Macchi C205V Veltro
best Italian fighter plane WW2

Macchi C205V Veltro
Type: Italian WW2 fighters.
History: The birth of the best Italian fighter plane of WW2, the Macchi C205V Veltro was harrased by high authorities within the Italian Air Ministry who, for some reasons, prefered to support the all-new Fiat G.55 Centauro and Reggiane Re 2005 instead of moving ahead at a much faster pace with a natural development of an already well-established MC202 Folgore.
In fact, the Macchi C205V was designed to rectify a number of shortcomings which plagued its predecessor, principally its light armament. Sharing 80% commonality with the MC202, the C205 was re-designed with a German Daimler-Benz DB605 RC58 engine and was planned to have an armament of two Mauser cannon in the wings.

The prototype MC205V Veltro, first Italian fighter with the DB605 engine.

Powered by an original German engine, the first prototype flew for the first time on 19 April 1942. Immediate impressions were highly favourable, the aircraft appeared to perform much better than the C202, and handled beautifully.
The first production machine was rolled out of the Macchi plant at Vanese in October, barely six months after the type's first flight. This was to be one of a pre-production batch of 100 examples. The only difference from the prototypes was in the installation of a Fiat-built DB605-engine.

Production kicked off with a mere trickle, the SMA insisting that the C202 and obsolete C200 production lines remain open in parallel with that new machine. Delays in delivery of DB605-engines resulted in a month output of some nine or ten C205 a month up to the end of 1942, and it was only in February of the following year that production doubled. This was still far below the monthly average of 50 C202 being produced parallel. Moreover, the 20mm Mauser cannon was even harder to produce than the engines, and most of the first 100 examples had to be fitted with 7.7mm machine guns similar those of the C202.

A brand-new C205V of the 51 Stormo on its arrival at is base at Sardegna in July 1943, to counter the Allied landings on Sicily.

Service debut of the C205s came in February 1943, when four examples joined the C202's of the 1 Stormo of the Regia Aeronautica at Sicily and Pantelleria, and by end of the March the number had risen to 21.
The aircraft had its first combat mission on April 7 over Tunisia, when fighters from Pantelleria escorted naval and aerial convoys plying between Italy and North Africa. On that day, they encountered superior numbers of Spitfires V and Curtiss P-40, obtaining significant results. In fact, by April 19, they had claimed 18 Allied aircraft destroyed.
During the Allied invasion of Sicily the 51 Stormo, one of the elite fighter units of the RA, was heavily involved in defending Sardegna, bagging ten P-40s for the loss of three C205 by the end of July. In aerial fighting, the Veltro was proving to be a successful aircraft, chalking up an impressive tally - for example, on 2 August, six C205V faced a much higher number of P-38s and P-40s, shooting down five American aircraft for the loss of one Macchi.

C205V from the 1 Gruppo of the ANR.

After the Armistic and the creation of Mussolini's National Republican Air Force (ANR) the C205Vs were first blooded during their operational debut on January 3, 1944 when 1st Gruppo opposed a massive USAAF bomber formation. The sizeable formation of B-17s were escorted by P-38 Lightnings. Within a few seconds three Allied fighters went down, without losses by the Italians.
In mid-April the C205V-Gruppo was required to move south to Reggio Emilia. This meant that the fighters were now within range of Spitfire IX and P-51 Mustangs. While on patrol, the Gruppo had to taste bitter experience with the formidable P-51, which proved decidedly faster. On this first encounter two pilots were shot down in their C205Vs; however on May 2 the pilot Fiorini managed to score the first Mustang victory.

Towards the end of May 1944, units operating C205V could not replace their losses any more, as Macchi production lines at Vanese had been nearly wiped by USAAF bombing. Thus the units started to convert to Fiat G 55 Centauro.
The last Macchi C205V's were out of service in mid-August 1944.

The ANR's (only for the National Republican Air Force) record for this type shows that the C205V had destroyed 115 Allied aircraft, with a further 45 probables to the loss of 55 C205Vs and 49 pilots killed.

Users: Italy, Germany (only for training).

A factory-fresh Macchi C205V

3d model Macchi C205V Veltro

This 3d model is a current element of the WW2 game WW2 Total. The data for production, movement and combat of the Axis and Allies units are here !

Macchi C205V Veltros in German Luftwaffe markings.

Ground crew prepare a C205V of the ANR for another sortie. The aircraft has been repainted in a new scheme adopted in 1944 using Luftwaffe colours.