Reggiane Re.2000
| Re.2000 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Reggiane |
| Designer | Roberto Longhi |
| First flight | 24 May 1939 |
| Introduction | 1940 |
| Retired | July 1945 (Sweden) |
| Primary users |
Hungarian Air Force Swedish Air Force Luftwaffe Regia Aeronautica |
| Number built | 186 + license built |
| Variants |
MÁVAG Héja Reggiane Re.2001 Reggiane Re.2002 Reggiane Re.2003 Reggiane Re.2004 Reggiane Re.2005 Reggiane Re.2006 Reggiane Re.2007 |
The Caproni-Reggiane Re.2000 Falco I was an Italian all metal, low-wing, monoplane with a Curtiss-Wright-style retractable undercarriage, used in the first part of World War II. This lightly built and highly maneuverable interceptor/fighter, similar to the Seversky P-35, flew for the first time in 1939. It proved a technically advanced aircraft, well balanced and extremely aerodynamic, but not without its faults.
Although potentially superior to Italian contemporary fighters (Fiat G.50 and Macchi C.200), the Re.2000 was not considered satisfactory by Italian military authorities. Consequently, the manufacturer built it for export and almost all of the first production served with the Swedish Air Force and Hungarian Air Force, rather than in the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force).
The Reggiane Re.2000 was designed by Roberto Longhi and Antonio Alessio in 1938. They took inspiration from the contemporary Seversky P-35 which it superficially resembled. The Re.2000 was the first aircraft designed by Reggiane that employed aluminum stressed skin rather than the wooden or mixed wood and metal structures normally used in contemporary Italian aircraft such as the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 built by Reggiane under license. Reggiane introduced several advanced features: a modern structure, well more advanced than the ones used in Macchi's and other Italian fighters of the time; an elliptical wing, with five spars and integral fuel tanks. Reggiane Re.2000 had no fuselage tanks, but nevertheless, with the entire wing volume devoted to fuel, it had up to 460 kg (640 lt) gasoline, with a 900 1,100 km endurance, far better than Macchis and Fiats. The armament was still two 12.7 mm Breda's (300 rounds each), plus the provision for bomblet-dispensers (spezzoniera).
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