Italian Fiat G.55 ''Centauro'' Fighter Plane

By Crusader1307

The Italian Fiat G.55 ''Centauro'' was a World War II Era Fighter Plane of The Italian Air Force. Comparable with Germany's Messerschmitt Fighter (and others), The G.55 is viewed as one of the ''best Fighters'' of The War. First deployed in 1943, only 300 Production Models were made. Many survived. The Fiat Company produced another 100 Models in 1945 for The Italian Military – but they were not used and decommissioned in 1947. The G.55 fought to defend Italian skies above Rome, Sardina and Salerno. The G.55 was flown by (1). They were 31-feet in length with a wingspan of 40-feet. Powered by a single Fiat Tifone 12-cylinder Engine, it produced an impressive 1,450-HP. The operational ceiling was rated to 42,000-feet with an operation combat range of 750-miles. Armament included (1) 20mm Mauser Cannon and (4) 12.7mm Wing Machine Guns. Later variations were designed to carry 400-lbs. Of Ordnance for Ground support.