Reggiane Re.2002 Ariete II

1942

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Reggiane Re.2002 Ariete II

About 50 Re.2002 Ariete (ram) fighter-bombers followed for service with the Regia Aeronautica, these being powered by the 876kW Piaggio P.XIX RC 45 radial engine mounted in a slightly lengthened and strengthened fuselage. The type first saw operational service in 1942, suffering heavy losses while contesting the Allied landings on Sicily.

Reggiane Re.2002 Ariete II

Comments
Leo, e-mail, 24.06.2012 15:24

I'm here, as promised. There are several books naming the Re.2002 simply "Ram". As Regia Aeronautica did not officially name "its" aircraft, it's difficult to determine which is the most reliable source.
And remember that not only Reggiane Re.2000 (and possibly Re.2001) were named "Hawk": there was also Fiat CR.42.
Ops... =]

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Leo, e-mail, 16.06.2012 00:36

The "family tree" of fighers from O.M.I. Reggiane starts from Re.2000 - Falco [Hawk] (radial engine).

Following you may find Re.2001 - Ariete I [Ram] (v engine) and Re.2002 - Ariete II (radial engine).
The latter entered in service with "Regia Aeronautica" as fighter-bomber.
Some sources report the Re.2001 as Falco II (as a development from Falco I).
Many internet pages report this second opinion (among them also en.wikipedia). On the other side I have (now on my table) books and aeronautical printed review naming the Re.2001 as Ariete I.
I'll try to find-out some more sources (I'm now working on articles on it.wikipedia) and let you know the results.
Bye!

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Brian Johnston, e-mail, 10.06.2012 18:13

Looking through this Reggiane strand there seems to be some confusion between the Falco I /II and Ariete I /II names being used for three different models i.e. Re 2000, 2001 and 2002. Can someone please clarify?

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Angela, e-mail, 18.06.2011 05:22

Some machines were captured 'factory fresh' by the Germans after the 1943 Italian armistice, and were subsequently used against the French Resistance.

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Aero-Fox, 05.04.2008 04:31

The main problem with this fighter was its engine, which left it under-powered and slow (compared to most Allied aircraft of the day). The Luftwaffe showed interest in buying 300 airframes and installing BMW 801 radial engines to solve this defficiency. Some machines were captured 'factory fresh' by the Germans after the 1943 Italian armistice, and were subsequently used against the French Resistance.

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