The Macchi C.200 Saetta (Italian: "Lightning"), or MC.200, is a fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy. Various versions were flown by the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) who used the type throughout the Second World War.
The C.200 was designed by Mario Castoldi, Macchi's lead designer, to serve as a modern monoplane fighter aircraft, furnished with retractable landing gear and powered by a radial engine. The C.200 possessed excellent maneuverability, and its general flying characteristics left little to be desired.Munson 1960, p. 34. Its stability in a high-speed dive was exceptional,Spick 1997, p. 116. but it was underpowered and underarmed in comparison to its contemporaries.Ethell 1995, p. 68. Early on, there were a number of crashes caused by stability problems, nearly resulting in the grounding of the type; these problems were ultimately addressed via aerodynamic modifications to the wing.
From the time Italy entered the Second World War on 10 June 1940, until the signing of the armistice of 8 September 1943, the C. 200 flew more operational sorties than any other Italian aircraft. The Saetta saw operational service in Greece, North Africa, Yugoslavia, across the Mediterranean, and in the Soviet Union (where it obtained an excellent kill to loss ratio of 88 to 15).De Marchi and Tonizzo 1994, p. 10.Ethell 1995, p. 70. The plane's very strong all-metal construction and air-cooled engine made the aircraft ideal for conducting ground attack missions; several units flew it as a fighter-bomber. Over 1,000 aircraft had been constructed by the end of the war.Ethell 1995, p. 69.
Development
Origins In early 1935 Mario Castoldi, lead designer of Italian aircraft company Macchi, commenced work on a series of design studies for a modern monoplane fighter aircraft, which was to be furnished with retractable landing gear.Cattaneo 1966, p. 3. Castoldi had previously designed several racing aircraft that had competed for the Schneider Trophy, including the Macchi M.39, which won the competition in 1926. He had also designed the M.C. 72. From an early stage, the concept aircraft that emerged from these studies became known as the C.200.
In 1936, in the aftermath of Italy's campaigns in East Africa, an official program was initiated with the aim of completely re-equipping the Regia Aeronautica with a new interceptor aircraft of modern design. The 10 February 1936 specifications,Sgarlato 2008, p. 4. formulated and published by the Ministero dell'Aeronatica, called for an aircraft powered by a single radial engine, which was to be capable of a top speed of and a climb rate of 6,000 meters in 5 minutes.Sgarlato 2008, p. 5. Additional requirements were soon specified: the aircraft was to be capable of being used as an interceptor with a flight endurance time of two hours and armed with a single (later increased to two) machine gun.
Prototypes In response to the prescribed demand for a modern fighter aircraft, Castoldi submitted a proposal for an aircraft based upon his 1935 design studies. On 24 December 1937, the first prototype (MM.336) C.200 conducted its maiden flight at Lonate Pozzolo, Varese, with Macchi chief test pilot Giuseppe Burei at the controls. Officials within the ministry and Macchi's design team fought over the retention of the characteristic hump used to enhance cockpit visibility; after a protracted argument, the feature was ultimately retained.
The first prototype was followed by the second prototype early the following year. During testing, the aircraft reportedly attained in a dive free of negative tendencies such as flutter and other aeroelastic issues; although it could achieve only in level flight due to a lack of engine power. Nevertheless, this capability was superior than the performance of the competing Fiat G.50 Freccia, Reggiane Re.2000, A.U.T. 18, IMAM Ro.51, and Caproni-Vizzola F.5; of these, the Re.2000 was seen as the most capable of the C.200's rivals, being more maneuverable and capable of greater performance at low altitude but lacking in structural strength.
The C.200 benefitted greatly from preparations that were being made for major expansion of the Italian Air Force, known as Programme R. In 1938, the C.200 was selected as the winner of the tender "Caccia I" (Fighter 1) of the Regia Aeronautica. This choice came in spite of mixed results during flight testing at Guidonia airport; on 11 June 1938, Major Ugo Borgogno warned that when tight turns at beyond 90° were attempted, the aircraft became extremely difficult to control, including a tendency to turn upside down, mostly to the right and entering into a violent flat spin.de Marchi 1994,
Production Shortly following the completion of the second prototype, an initial order for 99 production aircraft was placed with Macchi. The G.50, which during the same flight tests held at Guidonia airport had out-turned the Macchi, was also placed in limited production, because it had been determined that the former could be brought into service earlier. The decision, or indecision, involved in producing multiple overlapping types led to greater inefficiencies in both production and in operation.Cattaneo 1966, pp. 3–4. In June 1939, production of the C.200 formally commenced.
