Macchi MC.202

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Macchi MC.202
Aeronautica Macchi C. 202 Folgore.jpg
Type: Fighter plane
Design country:

Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Italy

Manufacturer:

Macchi

First flight:

August 10, 1940

Commissioning:

1941

Production time:

1940 to 1944

Number of pieces:

circa 1150

The Macchi MC.202 Folgore was an Italian single-seater fighter developed during World War II .

history

Since the MC.200 Saetta no longer corresponded to the state of the art in terms of performance due to the weak radial engine , its cell was redesigned to accommodate the V-engine Daimler-Benz DB 601. With this modern 12-cylinder engine, built under license by Alfa Romeo , the new machine - the MC.202 "Folgore" (clap of thunder) was called - achieved significantly better flight performance. The top speed was increased to 595 km / h and the summit to 11,000 m; However, bottlenecks in engine delivery delayed production and forced the continued production of obsolete types. Italy caught up with the development of fighter aircraft in Europe in 1940 with the aircraft, but Macchi stuck to the weak armament of the MC.200, so that the "Folgore" had the lowest firepower compared to all modern fighter aircraft in Europe. Nevertheless, the MC.202 proved itself in the aerial battles over Africa and the Mediterranean.

The prototype first flew on August 10, 1940. Around 1150 MC.202s were built and used from 1941 onwards. This pattern was later developed into the better motorized and armed Macchi MC.205 "Veltro" ( Italian for hunting or greyhound ).

Military use

First prototype of the Folgore
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Italy
Italy social republicItalian social republic Italian social republic
German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) German Empire
Croatia 1941Independent state of Croatia Independent state of Croatia
  • Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia

Technical specifications

3-sided view
  • Crew: 1
  • Span: 10.58 m
  • Length: 8.85 m
  • Height: 3.04 m
  • Wing area: 16.80 m²
  • Empty weight: 2350 kg
  • Takeoff weight: maximum 3010 kg
  • Engine
    • initially a 12-cylinder V-engine Daimler-Benz DB 601 Aa
    • After the delivery stop by Daimler-Benz, the engine was built under license with the designation Alfa Romeo RA.1000 RC 41-I Monsone
  • Type 12-cylinder V-engine with hanging cylinders, fuel injection and mechanical charger
  • Displacement 33.9 l
  • Empty weight: 590 kg
  • Maximum output 876 kW (1175 PS) in 0 m at 2500 rpm for 1 min
  • Takeoff power 779 kW (1045 PS) in 0 m at 2400 rpm for 5 min
  • Continuous output 656 kW (880 PS) in 4.5 km at 2400 rpm
  • static full pressure altitude 4.1 km
  • Top speed: approx. 595 km / h at 5600 m full pressure altitude
  • Summit height: 11,500 m
  • Range: maximum approx. 765 km
  • Armament:
    • two 12.7 mm MG Breda SAFAT above the engine, each with 370 rounds, firing synchronized by the propeller circle
    • Series VI and higher additionally two 7.7 mm MG Breda SAFAT in the wings with 500 rounds each, unsynchronized, firing outside the propeller circle
    • from Series VII one optional bomb carrier under each wing, for one bomb up to 160 kg, MC202 CB (= Caccia Bombardiere)

An MC202, serial number MM91974, is said to have been equipped with MG 151/20 instead of the two 7.7 mm MG Breda-SAFATs in the areas for test purposes. This armament became standard in the later series of the successor model MC205 V.

Received aircraft

An airplane is on display in the Italian Aviation Museum Vigna di Valle ; another is in the Smithsonion National Air and Space Museum .

See also

literature

  • Olaf Groehler : History of the air war 1910 to 1980. Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1981, p. 345

Web links

Commons : Macchi MC.202  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Aeronautica Militare: ITALIAN AIR FORCE MUSEUM. In: MACCHI MC.202. Ministero della Difesa, accessed June 16, 2009 (Italian).
  2. ^ Smithsonion National Air and Space Museum. In: MACCHI MC.202. Retrieved June 4, 2013 .