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| The Fiat G.55 Centauro (centaur) was
an all-metal low-wing monoplane single-
seat fighter designed by Giuseppe
Gabrielli, and represented a great improvement
by comparison with the
previous Fiat monoplane fighter to go
into production, the G.50. Great care
was taken to blend an aerodynamically
advanced airframe with a structure
which was robust and would lend itself
to mass production. Its configuration
included fully-retractable landing
gear and a raised cockpit providing an
excellent view. Fast and maneouvrable,
the type proved popular with its
pilots.
The first of three prototypes was
flown on 30 April 1942; the third (MM
493) was the only one to carry armament,
comprising one enginemounted
cannon and four fuselagemounted
machine-guns. It was evaluated
under operational conditions
from March 1943, but by then the Italian
air ministry had already decided
on mass production of the G.55.
However, only 16 G.55/0 preproduction
and 15 G.55/1 initial production
aircraft had been delivered to the
Regia Aeronautica by September
1943, production thereafter being for
the Fascist air arm flying alongside the
Luftwaffe. Before wartime production
ended 274 more were completed and
a further 37 were abandoned at an advanced
construction stage.
Before the armistice of September
1943, G.55s had participated in the defence
of Rome with the 353a Squadriglia
of the Regia Aeronautica. The postarmistice
operations were rnamly with
the Fascist air arm's Squadriglia 'Montefusco',
based at Venezia Reale, then
with the three squadriglie which
formed the 2° Gruppo Caccia Terrestre,
but losses were heavy, as a result
mainly of Allied attacks on the airfields.
While the war was still in progress, Fiat
flew two prototypes of the G.56, which
was developed from the G.55 to accept
the more powerful Daimler-Benz DB
603A engine. Built during the spring of
1944, they incorporated minor structural
changes and had the fuselagemounted
machine-guns deleted. The
first prototype survived the war and
was used subsequently by Fiat as a
test-bed
| MODEL | G.55/1 |
| CREW | 1 |
| ENGINE | 1 x FIAT RA 1050 RC 58 "Tifone", 1100kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 3718 kg | 8197 lb |
| Loaded weight | 2630 kg | 5798 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 11.85 m | 39 ft 11 in |
| Length | 9.37 m | 31 ft 9 in |
| Height | 3.13 m | 10 ft 3 in |
| Wing area | 21.11 m2 | 227.23 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 630 km/h | 391 mph |
| Ceiling | 12700 m | 41650 ft |
| Range | 1200 km | 746 miles |
| ARMAMENT | 3 x 20mm cannons, 2 x 12.7mm machine-guns, 2 x 160kg bombs |
 | A three-view drawing (686 x 976) |
| Ron, e-mail, 24.03.2011 08:09 In mock dogfights with Fw 190A-5 and Bf 109G-4 fighters, the G55 was in competition with the MC 205V and Re 2005 to see about standardizing Axis fighters. The Sagittario was the best dogfighter close-in and fastest at altitude but it was too technically complicated (advanced) to be mass produced fast enough. Also, it was not as sturdy as the others so unpaved runways could be bad news. Otherwise it was excellent.
The Veltro was viewed as average and was not in the hunt at high altitude. It's handling was good enough until it was in a very tight turn where it could lose control. It lacked the hub cannon of the others too.
The robust Centauro still took 3 times as many (Italian) man hours to build as the Bf 109 but plans were made to bring it down under only twice the production time. It had the best overall handling and could go 417 mph with MW-50. It was judged as excellent in the fly-off.
It was to be the new standard fighter of the ANR and a candidate for the heavier DB-603 (Fiat G56) that ended up in the Ta-152 (the Bf 109 airframe was too small). The Fiat G55 /II sported 5 Mauser cannons for bomber interception in 1944! Too bad it didn't make it onto the vast Messerschmitt production lines. Heck, why not the Ki 61 lines (at least the Fiat engine anyway). At least the Axis were looking to standardize. reply | | John, e-mail, 10.03.2011 07:00 Interesting subject for sure. Does anyone know of any good 5-views of this aircraft? Or perhaps some factory model plans such as those used in wind tunnel tests? reply | | Ron, e-mail, 27.02.2011 04:56 Ben,
Good comment.
If the German industry had the G.55 in place of the Bf 109G to mass produce, the Allies would have to change their tune about the Italians.
Come to think of it, the Japanese as well.
At least the Fiat Tifone version of the DB-605 would have been an improvement in place of the Kawasaki version in the Ki 61-II. reply | | Ben Beekman, e-mail, 11.02.2011 03:45 The Italian military was subjected to much derision following the 1942 collapse in North Africa. Their will to fight and their technical competence was laughed at as Allied propagandists created the image of an unwilling Italy dragged along into the fighting by the German military machine. However, reading about the solid design and performance features of Italian aircraft such as the Fiat, Reggiane, and Macchi fighters and the Savoia and Piaggio bombers, one can only admire the work of the men who created and fought with these very capable aircraft. It was the lack of an aircraft industry able to turn out these aircraft in the numbers necessary to win against the lavishly-supplied Allies that doomed the Axis fortunes and nothing else. reply | |
| | Ronald, e-mail, 18.09.2009 07:55 While the other series 5 rivals handled best low for the Veltro and high for the Sagittario, the Centauro handled best at all altitudes. While the refined Re 2005 lacked structural strength, with only two Mauser 20 mm cannon in the wings and two Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm cowl MGs, the MC 205 lacked the extra (motor) hub cannon of the others, the G 55 had both, strength and 5 guns. The others did have a slight level maximum speed advantage, but all-around the Fiat was chosen. Gone was the anemic firepower and performance of the G 50 and the Fiat biplanes. Finally! reply | | Steve, e-mail, 11.09.2009 19:50 The Italians seemed to do much better with the Daimler-Benz engines than the Germans themselves did. reply | | Antonio, e-mail, 07.05.2009 00:20 After WWII a new version of this fighter was produced:G59 was a two-seater plane used as trainer and ground attack by Italy,Argentina and Iraq.It was essentially the G55 with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. reply | | lucas, e-mail, 24.02.2009 18:29 everything exact on text,except the airport name: it was VENARIA REALE. not Venice. best regards reply | | Ronald, e-mail, 05.09.2008 05:05 Chosen as the standard series 5 fighter for the Italian fighter force, the robust Centauro could take a punch as well as dish it out. Feared by Allied pilots especially for it's high altitude maneuverability, it was prone to fall victim to it's Luftwaffe 'friends' for it's likeness to the Allied P-51. Too bad for this promising new fighter but that's not all!
Many were also scuttled by torch on the ground by their Italian pilots in protest to their German superiors. So then virtually all flew the inferior Bf 109 together and 'friendly fire' was down. Some Italian pilots were training with the Me 262 jet in the end. reply | | 3VI, e-mail, 10.06.2007 10:30 Maybe the best but not the finest italian fighter of the war. It survived the end of WWII entering service in various countries. reply |
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