Widely considered one of the most beautiful
aircraft of the Second World War, the Re.2005 was a single-engine monoplane fighter created
by the Reggiane company, a subsidiary of the larger Caproni Aeronautical Group, known
mostly for its bombers and transports.
However, despite the support of a larger parent
company, the history of Reggiane fighters isn’t one filled with success. Their first three
aircraft, the Re.2000 and 2001 fighters and the Re.2002 ground attack aircraft, received,
at best, moderate interest from the Italian Air Force, failing to achieve large orders.
With this negative outlook, the Reggiane company became extremely interested when Germany made
available a new and more powerful engine, the Daimler Benz DB 605, to be produced under license
in Italy. This engine was extremely important since Italy was struggling with aeroengine
development, especially of the in-line type. Consequently, the Italian Air Force decided to
hold a competition because besides Reggiane, the two main Italian fighter aircraft manufacturers;
Macchi and Fiat, were also very interested.
This gave rise to what is commonly
called the “series 5” fighters, three fighter aircraft that had the number 5 on
their denomination due to their common engine, the DB 605. Macchi aimed to do a two-step process:
at first, a direct adaptation of their successful C.202 to the newer engine, called the C.205V
(Veltro), while in tandem working on an improved version called the C.205N (Orione). Fiat saw the
new engine as the savior of the G.55 project, which was engineless due to delays in the
problematic Fiat A.38 engine. Reggiane decided to make a heavy modification of its Re.2001
while keeping the characteristic semi-elliptical wing planform of their aircraft.
In order to beat the competition, Reggiane quickly started the construction
of their first prototype on October 1, 1941, only a few months after the meeting when
the DB.605 contest was first announced.
Now, despite the competition still being far
from settled, a few events influenced it from the start. These were similar to several
other cases which suggested a high level of corruption and that major industrial
entities exerted considerable influence within the structure of the Italian government.
At the end of 1941, tooling for the production of the Fiat G.55 was ordered, and about a
month later, the Italian Air Force made a formal order for the Macchi C.205V, even before
its first flight. Obviously, this left Macchi and Fiat in an advantageous position.
Whatever the case, the Re.2005 was the last of the Series 5 aircraft to fly. The
Macchi C.205V first flew on April 19, 1942; the G.55 on day 30 of the same month; and
the Re.2005 a few days later, on May 9.
There is every indication that the Re.2005
was rushed, and a few accidents followed, that almost lead to the destruction of the
prototype. However, following a large number of improvements, on November 16, 1942, the
Italian Air Force ordered 16 Re.2005s of a pre-production standard called the zero series.
The expected brilliant flight characteristics of the Re.2005 as well as a desire to save time
appear to have driven this order even before the competition. The shifting circumstances of
the war were probably another factor in this time-saving. The second battle of El Alamein had
just ended with a heavy defeat for the Axis powers in North Africa. In addition, from late October
onwards, Bomber Command had begun operations anew against Italy to support the offensive at El
Alamein. For about a year, very few allied bombers had been seen in the skies over Italy. That was
changing rather drastically, and on December 3, 1942, Winston Churchill directed that
“the heat should be turned on Italy.”
As a result, the Series 5 fighters quickly
became a matter of survival for the Italians. The competition took place between December 18
and December 23, 1942, and the Italian Air Force's experts thoroughly examined the competing fighters
before publishing the results on December 28.
The Macchi C.205 came out as the victor
by a small margin, with the G.55 and Re.2005 being considered mostly equal.
However, the G.55 had slightly better climbing ability, was more resilient, and was easier
to mass-produce, leading to the conclusion that if any of the competing aircraft
should be cut, it should be the Re.2005.
This decision was, once again, controversial,
since one of the first descriptions in the report clearly stated that the Re.2005 prototype had an
engine in poor condition and had a less efficient Italian propeller, unlike its competitors.
Nevertheless, because the conclusions of the competition weren’t clear-cut, the Re.2005 project
moved on. The Italian Air Force placed an order for 100 Re.2005s on January 10, 1943, shortly
after it received its official name of Sagittario in honor of the constellation Sagittarius.
