Macchi MC.205 Veltro

- About the aircraft

The Macchi C.205 Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) (also known as MC.205, "MC" standing for "Macchi Castoldi") was a Second World War-era fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario and Fiat G.55 Centauro, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful German-sourced Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine.

The C.205 was a development of the earlier C.202 Folgore, work on which commenced in 1941. On 19 April 1942, the C.205V Veltro performed its maiden flight. During testing, the type proved that it could achieve a maximum speed of roughly 640 km/h (400 mph). Due to a combination of design choices, including the DB 605 engine and a relatively high wing loading, it was capable of achieving comparable performance to contemporary frontline German fighter aircraft. Production aircraft were typically armed with a pair of 20 mm Mauser MG 151/20 cannon along with 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns; the type could also be equipped with underwing bomb racks when conducting ground-attack missions.

Entering squadron service with the Regia Aeronautica during February 1943, the C.205 soon garnered a strong reputation amongst both Allied and Axis pilots; it has been widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of the Second World War. The C.205 proved to be extremely effective in aerial combat, being responsible for the destruction of a large number of Allied bombers. The C. 205 proved capable of engaging fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms; this performance reportedly encouraged the Luftwaffe to use a number of these aircraft to equip one Gruppe. The C.205 was allegedly capable of matching even the best Allied opponents in terms of both speed and maneuverability.[1] Italy's highest-scoring ace, Adriano Visconti, achieved 11 of his 26 credited victories in the few weeks he was able to fly the Veltro, while the top-scoring Sergente Maggiore pilota Luigi Gorrini shooting down 14 enemy aircraft plus six damaged with the C.205.

The C.205 saw only a relatively small production run prior to the end of the conflict, which was primarily the result of various limitations in place on the Italian war economy. Akin to the Supermarine Spitfire, the Veltro features some complex elements in its construction and was fairly slow to build. During the immediate postwar years, Macchi continued to refurbish and sell C.205s, often through the conversion of surplus C.202s. One key customer for the type during the late 1940s was the Egyptian Air Force, which ordered 62 C.205Vs. Several of these Egyptian fighters briefly saw action during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War against the Israeli Air Force; Israeli intelligence agents allegedly sought to damage C.205s in Italy before they could be delivered to Egypt. The C.205 was phased out of service during the mid 1950s in favour of jet-propelled fighter aircraft.

- About the variant

The aircraft variant built here is the MC.205V, as a standard version of the variant

C O N T R O L S
Trim : Flaps, cruising 'rotate' adjuster
VTOL : Further flaps