Fiat G.50

The Fiat G.50 was an Italian WWII airplane.

It was the first Italian low-wing monoplane fighter with enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear to go into production (without the enclosed cockpit though, as Italian pilots felt uncomfortable with it).

Extremely maneuverable, it was one of the best fighters during the Spanish Civil War, yet by the time the WWII started it was considered underpowered and underarmed. About 780 were built.

The Italian war industry at the time was unable to build a suitable engine so they turned to the German Daimler-Benz DB601Aa engine that Alfa Romeo started building under license, starting a new era for the Fiat fighter as well as for the other Italian fighter models.

German liquid cooled engines proved the Italian fighters battle worthy, yet Alfa Romeo production was never large enough to permit any sufficient number of fighters to serve the Italian war effort.

Specification

General characteristics

• Type: monoplane fighter
• Crew: 1
• Engines: 1 radial 625kW Fiat A.74 RC38
• Wing Span: 10.96m
• Length: 7.79m
• Height: 2.96m
• Wing Area: 18.15m2
• Empty Weight: 1975kg
• Max.Weight: 2415kg
• Armament: 2 × 12.7mm machine guns

Performance

• Speed: 472km/h
• Service Ceiling: 9835m
• Range: 670km