This order was later increased to 600 units.
Apparently, these orders were only achieved after
various complaints were made by the Reggiane company, leading to the direct involvement of
Italian leadership in the process. In fact, one of the grievances was that the Re.2005 should
be retested with a German DB 605 engine in good working order and with a German VDM propeller,
like the G.55 had had in the competition. This would happen several months later, in June
1943, leading to much better results.
However, the end result was that all three Series
5 fighters would be produced simultaneously.
In March 1943, the first Re.2005 was
assigned to the 22nd Autonomous Group, given that this unit had previously operated
the Re.2001. In fact, no other group would receive the new fighter. The 22nd was, at
this point, stationed at Capodichino airbase in Naples and was responsible for the defense
of that sector of Italy’s mainland. However, the group was a ragtag unit at best, employing
several different aircraft, including MC.202s, highly obsolete MC.200s, and
even French Dewoitine D.520s.
Major Vittorio Minguzzi, commander of
the 362nd Squadron, part of that group, was naturally very happy to take the Re.2005
prototype on its first operational sorties in late March 1943, with the aircraft’s
true baptism of fire happening on April 2, when Minguzzi made the aircraft’s first official
claim of a kill, that of a B-24 Liberator bomber.
However, Minguzzi’s victory does not seem to
be confirmed by American losses. One that may be the first true victory by a Re.2005 happened
on April 11, 1943. That day, B-24s of the 98th Bombardment Group targeted Naples. The 22nd group
scrambled 14 fighters, and among those were three Re.2005s. One of the 2005s was flown by S. Ten.
Armando Moresi, who claimed two B-24s that day; one of them shared. In fact, one B-24 was lost
over Naples that day. This artwork is a depiction of that moment and how it might have happened.
What is certain is that Moresi’s Re.2005 was so beat up after this encounter that
the Italian pilot had to bail out, resulting in the total loss of his aircraft.
The 22nd Group continued defending Italy’s mainland until July 2, when the
362nd Squadron was transferred to Sicily in advance of the Allied landings there.
This unit would see intense action in the period between July 10 and 13. It would claim several
spitfires, giving Italian pilots the feeling that they finally had a fighter able to match the
newer versions of the British fighter. However, a lack of supplies and organization, aided
by overwhelming numbers on the allied side, meant that after just four days of fighting,
the 362nd was a spent force. Ten Re.2005s made the trip to Sicily, and on July 14, the last
two remaining ones were flown back to Naples.
The Re.2005 continued to be employed in the
defense of the mainland until September 8, 1943, when Italy announced the Armistice of Cassibile,
leading to the German takeover. On that day, less than ten Re.2005s were available to the
22nd Group. In fact, the number of Sagittarios available never went beyond that at any point
in time. Those few remaining 2005s were set on fire to avoid them falling into enemy hands.
After the armistice, under German control, a few 2005s were completed, but
apparently these were only used by the ANR as trainers or liaison aircraft.
It’s unclear if and how Germany used any of those after the war. Also, interest in the
Re.2005 as an airframe for the upcoming DB 603 engine seems to have been small, with the Fiat
G.55 taking more prominence in that possibility.
With a grand total of 32 aircraft produced,
including two prototypes, the Re.2005 played a very modest role in the events of the
Second World War. Until the armistice, Re.2005 pilots claimed a total of 16 individual
victories, with many more claimed as probable and shared. Only a small portion of those seem
to have American or British losses supporting them. The Fiat G.55 and especially the
Macchi C.205V were produced in larger numbers and had a greater impact in the war.
Nonetheless, regardless of its small role, the Re.2005 has taken its spot in history, in
no small part due to its incredible beauty. In this beautiful artwork, you can see
Mr. Anastasio’s artistic take on one. Although there is no evidence of a Re.2005
ever being painted with this camouflage, we have to admit it looks stunningly good.
There will be a second part to this video, covering in more detail the qualities and flaws
of the Re.2005 and comparing it to other aircraft, as well as my opinion and conclusion.
In the mean time, I've chosen some Italian beauties of the period; can you name them
all? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you for watching. Remember to like
and subscribe if you enjoy this content.
