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Reggiane Re.2002 Ariete (Ram)

1942 WORLD WAR 2

Regian re. 2002 Ariete (Ram) Story

The original Reggiane Re. In 2000, the "Falco" was rejected by the Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) and replaced by the competing Macchi C. 200. However, it continued to be ordered by Hungary and Sweden, and was eventually adopted in a modified form by the Italian Navy. This rejection prompted Reggiane's engineers Roberto Longhi and Antonia Alessio to advance the modified shape, resulting in the Reggiane Re.

2001 "Falco II" - its existence is largely due to the availability of the German Diamler-Benz DB 601 inline engine. In the subsequent 1940 revision, as the DB 601 was now in short supply, it was decided to focus on a local powerplant - this became the Piaggio P. XIX RC45 'Turbine' radial piston engine with 1,175 hp.

The new engine is installed in the modified fuselage of the Re. 2001. The main structure of the aircraft and the empennage remain the originals.

The proposed weapon would be 2 x 12.7mm heavy machine guns in the upper part of the forward fuselage - synchronised to fire through rotating propeller blades. 2 x 7.7mm machine guns mounted on the leading edges of the wings (one per wing).

The aircraft was also intended to be used as a fighter-bomber from the outset and was specified to carry up to 1,100 pounds of external munitions below the fuselage centerline, and the underwing area was also cleared for conventional throwing munitions.

is represented as Re. In 2002, the new aircraft entered service as a prototype in October 1940. It has a clean, closed shape with a large radial engine up front, well hidden under the hood. It powered a three-bladed propeller unit with a large spinner in the center.

When the cockpit is amidships, it is behind the relatively short nose section. The canopy frame and raised fuselage back obstruct the view from the pilot's seat. The main wing attachments were also placed amidships - mounted low on either side of the hull, with curved wing tips. The stern has a vertical tail with a lower horizontal plane. The landing gear consists of two single-wheeled main legs that can be retracted under the wings.

The tail wheel is fixed on the outside.

Tests have shown that this state-of-the-art aircraft has reliable handling and performance qualities comparable to the DB 601 Powered Re. 2001. The armament is the same as the previous product, but still capable of hitting and shooting down bombers and fighters. Power from the Piaggio engine allows for a top speed of 330 mph, a range of up to 680 miles, and a service ceiling of 34,450 feetthough those figures aren't entirely better than the Re.

In 2001, it was still a viable battle mount.

The Italian authorities were slow to accept this Reggiane template for mass production, with the first order of 200 units, nicknamed "Ariete" ("Ram"), until September 1941. The first deliveries arrived in March 1942, although delays (mostly around the engines) meant that operational numbers were not reached until March 1943 - just a few months before Italy's surrender in WWII.

Around this time, the Germans were so impressed with the Italian design that they made plans for a version with BMW's 1,600 hp radial piston engine for use as a ground attack fighter-bomber. About 300 were designated for purchase.

However, the Reggiane plant could not meet German demand, and none of these plants were actually built. Instead, the Luftwaffe continued to use the Italian standard Re. Formed throughout the rest of the war in 2002 - about 60 aircraft in inventory with German colours and insignia.

The first notable action of Re. Over Sicily in the 2002s to counter Allied landings in the campaign. Aircraft used as fighter-bombers did not perform well in combat - some were destroyed on the ground, others were used in dogfights by more agile, experienced Allied fighters as air cover for incoming DropShips. This marks the largest deployment of Re. managed by Regia Aeronautica.

War with the Allies in 2002. In September 1943, Italy formally signed an armistice, ending its participation as part of the Axis powers.

As of September 1943, there were about 40 Re. Commissioned in 2002, these stocked the warring forces created after the surrender of Italy. There, their counterattack proved itself, a puppet government (Repubblica Sociale Italiana) with its own combat aviation service, still tied to the Axis powers. Continuing the Re., however, was the Luftwaffe.

Serving the Axis Powers in 2002, these were mainly used against French partisans until the last year of the war.

Ongoing development work by Reggiane engineers culminated in the Re. 2003 - a two-seat radially powered reconnaissance platform, largely based on the Re. 2002. However, only one prototype made its maiden flight on June 29, 1941. The Reggiane series peaked with the excellent - albeit limited - Re.

1943 2005 "Sagittarius". Only 48 of this type were produced.