The most serious handicap was the low production rate of the type. According to some reports, in excess of 22,000 hours in production time was attributed to the use of antiquated construction technology.Marcon May 2000, pp. 28–38. A lack of urgency shown by the authorities regarding standardisation was also viewed as having negatively affected mass production efforts, particularly in light of the lack of availability of key resources in Italy at the time. In order to improve the rate of output, the C.200 remained almost unchanged throughout its production life, save for adjustments to the cockpit in response to pilot feedback.
In addition to Macchi (who completed 397 airframes), the C.200 was also constructed by Italian aircraft companies Società Italiana Ernesto Breda (556) and SAI Ambrosini (200) under a subcontracting arrangement intended to produce 1,200 aircraft between 1939 and 1943.Cattaneo 1966, p. 5. However, during 1940, the termination of all production of the type was considered in response to aerodynamic performance problems that had caused the loss of multiple aircraft; the type was retained after changes were made to the wing to rectify a tendency to go into an uncontrollable spin that could occur during turns.
In an attempt to improve performance, a C.201 prototype was created with a Fiat A.76 engine; work on this prototype was later abandoned in favour of the Daimler-Benz DB 601-powered C.202. At one point, it was intended that the Saetta was to have been replaced outright by the C.202 after only a single year in production. However, the C.200's service life was extended because Alfa Romeo proved to be incapable of producing enough of the RA.1000 (license-built DB 601) engines needed by the newer aircraft. This contributed to the decision to construct further C.200s that used C.202 components as an interim measure while waiting for the production rate of the latter's engine to be increased.
At the beginning of 1940, Denmark was set to place an order for 12 C.200s to replace its ageing Hawker Nimrod fighters, but the deal fell through when Germany invaded Denmark. A total of 1,153 Saettas were eventually produced, but only 33 remained operational by the time of the armistice between Italy and the Allies in September 1943.
Design The Macchi C.200 was a modern all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane, which was equipped 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 partially open cockpit to provide the pilot with an unusually wide field of 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.Cattaneo 1966, pp. 4–5. As a result of its ultimate load factor of 15.1, it could reach speeds as fast as true airspeed during dives.Palermo 2014, p. 236.
Power was provided by a Fiat A.74 radial engine, although Castoldi preferred inline engines, and had used them to power all of his previous designs. Under a direttiva (air ministry specification) of 1932, Italian industrial leaders had been instructed to concentrate solely on radial engines for fighters, due to their superior reliability.Brindley 1973, p. 234. The A.74 was a re-design of the American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 SC-4 Twin Wasp by engineers Tranquillo Zerbi and , and was the only Italian-built engine that could provide a level of reliability comparable to Allied designs.Cattaneo 1966, p. 4.Sgarlato 2008, p. 14. The licence-built A.74 engine could be problematic. In late spring 1941, 4o Stormo's Macchi C.200s, then based in Sicily, had all the A.74s produced by the Reggiane factory replaced because they were defective. The elite unit had to abort many missions against Malta due to engine problems.Duma 2007, pp. 200–201. While some considered the Macchi C.200 to have been 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.
The C.200 was typically armed with a pair of Breda-SAFAT machine guns; while these were often considered to be insufficient, the Saetta was able to compete with contemporary Allied fighters. According to aviation author Gianni Cattaneo, perhaps the greatest weakness of the C.200 was its light machine gun armament.Cattaneo 1968, Moreover, a radio was not fitted as standard.
Like other early Italian monoplanes, the C.200 suffered from a dangerous tendency to spin.Sgarlato 2008, p. 6. Early production C.200 aircraft showed autorotation problems similar to those found in the Fiat G.50 Freccia, IMAM Ro.51 and the Aeronautica Umbra Trojani AUT.18. At the beginning of 1940, a pair of deadly accidents occurred due to autorotation. Aircraft production and deliveries were halted while the Regia Aeronautica evaluated the potential for abandoning use of the type, as the skill involved in flying the C.200 was considered to be 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 a product of the 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 conducted by German aircraft engineer Willy Messerschmitt and the American National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). He redesigned the wing section with a variable, instead of constant, profile,Sgarlato 2008, pp. 7–8. which was achieved by covering parts of the wings with plywood.