Fiat G.55 Centauro by Sword

1/72 scale
Kit No. 71024
Retail: $30.00
Decals: Seven versions, all for Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR), the wartime successor to the Regia Aeronautica
Comments: Includes parts for two complete kits; engraved panel lines, two-piece canopy, separate parts for 20mm wing cannon, resin insert for main landing gear

Sword provides two complete sprues like that seen above, allowing modelers to build two complete examples of the G.55.

History

By all accounts, although it saw action mainly during the last two years of the war, the Fiat G.55 was an excellent interceptor that might have emerged from World War II with a more substantial reputation were it not for the fact that the Italian government surrendered to the Allies seven months after it entered service in March 1943. It soon returned under the banner of Italy’s Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR), or National Republican Air Force, the air arm of the Italian Socialist Republic that was the puppet state of Nazi Germany after Mussolini was deposed and Italy surrendered in October 1943. In all the chaos of Italy during this time, it is quite possible that records were poorly kept. Nonetheless, the Fiat G.55 is a serious contender for Italy’s best fighter of WWII.

The G.55 prototype first flew in April 1942 and entered service with the Regia Aeronautica (the Italian Air Force under Mussolini) 11 months later. Of rugged construction and powerfully armed with a 20mm German MG151/20 firing through the propeller hub, combined with four 12.7mm Breda machine guns (two in the upper engine cowl and two in the lower engine cowl, all firing through the propeller arc) its license-built German Daimler Benz DB 605 engine had excellent performance that did not drop off at high altitude, it was the ideal choice for attacking American heavy bombers over Italy.

The G.55 saw its first combat in March 1943 and that spring participated in the defence of Rome with the 353a Squadriglia of the Regia Aeronautica. It saw action again on June 5, 1943 against Allied aircraft attacking Sardinia. The G.55 had speed, firepower and agility, and was a lethal adversary for both the Spitfire and the P-51 Mustang.

The Luftwaffe thought highly enough of the G.55 to field it within the German ranks during the last year of the war. In capable German hands, the Centauro was more than a match for even the best of the Allied fighters. The G.55 had a reputation for being able to withstand a lot of punishment and still bring her pilots back home. Pilots reported visibility as excellent based on the raised cockpit and large canopy. It featured a hard point under each wing, enabling it to carry a bomb up to 350 lbs. (160kg) or a 26-gallon (100 liter) drop tank. A problem with a left-hand yaw tendency under take-off power was partially resolved with a slightly off-set vertical stabilizer.  Less than 300 were built, but during its short service life it was flown by both the Repubblica Sociale Italiana and the Regia Aeronautica.

The Kit

Sword’s Fiat G.55 Centauro is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 55 parts, including two clear parts for the windscreen and canopy, and a single resin insert. A major bonus is that this kit contains parts for two complete aircraft. The cockpit consists of a floor, separate seat, control yoke, and rudder pedals, as well as a control panel that features both raised and engraved detail, together with a forward bulkhead, and a rear bulkhead including a headrest. The fuselage interiors bear raised detail for the cockpit sidewalls.

A somewhat rare photo of the G.55 during the brief period that it flew for the Regia Aeronautica. Most of the type’s service life was with the post-Mussolini Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, the air force of the German puppet government dominating Northern Italy for the latter years of the war.

As this is a short run kit, it should be noted that there are no locator pins, so extra care including puttying and sanding may be necessary to achieve smooth join surfaces for the major airframe components. The wings themselves are a three-piece assembly that include cementing interior main gear wheel walls and a resin insert to the lower wing before cementing the upper wings on.

There is a two-part air intake, likely for cooling the engine, that must be cemented to the nose, along with to exhaust manifolds. The radiator assembly, to be cemented to the under surface of the wing along the G.55’s center line, includes forward and rear screens. The main landing gear are fairly detailed, each one consisting of six parts. The airscrew is a three part assembly consisting of a back plate, propeller, and spinner, through which a 20mm cannon in the nose fired.

