 ft 3¼ in)

Wing Area
21.11 m² (227.23 ft²)

Empty weight	Full weight
2,630 kg (5,798 lb)	Loaded: 3,520 kg (7,760 lb) Max. takeoff: 3,718 kg (8,197 lb)

Engine
1 × Fiat RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (license-built Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1) liquid-cooled inverted V-12, 1,085 kW (1,475 hp)

Speed

623 km/h (671 km/h with WEP) (337 kn, 387 mph (417 mph with WEP)) at 7,000 m (22,970 ft)

Range

1,200 km, or 1,650 km with two 100 l (26 US Gal) drop tanks under wings (545 nmi, 627 mi (or 891 nmi, 1,025 mi with drop tanks ))

Ceiling

12,750 m (41,830 ft)

Armament
3 × 20 mm MG 151/20s, one engine-mounted (250 rounds) and two wing-mounted (200 rpg) 2 × 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns in the upper engine cowling (300 rpg) Provision for 2 × 160 kg (353 lb) bombs on underwing racks ^{[N 2]}

Crew

1

Usage

Role(s)

Fighter

Year
introduced

1943

Affiliation

Italy

[Source]

The Fiat G.55 Centauro (Italian: "Centaur") was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica and the A.N.R. (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana) in 1943–1945, designed and built in Turin by Fiat. The Fiat G.55 was arguably the best type produced in Italy during World War II,^[1] (a subjective claim also frequently made for the Macchi C.205 Veltro as well as for the Reggiane Re.2005 "Sagittario") but it did not enter production until 1943,^[2] when, after comparative tests against the Messerschmitt Bf 109G and the Focke-Wulf 190, the Luftwaffe itself regarded the Fiat G.55 as "the best Axis fighter".^[3]

During its short operational service, mostly under the Repubblica Sociale Italiana insignia, after the 8 September 1943 armistice, this powerful, robust and fast aircraft proved itself to be an excellent interceptor at high altitude. In 1944, over Northern Italy, the Centauro clashed with British Supermarine Spitfire, P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightning, proving to be no easy adversary.^[4] Italian fighter pilots liked their Centauro but by the time the war ended, fewer than 300 had been built.^[1] By comparison, the Germans produced 35,000 Bf 109s.

Notes[]

↑ Includes 75 built postwar
↑ Egyptian and Syrian aircraft used Machine guns in the wings instead of cannon

Sources[]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Ethell, Jeffrey L. Aircraft of World War II. Glasgow: HarperCollins/Jane’s, 1995. ISBN 0-00-470849-0, p. 65.
↑ Jackson, Robert. Aircraft of World War II – Development – Weaponry – Specifications. Enderby, Silverdale Books. 2003. ISBN 1-85605-751-8 pp. 76–77
↑ Arena, Nino. Fiat G55 Centauro – Fiat G59(in Italian). Modena, Italy: Mucchi Editore, 1994. p. 23.
↑ Angelucci, Enzo and Paolo Matricardi. World Aircraft: World War II, Volume I (Sampson Low Guides). Maidenhead, UK: Sampson Low, 1978. ISBN 0-562-00096-8. p. 234.

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[1] Includes 75 built postwar

[2] Egyptian and Syrian aircraft used Machine guns in the wings instead of cannon

[Ethell_p._65-3] 1.0 ^1.1 Ethell, Jeffrey L. Aircraft of World War II. Glasgow: HarperCollins/Jane’s, 1995. ISBN 0-00-470849-0, p. 65.

[Jackson_2003,_pp._76-77-4] Jackson, Robert. Aircraft of World War II – Development – Weaponry – Specifications. Enderby, Silverdale Books. 2003. ISBN 1-85605-751-8 pp. 76–77

[Arena_p._23.-5] Arena, Nino. Fiat G55 Centauro – Fiat G59(in Italian). Modena, Italy: Mucchi Editore, 1994. p. 23.

[Angelucci_and_Matricardi_1978,_p._234-6] Angelucci, Enzo and Paolo Matricardi. World Aircraft: World War II, Volume I (Sampson Low Guides). Maidenhead, UK: Sampson Low, 1978. ISBN 0-562-00096-8. p. 234.

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