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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 0034.PDF
FLIGHT Thirtieth of the New Recognition Series AIRCRAFT TYPES AND MACCHI C202 IN a way, the Macchi C202 may be regarded as theItalian counterpart of our Supermarine Spitfire, thoughits performance is very much inferior to that of Britain's famous fighter. It is, in fact, only credited witha top speed of 335 m.p.h. at i8,oooft., which is no better than that of the early Hawker Hurricanes in the Battle ofFrance. Nevertheless, it is the best the Regia Aeronautica can do in the way of single-seater fighters, and it resemblesthe Spitfire in having been developed from the earlier Macchi Castoldi racing aircraft, just as Mitchell's master-piece was inspired by his Schneider Trophy seaplanes. The C 202 is structurally similar to its immediate pre-decessor, the C200, except that it has a Mercedes-Benz DB 601N engine instead of a Fiat air-cooled radial. Theincrease in horse-power from 850 h.p. to 1,200 h.p., and the improved streamlining of the fuselage by the use of atwelve-cylinder inverted "V" in-line engine, might have been expected to have brought about a really substantialincrease in top speed, but, in point of fact, the C 202 is only just over 20 m.p.h. faster than the lower-poweredMacchi with its "blunt-entry" nose. Aft of the nose, the fuselage, wings and tail-unit are the same as those of the C 200, but the cockpit cover is slightlydifferent, being no longer transparent all round. This, plus the longer nose, which results in the pilot sitting amid-ships, can hardly have improved visibility either in the air or on the ground. The Macchi C202 has been encoun-tered by the R.A.F. and Allied Air Forces in considerable numbers over Egypt, Libya, Malta and the Mediterraneanarea generally, but it has proved no more successful in combat with our fighters than did its slightly slower pre-decessor. That extra 20 m.p.h. or so has, however, just given it enough speed to keep up with our medium andlight bombers. Its cruising speed is a level 300 m.p.h. and its service ceiling 34,500ft. Its armament in no way compares with that of themodern British fighter, for it comprises either two syn- chronised 12.7 mm. machine guns mounted over the engineand firing through the airscrew disc, or, alternatively, four o.30oin. synchronised machine guns. All-metal, stressed-skin construction is employed, and, as on the C200, the flaps and ailerons, which comprise the entire trailing-edge,are interconnected so that when the flaps are lowered, the ailerons also are dropped.- Top speed 335 m.p.h. DEEP OVAL DIHEDRAL FROM ROOTS UNIFORM TAPER SMALL SYMMETRICALLY ROUNDED DIMENSIONS Span Length Height Wing Area OF C202 .. 35ft. .. 29ft. 6in. .. lift. 6in. .. 180 sej. ft.
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