This is a "filler" in between heatwaves here well as my last
FIAT Aviazione model subject build of 2019.
The
FIAT G.55 arguably was WWII Italy's best operational interceptor fighter though just 274 were built during the war, three 20 mm cannon + two 12.7 mm machine gun
Serie II Intercettore Bombardiere (G-55/2 bomber interceptors) constituting the production majority. The three G.55 prototypes + 16
Sottoserie 0 (G.55/0) pre-production aircraft were delivered with four 12.7 mm machine guns per the 1942
Regia Aeronautica Italiana 'Serie V' Intercettore aircraft evaluation program pitted against the
Macchi C.205V &
Reggiane Re.2005. All types were powered by 1,475hp license-built
Daimler Benz DB 605s, all were operational by time of the
September 8, 1943 Italian Armistice, the post armistice
Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR) flying newly built & rebuilt C.205Vs & G.55s well as
ex-Luftwaffe Bf-109s up till the May 2, 1945 surrender of surviving
Repubblica Sociale Italiana &
Weirmacht forces.
The ANR did not operate interceptor fighters armed with more than three 20 mm cannons though Varese Italy-based
Aeronautica Macchi had the four-cannon 1,750hp
Daimler Benz DB 603-powered
C.207 under development prior to the September 1943 armistice. FIAT's DB 603-powered
G.56 first flown in March 1944 clearly was capable of carrying more than three cannons though the Germans prohibited its production,
IF the ANR had been able to equip G.55s with
GM-1 &
MW50 engine boosting systems they
might had improved altitude performance to allow hanging two podded
Waffenfabrik Mauser MG 151 20mm cannons underneath the mainwings ala the 1943
Macchi C.202 Esperimento Cannoni in attacking Allied bombers, with this in mind the
FIAT G.55 Combattente Intercettore Pesante prototype is presented as my Italian "what-if" build of 2019.
As a "what-if" on top of
this "what-if" four 12.7 mm machine guns ala the G.55 prototypes & G.55/0s are included; GM-1 boosted high altitude performance against Allied bombers likely would had been poor given the aircraft's weight though MW50-boosted Combattente Intercettore Pesantes
could had been employed as ground attack aircraft ala the
Hawker Typhoon.SUPERMODEL Kit &
SEM Model Waffenfabrik Mauser MG 151 20mm Cannon Pods Parts Layout: