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The Macchi C.200 Saetta (Italian: Arrow), or MC.200, was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy, and used in various forms throughout the ''Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Air Force). The MC.200 had excellent manoeuvrability and general flying characteristics left little to be desired.〔Munson 1960, p. 34.〕 Stability in a high-speed dive was exceptional,〔Spick 1997, p. 116.〕 but it was underpowered and underarmed for a modern fighter.〔Ethell 1995, p. 68.〕 From the time Italy entered war on 10 June 1940, until the armistice of 8 September 1943, the C. 200 flew more operational sorties than any Italian aircraft. The ''Saetta '' ranged over Greece, North Africa, Yugoslavia, France, across the Mediterranean and Russia (where it obtained an excellent kill to loss ratio of 88 to 15).〔De Marchi and Tonizzo 1994, p. 10.〕〔Ethell 1995, p. 70.〕 Its very strong all-metal construction and air-cooled engine made the aircraft ideal for ground attack and several units flew it as a fighter-bomber. Over 1,000 were built by the time the war ended.〔Ethell 1995, p. 69.〕 ==Design and development== Following the end of Italy's campaigns in East Africa, a program was started to completely re-equip the ''Regia Aeronautica'' with a new interceptor aircraft of modern design. The 10 February 1936 specifications 〔Sgarlato 2008, p. 4.〕 called for an aircraft powered by a single radial engine, with a top speed of 500 km/h, climb rate at 6,000 meters of 5 minutes, with a flight endurance of two hours, and armed with a single (later increased to two) 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun.〔Sgarlato 2008, p. 5.〕 Macchi's lead designer was Mario Castoldi, the creator of several racing aircraft which competed for the Schneider Trophy, including the M.39, which won the competition in 1926. He also designed the M.C. 72. In designing a modern fighter, Castoldi proposed a modern all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane, with retractable landing gear, and an enclosed cockpit. The fuselage was of semi-monocoque construction, with self-sealing fuel tanks under the pilot's seat, and in the centre section of the wing. The distinctive "hump" elevated the cockpit to provide the pilot with an unobstructed view over the engine. The wing had an advanced system whereby the hydraulically actuated flaps were interconnected with the ailerons, so that when the flaps were lowered the ailerons drooped as well. Power was provided by the 650 kW (870 hp) Fiat A.74 radial engine, although Castoldi preferred inline engines, and had used them in all of his previous designs. With "direttiva" (Air Ministry Specification) of 1932, Italian industrial leaders had been instructed to concentrate solely on radial engines for fighters, due to their better reliability.〔Brindley 1973, p. 234.〕 The A.74 was a re-design of the American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 SC-4 Twin Wasp made by engineers Tranquillo Zerbi and Antonio Fessia and was the only Italian engine that could provide a reliability similar to Allied products.〔Sgarlato 2008, p. 14.〕 The licence-built A.74 engine could be problematic. In late spring 1941, 4° Stormo's Macchi C.200s then based in Sicily, had all the A.74s produced by the Reggiane factory replaced because they were defective units. The elite unit had to abort many missions against Malta due to engine problems.〔Duma 2007, pp. 200–201.〕 Although the Macchi C.200 was considered underpowered, the air-cooled radial engine provided some pilot protection during strafing missions. Consequently, the C.200 was often used as a ''cacciabombardiere'' (fighter-bomber).〔Ethell 1996, pp. 68–69.〕 Moreover, it was maneuverable and had a sturdy all-metal construction. Its armament of two 12.7 mm (.5 in) machine guns was not sufficient, but the ''Saetta'' could compete with contemporary Allied fighters. The first prototype (MM.336) C.200 flew on 24 December 1937, in Lonate Pozzolo, Varese, with Macchi Chief Test Pilot Giuseppe Burei at the controls. It was followed by the second prototype early the next year. During testing, the aircraft attained 805 km/h (500 mph) in a dive, although it could muster only 500 km/h (310 mph) in level flight due to a lack of engine power. Nevertheless, this was better than the performance of the competing Fiat G.50, Reggiane Re.2000, A.U.T. 18, IMAM Ro.51, and Caproni-Vizzola F.5. In 1938 the C.200 won the tender "Caccia I" (fighter 1st) of the ''Regia Aeronautica'', even if after tests at Guidonia airport, on 11 June 1938, ''Maggiore'' Ugo Borgogno had warned that when turning at 90° and the pilot tried to make a tighter turn, the aircraft became extremely difficult to control, tending to turn upside down, mostly to the right and entering into a violent flat spin.〔de Marchi 1994〕 Nevertheless, an initial order for 99 was placed to Macchi factory. The G.50 (which in same flight tests at Guidonia airport out-turned the Macchi 〔) was also placed in limited production, because it could be brought into service earlier. Production started in June 1939. Like other of the early Italian monoplanes, the C.200 suffered from a dangerous tendency to go in a spin.〔Sgarlato 2008, p. 6.〕 Early production C.200 aircraft showed autorotation problems similar to the ones of the Fiat G.50, IMAM Ro.51, and the AUT 18. At the beginning of 1940 two deadly accidents occurred due to autorotation. Deliveries and production stopped, and the ''Regia Aeronautica'' thought of abandoning use of the type, as the skill involved in flying it was beyond that of the average pilot.〔de Marchi 1994. Quote: "Sopraggiungono due incidenti mortali per autorotazione che fanno sospendere voli e consegne, si pensa di abbandonare la macchina classificata non pilotabile dalla media dei piloti" (Two fatal accidents occurred due to autorotation that caused suspension of flights and deliveries, prompting consideration of abandoning the use of the aircraft, as it was considered "unflyable" by the average pilot.)〕 The problem was the new profile of the wing. Castoldi soon tested a new profile, but a solution to the autorotation problem was found by Sergio Stefanutti, chief designer of SAI Ambrosini in Passignano sul Trasimeno, based on studies by Willy Messerschmitt and the NACA. He redesigned the wing section according to variable (instead of constant) profile〔Sgarlato 2008, pp. 7–8.〕 by just covering parts of the wings with plywood.〔 The new wing entered production in 1939/1940 at SAI Ambrosini and became a standard on the aircraft manufactured by Aermacchi and Breda, a licensed manufacturer.〔Sgarlato 2008, p. 8.〕 After the modified wings of the ''Saetta'' were introduced, the C.200 proved to be, for a time, the best Italian fighter. To save weight, the first production C.200 series did not have armour fitted to protect the pilots. Armour plating was incorporated when the units were going to replace the ''Saettas'' with the new Macchi C.202 ''Folgore'' and often in only a limited number of aircraft. After the armour was fitted, the aircraft could become difficult to balance, and during aerobatic manoeuvres could enter an extremely difficult to control flat spin, forcing the pilot to bail out. On 22 July 1941, Leonardo Ferrulli, one of the top-scoring ''Regia Aeronautica'' pilots, encountered the problem and was forced to bail out over Sicily.〔Duma 2007, p. 201.〕 At the beginning of 1940, Denmark was set to place an order for 12 C.200s to replace the ageing Hawker Nimrod fighters, but the deal fell through when Germany invaded Denmark.〔(History of Danish naval aviation on navalhistory.dk; retrieved 2 August 2014 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Macchi C.200」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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