1930s Italian fighter aircraft
The Macchi C.200 Saetta (Italian: "Lightning"), or MC.200, is a fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy. Various versions were flown by the "Regia Aeronautica" (Italian Air Force) who used the type throughout the Second World War.
The C.200 was designed by Mario Castoldi, Macchi's lead designer, to serve as a modern monoplane fighter aircraft, furnished with retractable landing gear and powered by a radial engine. The C.200 possessed excellent maneuverability, and its general flying characteristics left little to be desired. Its stability in a high-speed dive was exceptional, but it was underpowered and underarmed in comparison to its contemporaries. Early on, there were a number of crashes caused by stability problems, nearly resulting in the grounding of the type; these problems were ultimately addressed via aerodynamic modifications to the wing.
From the time Italy entered the Second World War on 10 June 1940, until the signing of the armistice of 8 September 1943, the C. 200 flew more operational sorties than any other Italian aircraft. The "Saetta" saw operational service in Greece, North Africa, Yugoslavia, across the Mediterranean, and in the Soviet Union (where it obtained an excellent kill to loss ratio of 88 to 15). The plane's very strong all-metal construction and air-cooled engine made the aircraft ideal for conducting ground attack missions; several units flew it as a fighter-bomber. Over 1,000 aircraft had been constructed by the end of the war.
Development.
Origins.
In early 1935 Mario Castoldi, lead designer of Italian aircraft company Macchi, commenced work on a series of design studies for a modern monoplane fighter aircraft, which was to be furnished with retractable landing gear. Castoldi had previously designed several racing aircraft that had competed for the Schneider Trophy, including the Macchi M.39, which won the competition in 1926. He had also designed the M.C. 72. From an early stage, the concept aircraft that emerged from these studies became known as the "C.200".
In 1936, in the aftermath of Italy's campaigns in East Africa, an official program was initiated with the aim of completely re-equipping the "Regia Aeronautica" with a new interceptor aircraft of modern design. The 10 February 1936 specifications, formulated and published by the "Ministero dell'Aeronatica", called for an aircraft powered by a single radial engine, which was to be capable of a top speed of and a climb rate of 6,000 meters in 5 minutes. Additional requirements were soon specified: the aircraft was to be capable of being used as an interceptor with a flight endurance time of two hours and armed with a single (later increased to two) machine gun.
Prototypes.
In response to the prescribed demand for a modern fighter aircraft, Castoldi submitted a proposal for an aircraft based upon his 1935 design studies. On 24 December 1937, the first prototype (MM.336) C.200 conducted its maiden flight at Lonate Pozzolo, Varese, with Macchi chief test pilot Giuseppe Burei at the controls. Officials within the ministry and Macchi's design team fought over the retention of the characteristic hump used to enhance cockpit visibility; after a protracted argument, the feature was ultimately retained.
The first prototype was followed by the second prototype early the following year. During testing, the aircraft reportedly attained in a dive free of negative tendencies such as flutter and other aeroelastic issues; although it could achieve only in level flight due to a lack of engine power. Nevertheless, this capability was superior than the performance of the competing Fiat G.50 Freccia, Reggiane Re.2000, A.U.T. 18, IMAM Ro.51, and Caproni-Vizzola F.5; of these, the Re.2000 was seen as the most capable of the C.200's rivals, being more maneuverable and capable of greater performance at low altitude but lacking in structural strength.
The C.200 benefitted greatly from preparations that were being made for major expansion of the Italian Air Force, known as Programme R. In 1938, the C.200 was selected as the winner of the tender "Caccia I" (Fighter 1) of the "Regia Aeronautica". This choice came in spite of mixed results during flight testing at Guidonia airport; on 11 June 1938, Major Ugo Borgogno warned that when tight turns at beyond 90° were attempted, the aircraft became extremely difficult to control, including a tendency to turn upside down, mostly to the right and entering into a violent flat spin.
Production.
Shortly following the completion of the second prototype, an initial order for 99 production aircraft was placed with Macchi. The G.50, which during the same flight tests held at Guidonia airport had out-turned the Macchi, was also placed in limited production, because it had been determined that the former could be brought into service earlier. The decision, or indecision, involved in producing multiple overlapping types led to greater inefficiencies in both production and in operation. In June 1939, production of the C.200 formally commenced.
The most serious handicap was the low production rate of the type. According to some reports, in excess of 22,000 hours in production time was attributed to the use of antiquated construction technology. A lack of urgency shown by the authorities regarding standardisation was also viewed as having negatively affected mass production efforts, particularly in light of the lack of availability of key resources in Italy at the time. In order to improve the rate of output, the C.200 remained almost unchanged throughout its production life, save for adjustments to the cockpit in response to pilot feedback.
In addition to Macchi, the C.200 was also constructed by Italian aircraft companies Società Italiana Ernesto Breda and SAI Ambrosini under a subcontracting arrangement intended to produce 1,200 aircraft between 1939 and 1943. However, during 1940, the termination of all production of the type was considered in response to aerodynamic performance problems that had caused the loss of multiple aircraft; the type was retained after changes were made to the wing to rectify a tendency to go into an uncontrollable spin that could occur during turns.
In an attempt to improve performance, a C.201 prototype was created with a Fiat A.76 engine; work on this prototype was later abandoned in favour of the Daimler-Benz DB 601-powered C.202. At one point, it was intended that the "Saetta" was to have been replaced outright by the C.202 after only a single year in production. However, the C.200's service life was extended because Alfa Romeo proved to be incapable of producing enough of the RA.1000 (license-built DB 601) engines needed by the newer aircraft. This contributed to the decision to construct further C.200s that used C.202 components as an interim measure while waiting for the production rate of the latter's engine to be increased.
