Modern-Aviation

abriell's G.55 design was a combination of smooth lines and aerodynamic refinement. Selection of the German Daimler-Benz inline only benefitted the type and immediately made her the best fighter mount Italy could field. Prior to the war, Italian pilots generally preferred their fighters with open-air cockpits for the excellent visibility and freedom but high-altitude and high-speed flight necessitated an enclosed canopy - something these "romantic" Italian airmen would have to accept moving forward. Her design was such that care was given to support speedy production methods meant to get as many G.55s into Italian fighter groups as quickly as possible. Three prototypes were eventually constructed with the first of these (both the first and second were unarmed) becoming airborne on April 30th, 1942. The third prototype served as the invaluable gun test platform. Even while the prototypes were under evaluation in operational settings, the Italian government had already contracted the type for full-scale production.

he Fiat G.55 Centauro (Italian: "Centaur") was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica and the A.N.R. (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana) in 1943-1945. It was designed and built in Turin by Fiat. The Fiat G.55 was probably the best type produced in Italy during World War II, (a subjective claim also frequently made for the Macchi C.205 Veltro) but it did not enter production until 1943.

In practice, the G.55 proved a strong airframe, able to withstand a good deal of punishment and get her airmen back home. Visibility was noted as excellent thanks to the raised cockpit and spacious canopy while her engine made her a stellar performer when pitted against her Allied contemporaries. Handling was reportedly excellent as well and made for a superior dogfighting platform to the extent that Italian pilots (and Luftwaffe pilots for that matter) greatly respected the G.55. Armament was equally impressive and formed from a collection of powerful cannons and machine guns.

The G.55 saw first combat in March of 1943 and were used in the defense of Rome itself with the 353 Squadriglia. In September of 1943, Italy officially capitulated to the advancing Allies with only 16 examples of the pre-production G.55/0's and 15 examples of the production-level G.55/1's having been completed. Despite Italy's surrender, factories still under Fascist control continued production that ultimately resulted in 274 total Centauros - many of these now being delivered to relocated Italian forces in the north. The National Republican Air Force (ANR) was set up in Fascist-held Northern Italy under Italian dictator Benito Mussolini after 1943 to continue Italy's war against the Allies. Despite their presence along this front, the G.55s in service suffered heavily from the regular Allied strikes - many G.55s being lost while on the ground. The G.55s still under fascist control were fielded by the Squadriglia "Montefusco" out of Venezia Reale. Three further G.55s squadriglias formed the 2 Gruppo Caccia Terrestre. The German Luftwaffe thought highly enough of the G.55 to field it within its own ranks from 1944 to 1945. In capable German hands, the G.55 was more than a match for even the best of the Allied fighters.

During its short operational service, mostly under the Repubblica Sociale Italiana insignia, after the 8 September 1943 armistice, this powerful, robust and fast aircraft proved itself to be an excellent interceptor at high altitude. In 1944, over Northern Italy, the Centauro clashed with British Supermarine Spitfire, P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightning, proving to be no easy adversary. Italian fighter pilots liked their Centauro but by the time the war ended, fewer than 300 had been built. (This is in comparison with, for example, the 34,000 Bf 109s built by the Germans.)

By 1939, all the main Italian aircraft factories had begun designing a new series of fighter, with inline engines as opposed to the radial engines that powered the Italian fighters in early World War II. This process brought to the first generation of Italian fighters equipped with the Italian-built copy of the Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine, the so-called Serie 1/2, whose most prominent representative was the Macchi C.202 Folgore. However, the process didn't stop, and already in 1941, designers shifted their attention on the new Daimler-Benz DB 605. Fiat designer Giuseppe Gabrielli, while experimenting a new version of his Fiat G.50 fighter, equipped with the DB 601, started a new design that was to be powered by the Daimler-Benz DB 605.

The first G.55 prototype flew on 30 April 1942,[5] piloted by commander Valentino Cus, immediately showing its good performance and flight characteristics. It was armed with one 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, installed in the hub with 200 rounds, and four 12.7 mm (.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, two in the upper engine cowling and two in the lower part, with 300 rpg, in "Sottoserie O" airframes. This layout soon proved to be troublesome, both for rearming and for the servicing of the lower cowling mounted machine guns: for this reason, the two lower machine guns were removed, and replaced with a 20 mm MG 151/20 in each wing, in the later production series, the Serie 1.

The prototype flew to Guidonia, where it was put into trials against the other fighters of the so-called Serie 5 Macchi C.205V Veltro and the formidable Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario, all of them built around the powerful Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. The trials showed that the Centauro was the 2nd best performer overall, and it won the tender set by the Regia Aeronautica. The C.205V was good at low and medium altitudes, fast and with good diving characteristics but its performance dropped considerably over 8,000 m (26,250 ft), particularly in handling. The Re.2005 was the fastest at high altitudes and best in dogfights, but suffered from a vibration which turned out to be a balance problem, this was corrected, but was still the most time consuming and technically advanced of the three to produce. The G.55 was chosen for mass production. The G.55 prototype reached 620 km/h (390 mph) full loaded without WEP (war emergency power), at 7,000 m (22,970 ft), a little less than expected, but had a strong airframe and was the best one regarding handling and stability at every altitude. The only negative assessment noted by G.55 pilots was the pronounced left-hand yawing at takeoff. This was partially remedied by a slight offset positioning of the vertical stabilizer to counteract engine torque.
A Fiat G.55 with ANR livery exhibited at the Museo storico dell'Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, on Bracciano lake, in Lazio region.

While the war still raging on in early 1944, Fiat fitted a pair of G.55 prototypes with Daimler-Benz DB 603A series engines under the new designation of "G.56". The airframe was only slightly revised and the fuselage machine guns were dropped to save weight and allow for more internal space. Despite improved performance for this new aircraft, it was not put into quantitative production due mainly to shortages involving the availability of the DB 603 series engines at this point in the war. One of the two G.56s survived the war and was used as an evaluation test bed by Fiat.

In post-war Europe, the G.55 continued a limited existence. Fiat reclaimed about 30 unfinished G.55s and delivered them to the rebuilding Regia Aeronautica as well as the Argentine Air Force. Argentina eventually passed on some of their used G.55As to Egypt in 1948. These were ultimately used against the Israelis in the 1948 "War of Independence", seeing combat against Israeli Air Force Avia 199 fighters.

The final versions were the G.59-4A single-seater and G.59-4B two-seater, which were fitted with bubble canopies for improved visibility. 20 G.59-4As and ten G.59-4Bs were purchased by Italy.