Fiat G.50 'Freccia'

The Fiat G.50 was a World War II Italian fighter aircraft. First flown in February 1937, the G.50 was Italy's first single-seat, all-metal monoplane with an enclosed cockpit and retractable undercarriage to go into production. Though it was designed pre-war, it remained in production till the end of the war.

The Fiat G.50 'Freccia' (eng:Arrow) was designed by Giuseppe Gabrielli, who started designing a single-engined monoplane fighter in April 1935. The G.50 was a low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, with a semi-monocoque fuselage with light alloy skinning, while the wings had a steel tube centre-section structure with duralumin outer wings and alloy skins. Flaps were fitted to the aircraft's wings to improve take-off and landing performance. In early 1938, the G.50 served in the Regia Aeronautica, and with its expeditionary arm, the Aviazione Legionaria, in Spain, where they proved to be fast and, as with most Italian designs, very manoeuvrable. However, it had inadequate weaponry (two Breda-SAFAT 12.7-mm machine guns). The first aircraft were delivered to the Regia Aeronautica in early 1938. Italian pilots did not like the enclosed canopy because it could not be opened quickly and, being constructed from plexiglass of very poor quality, was prone to cracking or abrasion by sand or dust, limiting visibility. In addition, exhaust fumes tended to accumulate in the cockpit, so pilots usually flew with the canopy locked open. Consequently,an open cockpit was installed in the second batch of 200 machines. After 1939, the main production was shifted to the CMASA factory in Marina di Pisa, Tuscany.

There were 118 G.50s available when Italy entered World War II (97 on front-line duty). Most were assigned to 51 Stormo ('Group') based at Ciampino Airport just outside Rome and at Pontedera, with 22 Gruppo of 52 Stormo. On 10 June 1940, when Italy declared war against France, G.50s of 22 Gruppo went into action, followed by the 48 aircraft of 20 Gruppo. In September 1940, 20 Gruppo (351/352/353 Squadrons), equipped with G.50, was part of 56 Stormo, formed to operate during the Battle of Britain as part of the Corpo Aereo Italiano (Italian Air Corps, CAI) based in Belgium, together with 18 Gruppo flying Fiat CR.42s. The G.50s were hampered by their slow speed, open cockpits and short range. At the beginning of 1941, the CAI came back to Italy, leaving behind two G.50 squadrons that stayed in Belgium with Luftflotte 2 until April. The G.50s flew 429 missions, 34 escorts and 26 scrambles for the CAI, but failed to engage enemy aircraft. In Africa, although the G.50s were mainly outperformed, pilots sometimes managed to shoot down the faster and better-armed Hurricanes and P-40s. G.50s had been shown in 1939 air exercises to be faster than biplanes, so they could be useful against British bombers, even if their weapons was relatively weak and often insufficient to shoot down their targets. By that time, the G.50s in North Africa were the better bis version which, though heavier, had almost two hours of flight time as a result of the extra fuel carried. After 1941, G.50s played a minor role in the Regia Aeronautica. In June 1942, British intelligence estimated that 12 Gruppo had 26 G.50s (10 serviceable), while the backbone of 5a Squadra Aerea was 32 Z.1007, 104 C.202s, 63 C.200s and 31 SM.79s

The G.50 saw its longest and most successful service in the two Finnish wars against the Soviet Union, the Winter War 1939-1940 and the Continuation War 1941-1944. At the end of 1939, before the outbreak of hostilities, Finland ordered 35 Fiat G.50s. The first 10 aircraft were to be delivered before February 1940. A group of Finnish pilots attended a 10-hour training course at Guidonia airport and later at Fiat Aviazione in Turin. Because of the technical problmens due to the Finnish Air Force itself, only 33 of the 35 Fiat G.50 fighters were delivered to Finland. Most of them took part in the heavy fighting on the bay of Vyborg in the late February and the early March. As the Utti airbase was bombed by the Soviet airfoce, Fiats were transferred to two kilometres to the north of Utti proper onto the ice of Haukkajärvi (Falcon lake). As also Haukkajärvi become bombed and also attacked directly with fighters another lake side base was established near the city of Lahti, Hollola, on the ice of Vesijärvi near Pyhäniemi mason. The first demonstration of the Finnish Air Force's effectiveness came on 25 June 1941, when the G.50s from HLeLv 26 shot down 13 out of 15 Soviet SB bombers. During the Continuation War, the G.50s were most successful during the Finnish offensive of 1941, after which they became ever less effective. In 1941, HLeLv 26 claimed 52 victories for the loss of only two fighters. The Soviets brought better, newer types of fighter to the front lines during 1942 and 1943, while the Fiats were becoming old and run-down and the lack of spare parts meant that pilots were restricted to a minimal number of sorties. Nevertheless, between 30 November 1939 and 4 September 1944, the G.50s of HLeLv 26 shot down 99 enemy aircraft, including aircraft more modern than theirs, such as the British fighters sent to the USSR. In the same period, Finnish squadrons lost 41 aircraft (12 were G.50s), and 10 more were lost to flak and non-combat causes.

In October 1941, the Croatian Air Force Legion requested military aid from Italy, and Italy agreed to deliver 10 Fiat G.50s along with ancillary equipment. On 12 June 1942 the Fiat G.50 bis fighters took off from Fiat Aviazione in Turin for Croatia, but before they reached the border, they were stopped by order of the Chief of the Italian Supreme Command, who feared that the Croatian pilots would defect. The G.50s had to wait until 25 June before being delivered to the Croatian Air Force, which assigned them to the 16th Jato at Banja Luka and were intensively used until 1945 against Yugoslav Partisans, at first in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then in Serbia, Croatia and Dalmatia. During 1942, a Croatian G.50 bis squadron was transferred from Northern Yugoslavia to the Ukrainian front, flanking the 4th Luftflotte. On 25 June 1943, the Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Drzave Hrvatske (Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia, ZNDH), received nine G.50 bis fighters and one G.50B. In October, while based at Zaluani airfield, Banja Luka, they flew many strafing missions against partisans for nearly a year. After the Italian armistice of 8 September 1943, the Luftwaffe supplied the Croatian Air Force Legion with 20-25 Fiat G.50s captured on Regia Aeronautica airfields in the Balkans. These equipped two Croatian fighter units, but by the end of 1943 only 10 aircraft remained. Three G.50s captured after the Armistice were loaned to Kro JGr 1 at the beginning of 1944. In 1944 some of the G.50s were operated at the Brezice training school. In 1945 they were captured by Yugoslav Partisans. After the war, the G.50s were used for some time by the newly formed Yugoslav Air Force the last G.50s to see active service. 791 G.50's were produced from 1935 to the Italian Armistice in later 1943.