Markings

The kit decals are by Techmod and feature a high quality gloss, sharply in register with realistic colors. There are
versions for seven different aircraft. The first is a Fiat G.55 Serie 1, assigned to 2nd Gruppo, 1a Squadriglia based at Casa Vaga in May 1944 (Black 6 with white outlines). It appears in a German camouflage paint scheme of RLM 74 and RLM 75 (Grey Violet and Dark Grey-Green, respectively) upper surfaces, with RLM 76 Light Blue undersides. As the RLM 76 is painted rather high up the side of the aircraft, the sides and tail of the plane are mottled with RLM 74 splotches over the Light Blue background. The underside of the engine is painted yellow, following the German pattern. There is a white fuselage band, over which the Italian tri-color appears, matching a smaller tri-color on the tail. The conical spinner is painted in a pattern of one-half white, and one-half mottle pattern matching the sides of the fuselage.

The second version is a Fiat G.55 Serie 1, assigned to 2nd Gruppo, 1a Squadriglia based at Cascina Vaga, also in May 1944 (Black 7 with white outlines). It appears in a splinter camouflage scheme of Sand, Dark Green and Brown with Light Grey undersides. The underside of the engine is painted yellow, follwing the German pattern. There is a white fuselage band, over which the Italian tri-color appears, matching a smaller tri-color on the tail. The conical spinner is painted in a pattern of one-half white, and one-half black.

The third version is a Fiat G.55 Serie 1, assigned to 1st Gruppo, 3rd Squadriglia in July 1944, location unknown (Blue 21 with white outlines). It appears in a camouflage scheme of Sand and Olive Green over Light Grey undersides. The conical spinner is painted in a black-and-white spiral pattern.

The fourth version is a Fiat G.55 Serie 1, assigned to 2nd Gruppo, 1a Squadriglia based at Cascina Vaga, in May 1944.
It appears in a splinter camouflage pattern of RLM 74 and RLM 75 over RLM 76 undersides, with the lower engine panel painted yellow. There is a mottle pattern on the fuselage sides and tail. There is also a white band on the fuselage forward of the tail over which the Italian tri-color appears, matching a smaller tri-color on the vertical tail. The conical spinner is painted in a pattern of one-half white, and one-half mottle pattern matching the sides of the fuselage.

The fifth version is a Fiat G.55 Serie 1, assigned to 2nd Gruppo, 2 Squadriglia based at Bresso in April 1944 (Yellow 5). This machine is painted in a scheme of Olive Green upper surfaces and Light Grey undersides. It bears an image of a devil’s head on the nose just aft of the spinner.

The sixth version is a Fiat G.55 Serie 1, assigned to 2nd Gruppo, 2 Squadriglia based at Cascina Vaga in May 1944 (Yellow 7). This aircraft is painted in a splinter camouflage pattern of RLM 74 and RLM 75 over RLM 76 undersides,
with the lower engine panel painted yellow. The fuselage sides bear a mottle camouflage using a lighter shade of grey of RLM 75 over the Light Blue of RLM 76, as opposed to the other paint schemes of Dark Grey-Green over Light Blue. The conical spinner is painted in a pattern of one-half white, and one-half mottle pattern matching the sides of the fuselage.

The seventh version is a Fiat G.55 Serie 1, assigned to 2nd Gruppo, 2 Squadriglia based at Venaria Reale in 1944 (Yellow 5). This aircraft is painted in Olive Green over Light Grey.

Conclusion

This kit offers a crisply detailed pair of Fiat G.55’s, Italy’s most impressive fighter of World War II. It has exceptional detail for the scale, particularly in the cockpit. The variety of choice of markings is a bigger bonus than usual because of the opportunity this kit affords to build at least two of the versions presented. Highly recommended.

References

• www.warintheskies.org
• www.world-war-2-planes.com
• www.militaryfactory.com
• aviastar.org
• Kit instructions