RE2005 SAGITARIO
The Sagittario was known as one of the great Italian fighters which rivaled (or even surpassed) the best products from the American, British and German aircraft industries.
It had a very brief operational career, beginning in 1943, though it suffered from a structural defect in the rear fuselage manifested at very high speed (987 kmh !!! But FIAT make very bad emphasis to help G55 sell) at owhich suspended flights later that year.
Apart from this defect, the Saggitario was in some ways, such as maneuverability, definitely better than its direct competitor, the Fiat G 55.
The prototype first flew in 1942 and struck some observers as the best fighter to come from the Reggiane factory.
The Re 2005 was also the last fighter built by Reggiane to fly.
SPECIFICATIONS
Designer(s):
Preliminary Design (A05/0901, 11 December 1941): Ing. Giuseppe
Maraschini.
Team Leader: Ing. Roberto Longhi.
Managing Director: Ing. Antonio Alessio.
Aerodynamics and Stress: Ing. Maraschini.
Weights and Installations: Ing. Pozzi.
Structures: Ing. Toniolo.
Mechanical Engineering: Ing. Vardenega.
...and others |2|, including: |5|
C.T. Giovagnoli.
C.T. Costa.
C.T. Zocchi.
C.T. Ballabeni.
C.T. Vardenega.
Type:
Fighter.
Powerplant:
Re 2005 prototypes: One 1,475 hp Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1 V-12 inline liquid-cooled piston.
Re 2005: One 1,475 hp Fiat RA.1050 RC 58 Tifone (license-built
Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1) V-12 inline liquid-cooled piston.
Re 2005R: As Re 2005, plus one 370 hp Fiat A-20 auxiliary engine driving two Campini superchargers.
Take off pwr: 1,475 HP
Pwr on ground: 1,310 HP
Max pwr at 18,800 ft: 1,355
Normal pwr at 18,800 ft: 1,250 HP
Economic cruise pwr: 890 HP
Fuel system:
Fuel tanks: 3 (1 in each wing, 1 behind pilot seat)
Total fuel: 153 USGals (950 lbs)
Dimensions:
Span: 36 ft 1 in / 11 m.
Length: 28 ft 7 3/4 in / 8.73 m.
Height: 10 ft 4 in / 3.15 m.
Wing area: 219.58 sq ft / 20.4 m2.
Mean chord: 6.1 feet
Wing ratio: 6
Weights:
Empty: 5,732 lb / 2,600 kg.
Maximum: 7,960 lb / 3,610 kg.
Wing load: 35.7 lbs/sq ft
Performance:
Re 2005 (actual; official Regia Aeronautica tests, 1942 - 1943)
Max speed:
6,560 ft / 2,000 m: 421 mph / 678 kph
13,120 ft / 4,000 m: 351 mph / 565 kph
22,800 ft / 6,950 m: 390.5 mph / 628.5 kph
22,965 ft / 7,000 m: 421 mph / 678 kph
Cruise speed: 320 mph / 515 kph
Time to
6,560 ft / 2,000 m: 1 min 55 sec
13,120 ft / 4,000 m: 4 min 28 sec
19,685 ft / 6,000 m: 5 min |2, or 7 min 25 sec
Service ceiling: 37,730 ft / 11,500 m
Range: 609 miles / 980 km.
Armament:
Two 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns with 350 rounds each in upper
engine cowling.
One 20 mm Mauser MG 151 cannon with 150 rounds firing through
propellor hub.
Two 20 mm Mauser MG 151 cannon with 200 rounds each in wings.
Up to 2,200 lb / 1,000 kg bomb or fuel tank under fuselage.
Two wing hardpoints for 353 lb / 160 kg of bombs or fuel tanks.
Crew: One.
HISTORY
Design initiated: 1941.
Roll-out: ?
First flight:
Re 2005 MM494:
30 April 1942 (unofficial).
9 May 1942 (official).
10 May 1942 (official).
September 1942.
Initial production order (18 pre-production, 750 production aircraft):
February 1943.
Production initiated: March 1943.
Service entry:
Zero Series: May 1943.
March 1943.
Operational Units:
Italy (Regia Aeronautica):
362a Squadriglia of the 22o Gruppo: First prototype, zero series, pre-production.
371a Squadriglia: two ex-362a aircraft.
Italian Air Force Markings.
Italy (Aviazone della Repubblica Sociale Italiana):
Three to six used as trainers.
Squadriglia Addestramento Caccia, Caselle,January-July 1944:
Six ex-Regia Aeronautica aircraft.
Germany (Luftwaffe): Two prototypes, eleven pre-production, plus an unknown amount of others.
Romania: Second prototype reportedly from Germany.
USA (USAAF): one captured at armistice.
Pre-series Reggiane Re 2005 Sagittario.
The second Re 2005 prototype, MM495, with
German-supplied DB 605 and VDM propellor, had a top speed of
447 mph / 720 kph at 23,950 ft / 7,300 m.
