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Aircraft · Italy · 1941-1943

Macchi C.202 Folgore

fighter

Italy's best wartime fighter married a German Daimler-Benz-derived engine to an agile Macchi airframe, finally giving the Regia Aeronautica a fighter competitive with the Hurricane and early Spitfire over Malta and the desert. Its light armament of two machine guns remained a persistent weakness.

Wikipedia

crew1
armament2x 12.7mm machine guns (some with added 7.7mm wing guns)
speed370 mph
producedapprox. 1,500

Mediterranean and North Africa

An early Macchi C.202 (note lack of radio mast) of 81ª Squadriglia, 6° Gruppo, 1° Stormo CT; this photo appears to have been taken in Libya.
An early Macchi C.202 (note lack of radio mast) of 81ª Squadriglia, 6° Gruppo, 1° Stormo CT; this photo appears to have been taken in Libya.Regia Aeronautica (Italy) 1942? · PD-Italy · source
Macchi C.202 Folgore
Büschgens · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · source
Macchi C.202. Likely a squadron PR photo from 1942–1943 (prior to the Armistice). Author unknown. Photo found on: http://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/other/italian_1943 Per below, Italian copyright expired in the 1960s, th
Macchi C.202. Likely a squadron PR photo from 1942–1943 (prior to the Armistice). Author unknown. Photo found on: http://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/other/italian_1943 Per below, Italian copyright expired in the 1960s, thunknown · Public domain · source

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