| C.200 Saetta | |
|---|---|
 The National Museum of the United States Air Force's preserved C.200 in the markings of 372o Squadriglia, Regia Aeronautica. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Aeronautica Macchi |
| Designer | |
| Primary user | Regia Aeronautica |
| Number built | 1,151 + 2 Prototypes[1][2] |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1939 |
| First flight | 24 December 1937 |
| Retired | 1947 |
| Developed into | Macchi C.202 |
The Macchi C.200 Saetta (Italian: "Lightning"), or MC.200, is a fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy. Various versions were flown by the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) who used the type throughout the Second World War.
The C.200 was designed by Mario Castoldi, Macchi's lead designer, to serve as a modern monoplane fighter aircraft, furnished with retractable landing gear and powered by a radial engine. The C.200 possessed excellent maneuverability, and its general flying characteristics left little to be desired.[3] Its stability in a high-speed dive was exceptional,[4] but it was underpowered and underarmed in comparison to its contemporaries.[5] Early on, there were a number of crashes caused by stability problems, nearly resulting in the grounding of the type; these problems were ultimately addressed via aerodynamic modifications to the wing.
From the time Italy entered the Second World War on 10 June 1940, until the signing of the armistice of 8 September 1943, the C. 200 flew more operational sorties than any other Italian aircraft. The Saetta saw operational service in Greece, North Africa, Yugoslavia, across the Mediterranean, and in the Soviet Union (where it obtained an excellent kill to loss ratio of 88 to 15).[6][7] The plane's very strong all-metal construction and air-cooled engine made the aircraft ideal for conducting ground attack missions; several units flew it as a fighter-bomber. Over 1,000 aircraft had been constructed by the end of the war.[8]
- ^ "Aer. Macchi C.200 Saetta, Aerei militari, Schede tecniche aerei militari italiani e storia degli aviatori". www.alieuomini.it (in Italian). Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ Cattaneo 1966, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Munson 1960, p. 34.
- ^ Spick 1997, p. 116.
- ^ Ethell 1995, p. 68.
- ^ De Marchi and Tonizzo 1994, p. 10.
- ^ Ethell 1995, p. 70.
- ^ Ethell 1995, p. 69.