The Reggiane Re 2005 Sagittario was the ultimate refinement of
a series of Italian fighters which started with the Re 2000 Falco I
and continued with the Re 2001 Ariete I and Re 2002 Ariete II. The
Re 2003 was a reconnaissance variant of the Re 2000, and the
Re 2004 was an unbuilt proposed development of the Re 2001
with the troublesome 1,250 hp Isotta-Fraschini Zeta RC 24/60 24
cylinder X-type engine. The Sagittario utilized a much-refined
fuselage, a wing of new design, and rearward-retracting landing
gear.
Design was initiated in 1941 by Ing. Roberto Longhi, and the
Sagittario was to be the final Reggiane design to fly. Construction
of the first of two prototypes, MM494, was completed in
December 1941, minus the German-supplied Daimler-Benz DB
605A engine, which vanished in transit, finally being found at a rail
station in Milan in April 1942! Upon installation of the powerplant,
MM494 was readied for its first flight. Sources vary as to the exact
date of this event. However, several days before the official flight,
the craft took to the air with Tullio de Prato piloting. The flight was
apparently uneventful until he prepared to land, whereupon it was
discovered that one of the main landing gear legs was not locked
in place. De Prato promptly retracted the gear and made a belly
landing, with the prototype amazingly suffering no damage. The
official first flight was made several days later. The aircraft was
evaluated over the course of several months and performed ably,
but only the protoypes and a 16-aircraft zero series had been
ordered by the end of 1942, all of which were hand-built by
Reggiane. By February 1943, 18 pre-production and 750
production Re 2005's had been ordered by the Italian Aeronautics
Ministry. The possibility of up to 1,000 more aircraft being built
was considered, with Breda, Aerfer and Caproni as
second-source manufacturers. Sweden also was interested in
procuring rights to build the Sagittario under license, but the 1943
Armistice halted these plans.
Reggiane Re 2005 Sagittario.
In May of 1943, the first Sagittarios entered limited service with
the Regia Aeronautica. The first prototype and several of the zero
series aircraft were used operationally by the 362a Squadriglia,
22o Gruppo at Naples-Capodichino starting in May 1943, being
used to defend Rome and Naples. On July 10, eight of the aircraft
were transferred to Sigonella to defend against the Allied invasion
of Sicily. Only two aircraft survived, which then went to the 371a
Squadriglia at Reggio Calibria. These aircraft were soon
destroyed on the ground by Allied aerial attacks. The strength of
362a Squadriglia was increased with the addition of ten
pre-production Sagittarios in July 1943. The squadron had
developed a rather daring method of attacking Allied B-17s which
involved diving head-on with all guns blazing, then flipping the
aircraft over on its back and diving away at the last minute.
At the time of the Armistice, the zero series and 13 of the 18
pre-production aircraft were completed, with work proceeding on
the first production aircraft. Only two aircraft remained with the
362a Squadriglia, neither of which was in flying condition. Both
were burned to prevent capture by the Allies. The two protoypes
and 11 of the pre-production aircraft were taken to Germany,
possibly being used to defend Bucharest and Berlin; their fate
thereafter being unknown. At least one Re 2005 was captured by
the U.S., and the fuselage of one Re 2005 survives in the Museo
Aeronautico Caproni di Taliedo in Milano.
While the Re 2005 was the last fighter built by Reggiane to fly, it
was not Reggiane's last project. A twin-fuselage variant of the Re
2005 was proposed but almost immediately abandoned. Another
proposal, the Re 2005R, would have had an extra 370 hp Fiat
A-20 engine in the tail driving two superchargers, one for the
primary powerplant and the other providing exhaust thrust at the
tail. However, similar performance could be obtained with less
complexity by installing the more powerful 1,750 hp DB 603A,
which is precisely what was planned for the Re 2006. Two
airframes (serials MM540-541) were being built in 1943 - 1944.
The first was completed but never flown, and was given to the
Milan Polytechnic after being made unflyable: the engine,
armament and landing gear were removed and the fuselage and
wings were cut in two. The second Re 2006 was converted to
become the basis for the jet-powered Re 2007. It was about
halfway finished and was awaiting arrival of German-supplied
Junkers Jumo 004 B turbojets, which never arrived due to the end
of the war. It was taken by the Allies, along with the plans, in July
1945. Fewer Re 2005s were built than its contemporaries, the
Macchi C.205 and Fiat G.55, both of which achieved some
post-war success. This, along with the advent of the jet age,
ensured that the Re 2005 did not see any further development
post-war.
Users:
Italy, Germany.
Number built:
Re 2005: Two prototypes, serial numbers MM494, MM495; and one
static-test airframe
Re 2005: Zero series (Serie 0), 16; serial numbers MM092343-092358
Re 2005: Pre-production series, 18 ordered (at least 13 completed); serial numbers MM096100 - 096117
Re 2005: Production Serie I, 750 ordered (unknown number completed)
Re 2005R: None.
Total:
At least 35 (three prototypes, 16 Zero Series, 13 of 18
pre-production, plus a few production aircraft), probably
up to 37.