At the beginning of 1940, Denmark was set to place an order for 12 C.200s to replace its aging Hawker Nimrod fighters, but the deal fell through when Germany invaded Denmark. A total of 1,153 "Saettas" were eventually produced, but only 33 remained operational by the time armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces in September 1943.
Design.
The Macchi C.200 was a modern all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane, which was equipped with retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit. The fuselage was of semi-monocoque construction, with self-sealing fuel tanks under the pilot's seat, and in the centre section of the wing. The distinctive "hump" elevated the partially open cockpit to provide the pilot with an unusually wide field of view over the engine. The wing had an advanced system whereby the hydraulically actuated flaps were interconnected with the ailerons, so that when the flaps were lowered the ailerons drooped as well. As a result of its ultimate load factor of 15.1, it could reach speeds as fast as true airspeed during dives.
Power was provided by a Fiat A.74 radial engine, although Castoldi preferred inline engines, and had used them to power all of his previous designs. Under a "direttiva" (air ministry specification) of 1932, Italian industrial leaders had been instructed to concentrate solely on radial engines for fighters, due to their superior reliability. The A.74 was a re-design of the American Pratt &amp; Whitney R-1830 SC-4 Twin Wasp by engineers Tranquillo Zerbi and Antonio Fessia, and was the only Italian-built engine that could provide a level of reliability comparable to Allied designs. The licence-built A.74 engine could be problematic. In late spring 1941, 4o Stormo's Macchi C.200s, then based in Sicily, had all the A.74s produced by the Reggiane factory replaced because they were defective. The elite unit had to abort many missions against Malta due to engine problems. While some considered the Macchi C.200 to have been underpowered, the air-cooled radial engine provided some pilot protection during strafing missions. Consequently, the C.200 was often used as a "cacciabombardiere" (fighter-bomber).
The C.200 was typically armed with a pair of Breda-SAFAT machine guns; while these were often considered to be insufficient, the "Saetta" was able to compete with contemporary Allied fighters. According to aviation author Gianni Cattaneo, perhaps the greatest weakness of the C.200 was its light machine gun armament. Moreover, a radio was not fitted as standard.
Like other early Italian monoplanes, the C.200 suffered from a dangerous tendency to go into a spin. Early production C.200 aircraft showed autorotation problems similar to those found in the Fiat G.50 Freccia, IMAM Ro.51, and the Aeronautica Umbra Trojani AUT.18. At the beginning of 1940, a pair of deadly accidents occurred due to autorotation. Aircraft production and deliveries were halted while the "Regia Aeronautica" evaluated the potential for abandoning use of the type, as the skill involved in flying the C.200 was considered to be beyond that of the average pilot. The problem was a product of the profile of the wing. Castoldi soon tested a new profile, but a solution to the autorotation problem was found by Sergio Stefanutti, chief designer of SAI Ambrosini in Passignano sul Trasimeno, based on studies conducted by German aircraft engineer Willy Messerschmitt and the American National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). He redesigned the wing section with a variable, instead of constant, profile, which was achieved by covering parts of the wings with plywood.
The new wing entered production in 1939–1940 at SAI Ambrosini and became standard on the aircraft manufactured by Aermacchi and Breda, a licensed manufacturer. After the modified wing of the "Saetta" was introduced, the C.200 proved to be, for a time, the foremost Italian fighter. The first production C.200 series, did not have armour fitted to protect the pilots, as a weight-saving measure. Armour plating was incorporated when frontline units were going to replace the "Saettas" with the new Macchi C.202 "Folgore" (Thunderbolt) but in only a limited number of aircraft. After the armour was fitted, the aircraft could become difficult to fly. During aerobatic maneuvers, one could enter an extremely difficult-to-control flat spin, which would force the pilot to bail out. On 22 July 1941, Leonardo Ferrulli, one of the top-scoring "Regia Aeronautica" pilots, encountered the problem and was forced to bail out over Sicily.
Operational history.
Introduction.
In August 1939, about 30 C.200 Saettas were delivered to the 10th "Gruppo" of the 4th "Stormo", stationed in North Africa. However, pilots of this elite unit of the Regia Aeronautica opposed the adoption of the C.200, preferring the more manouvrable Fiat CR.42 instead. Accordingly, the Macchis were then transferred to the 6th "Gruppo" of the 1st "Stormo" in Sicily, who were enthusiastic supporters of the new fighter, and to the 152nd "Gruppo" of the 54th "Stormo" in Vergiate. Further units received the type during peacetime, including the 153rd "Gruppo" and the 369th "Squadriglia".
When Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940, 144 C.200s were operational, only half of which were serviceable. The re-equipment programme, under which the type would have been widely adopted, took longer than expected; and several squadrons were still in the process of being reequipped with the C.200 at the outbreak of war. Although the first 240 aircraft had been fitted with fully enclosed cockpits, the subsequent variants were provided with open cockpits at the request of the Italian pilots, who were familiar with the open cockpits that were commonplace amongst the old biplanes.
Service history.
The C.200 played no role in Italy's brief action during the Battle of France. The first C.200s to make their combat debut were those of the 6th "Gruppo Autonomo" C.T. ("caccia terrestre", or land-attack fighter) led by "Tenente Colonnello" (Wing Commander) Armando Francois. This squadron was based at the Sicilian airport of Catania Fontanarossa. A "Saetta" from this unit was the first C.200 to be lost