Model of the monath August 2025
Transalpine...
The Fiat G.55 Centauro
From the original to the model
The more than 1,000 scale models, primarily of the international standards 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32, are an independent part of the collections of the Hanover-Laatzen Aviation Museum.
Such true-to-original miniatures enable viewers of museum technology history to gain an ‘overview’, not only of the individual exhibit (sometimes even as the only possibility of a real three-dimensional display if there is no surviving original), but also of the lines of development of aircraft construction through possible sequencing and juxtaposition. Sometimes they even close gaps in the presentation of the originals. The quality of their craftsmanship alone is a pleasure to behold.
Today, in our “Model of the Month” series, we present the Fiat G.55 of 1942. Named ‘Centauro’ (centaur), this design was not only the best fighter aircraft in Italy during the Second World War, but at the time of its introduction in 1943 it was probably the most powerful piston-engined fighter of the Tripartite Pact. The Aviation Museum displays various miniatures of the type in the showcases in Hall 2.
The models
The success story of Italeri from Bologna in northern Italy began with the 1/72 scale G.55 kit. In 1968, this first kit met international standards in terms of quality and detailing, and subsequent models of various themes and technical areas quickly established the company among the top international suppliers.
Several decorations of the G.55 were included, in addition to the three Italian nations that used the type between 1943 and 1953, also a model with German markings - probably the test model of the Reich Aviation Ministry RLM in Berlin.
The version ‘S’, a torpedo carrier for anti-ship warfare, was produced in small numbers and was launched as a 1/72 model in the early 1970s by the Italian manufacturer Supermodel.
The original
The Italian fighter aircrafts of the 1930s were consistently of excellent design, elegant and agile, but with increasingly below-average engine power and armament. The standard engine was the tried and tested Fiat A.74 RC 38 twin radial engine, limited to approx. 840 hp, while the armament did not exceed two 12.7 mm machine guns. The good operational record in the Spanish Civil War due to various non-primarily technical factors gave the Italian armed forces and aircraft manufacturers a sense of security, which was shaken at the beginning of the Second World War: The combat performance of Italian fighter aircraft was now clearly inferior to that of the best British, German, even French and Soviet types.
There was no time for completely new developments, the solution came across the Alps - with the supply of more powerful engines and on-board weapons by the German allies and subsequent licence construction by the Italian industry, new designs emerged in rapid succession after 1940, primarily from aerodynamically proven types such as the Macchi MC.200, the Fiat G.50 and the Caproni-Reggiane RE.2000, in which Daimler-Benz DB 601, 603 and 605-12 cylinder in-line engines replaced the radial engines and the Mauser 2cm-MK 151/20 was installed. And these ‘marriages’ produced excellent fighter aeroplanes.
Of the resulting types Macchi MC.202 and MC.205, Fiat G.55 and Caproni-Reggiane RE.2001 the latter showed the highest performance, but was the most complex and expensive to produce; the G.55 ‘Centauro’, designed by Guiseppe Gabrielli at Fiat Aviazione in Turin on the basis of the G.50bis, proved to be the best of the four aircraft in an extensive series of tests - also before a technical commission from Germany - and completed its maiden flight on 30 April 1942.
The only criticism levelled at the 630 km/h fast, yet agile and at the same time robust and ‘good-natured’ aircraft with its appealingly clear lines and powerful armament of three 20 mm MK and two 12.7 mm MG, with power reserves at high altitudes and with a wide track landing gear retracting towards the fuselage, which promoted good handling during take-off and landing, was the lack of a full visibility canopy.
Nevertheless, the technical commission of the RLM recommended that the type be built under licence in Germany as ‘currently the most mature piston engine fighter’ of the Tripartite pact in the spring of 1943. These considerations were rendered obsolete by Italy's separate peace with the Allies, which also meant that only a limited number of all four outstanding new Italian designs were built and used. In the case of the Fiat G.55, this was just 274 units during the war, supplemented by 75 post-war production units.
Most of the aircraft produced up to the end of the war went to the RSI armed forces in northern Italy, which, in contrast to the pro-allied system in the south, continued to fight on the side of the German Reich. After the war, the air force of the new Italian Republic used the Centauro until the 1950s, with exports going to Argentina and the Arab world.
Data sheet of the Fiat G.55 Centauro
Length 9.37 m, wingspan 11.85 m, take-off weight 3,718 kg, range 1,200 km, engine 1 x Fiat RA 1050 RC 58 (Daimler Benz DB 605A) with 1,475 hp, top speed 630 km/h, crew 1, armament 3 x 20 mm MK, 2 x 12.7 mm MG, built from 1942: 349 units.
Curious?
Have we been able to arouse your curiosity about our collections with over 40 originals and faithful replicas of gliders, light aircraft, commercial and military aircraft, just as many engines and hundreds of items of equipment as well as our model collection? Then we look forward to your visit to Ulmer Straße at the Hanover exhibition centre!
sb
You can contact the author of the Model of the Month series here: Autor-MdM