Fiat G.50 Freccia (Arrow)

Single-Seat Monoplane Fighter Aircraft [ 1938 ]

The Fiat G.50 Freccia was initially tested on the combat grounds that was the Spanish Civil War.

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The Fiat G.50 Freccia (meaning "Arrow") series provided the Italian Air Force with a then-modern monoplane fighter featuring a retractable undercarriage, all-metal construction and an enclosed cockpit. During this period in aviation history, these three design features alone were strong distinguishers between older generation 1920/1930-era fighters and the new breed appearing almost monthly across the globe. The G.50 fought on from 1938 through to the end of the war in 1945 - the latter years to a lesser extent - being utilized in a variety of roles and by a handful of very different operators. An impressive total of 791 G.50's were produced.

Design of the G.50 began as soon as 1935 to which the prototype was made available for first flight two years later on February 26th. Despite the aircraft's relatively modern design, it did not prove to be a substantial leap when compared to other previous modern Italian attempts. Despite this, the aircraft was well accepted for her speed and maneuverability and put into production. In its early form as with an enclosed cockpit, the G.50 received its baptism of fire as part of the Italian involvement in the Spanish Civil War. The aircraft - at least by 1938 standards - proved a worthy success and became a mainstay of the modern Italian Air Force, or Regia Aeronautica. Pilot reaction to the aircraft was generally good, though the Italian flyboys were not as fond of her greenhouse framed canopy. As such, the follow-up production models were actually built with an open-air cockpit instead - effectively advancing Italian aviation by a two steps forward, one step back philosophy.

Design-wise, the G.50 was a standard low-wing monoplane with rounded edges, a smooth yet stout-looking fuselage and a conventional empennage. The radial engine was housed in a characteristically Fiat cowl, sporting a three-bladed propeller and conical spinner. Wings were positioned just below and ahead of the cockpit position. The canopy featured a framed forward section and a "razorback" style rear section, integrating into the tail section. The main gear systems of the undercarriage were fully retractable while the tail wheel was not.

The G.50 was pressed into further combat in the coming years, playing a limited role in the Battle of Britain though it saw considerably more action in the skies over North Africa. Finland received at least 35 of the aircraft via export and used them to good effect in the Soviet invasion of the country from 1939 through 1944. By 1944, however, the G.50 had far surpassed its pinnacle and was becoming wholly inadequate against the later Allied and Soviet fighters. Part shortages and the fall of Italy all contributed to the aircraft's fall from any type of grace it had achieved just years earlier.

Compared with her contemporaries, the G.50 lacked firepower to a degree, being armed with two synchronized 12.7mm heavy caliber machine guns provided for by Breda-SAFAT. Beyond this arrangement, the G.50 carried no other armament. Power for the Freccia came in the form of the single Fiat A.74 RC38 series radial engine, delivering upwards of 838 horsepower. Performance specifications were adequate, sporting a top speed of 301 miles per hour, a range of 418 miles and a service ceiling of 32,258 feet. A rate-of-climb of 44.9 feet per second was also reported.

A handful of variants existed beginning with the base G.50 production model. The G.50 bis followed with improved range and was produced to the tune of 421 examples. The G.50ter was a single example model featuring the Fiat A.76 engine of 1,000 horsepower. Similarly, the G.50V existed in a single form, this one being fitted with a German Daimler-Benz DB 601 series engine. A prototype two-seat fighter-bomber was produced as the G.50bis A/N. The G.50B would have been the designation afforded to a two-seat trainer model of the base G.50. Experimentation with the Daimler-Benz DB 601-powered G.50 led to the development of the off-shoot G.55 fighter series fitted with DB 605 engines.

Operators of the aircraft included Germany and Italy along with Croatia, Finland, Spain and Yugoslavia. The G.50 was the design brainchild of Italian engineer Giuseppe Gabrielli.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Fiat - Italy
Manufacturer(s)

Croatia; Finland; Nazi Germany; Kingdom of Italy; Spain; Yugoslavia
Operators

1938
Service Year

Kingdom of Italy
National Origin

Retired
Project Status

1
Crew

791
Units

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

SYNCHRONIZED / INTERRUPTOR GEAR
Automatic weapons are synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades via special mechanical gear arrangement.

RUGGED AIRFRAME
Inherent ability of airframe to take considerable damage.

BAILOUT PROCESS
Manual process of allowing its pilot and / or crew to exit in the event of an airborne emergency.

RETRACTABLE UNDERCARRIAGE
Features retracting / retractable undercarriage to preserve aerodynamic efficiency.

25.6 ft
(7.79 meters)
Length

36.0 ft
(10.96 meters)
Width/Span

9.7 ft
(2.96 meters)
Height

4,354 lb
(1,975 kilograms)
Empty Weight

5,324 lb
(2,415 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight

+970 lb
(+440 kg)
Weight Difference

1 x Fiat A.74 RC38 14-cylinder, air-cooled radial piston engine developing 838 horsepower driving a three-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
Propulsion

293 mph
(472 kph | 255 knots)
Max Speed

32,267 ft
(9,835 m | 6 miles)
Ceiling

416 miles
(670 km | 362 nm)
Range

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

STANDARD:
2 x 12.7mm synchronized Breda-SAFAT machine guns

0
Hardpoints

G.50 - Initial Production Model Designation.

G.50bis - "Improved" G.50 model with increased operational range; 421 examples produced.

G.50ter - Single Production Example fitted with Fiat A.76 series engine of 1,000 horsepower.

G.50V - Single Prduction Model Example fitted with Daimler-Benz DB 601 series engine.

G.50bis A/N - Single Example Prototype Model of two-seat bomber variant.

G.50B - Two-Seat Conversion Trainer

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