Macchi MC.200 Saetta

Country of Origin: it Italy | Type: Single seat fighter

Introduction

Designed in 1936, the prototype Saetta (for 'Lightning', but in the sense of the bolts held by the mythical god Jupiter) first flew on 24th December 1937 and immediately impressed with its high level of manoeuvrability and good flying characteristics, although apart from rate of climb, its performance was always hampered by a relative lack of engine power. By other nations' standards it was also poorly armed for an interceptor with just two machine guns.

Service & Variants

The Saetta entered Regia Aeronautica service in October 1939 and 156 were on strength when Italy entered the Second World War in June 1940. At that time it formed the backbone of Italy's fighter strength along with the Fiat CR.42 Falco biplane and went on to see more combat than any other Italian aircraft during the war. The vast majority were of the basic MC.200 fighter variant with various improvements incorporated as production progressed, including in the later batches, the addition of two guns under wings developed for the C.202 fighter. Field modifications included the fitting of underwing hardpoints for bombs or tanks, resulting in the designation MC.200CB.

Tropicalisation

The MC.200AS was a tropicalisation version for African service and the MC.201 was a single experimental model fitted with a 1,000hp (746kW) Fiat A.76. One MC.200bis with 1,180hp (880kW) Piaggio P.XIX radial was also tested. Of interest is the fact that the first 240 MC.200s had enclosed cockpits but the remainder had only semi enclosed or open units as a result of protests from the conservative Italian pilots.

Combat Service

The MC.200 made its combat debut against Malta in 1940 and subsequently flew in the Greek, Western Desert, North African, Yugoslavian, Sicilian and Eastern Front campaigns. It was responsible for sinking the destroyer HMS Zulu off Tobruk in September 1942 and for the destruction of 88 Soviet aircraft on the Eastern Front. Like most Italian combat aircraft, the Saetta served with both the pro Allies Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south of the country and the pro Nazi RSIAF in the north after Italy's surrender in 1943. A few that survived the war remained in service until 1947 as trainers.

Specification

Dimensions

Powerplant

Weights

Armament

Performance

Production

Production of the aircraft totalled 1,153, built by:

Operators

Three-view Schematic

To view a schematic, click on the image below:

Specification view of an MC.200