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Hasegawa 1/48 Macchi C.202 Italian Ace - Emanuele Annoni by Jean Barby |
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One of the best fighters of World War II, this classic fighter possessed a great rate of climb, high speed and
maneuvreability and was a first-rate aircraft on all counts. The Macchi C.202 was the contemporary of the Bf.109F
and the Spitfire Mk.V and in certain aspects the aircraft was superior to both, such as in the rate of climb, dive
speed and agility. Both the Macchi and the Sptifire shared a common lineage in the Schneider Trophy racers. In fact
the Supermarine (Spitfire) designs were largely influenced by the
Macchi M.39.
The C.202 was used extensively in North Africa, the Soviet Union and in defense of the homeland and was Italy’s best
fighter of WWII, although more powerful fighters had been produced later in the war. Over 1,100 C.202s were built in
little over two years. Although often overlooked, the two Breda 0.50in caliber SAFATs provided adequate firepower
and had double the range of contemporary English fighter 0.303 MGs as well as greater hitting power. In fact no
formal request for heavier armament was made until the appearance of American four-engine heavy bombers. The
Folgore (Thunderbolt) was well liked by its pilots and its only shortcoming was that too few were built. |
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For this model I did start with the Hasegawa box called "Early Macchi". Of course it is the same model as the others with a bad compromise between a 202 and a 205. You have to carefully check your references in order to suppress nearly all the upper wings hatches, the wings MGs, the round access hatches on the top of the fuselage, use a home made short radio mast and place a tube in the location of the sand filter, but this is provided with the kit. On the underside the ejections shells holes must be suppressed as there are no wings MGs on the Serie II. I used the Stormo decal sheet with Lt Annoni deco, and the famous Macchi "poached egg" camo, all done with a free handed airbrush. I also did all the details of the undercarriage doors in plasticard to get a more realistic appearance. The undercarriage bay is full of tubes and wires and a DB 601 is located in the front of the plane as in reality. All in all it was a very pleasant built. Best regards, jean. "credo quia absurdum est." C.202 Serie III MM.7742 of Tenente Emanuele Annoni, 96a Sq., 9o Gruppo, 4o Stormo, Comiso 14 October 1941. Nine-kill ace Annoni had to nurse this fighter back to base on 14 October 1941 after it was struck by two cannon shells fired by the No.185 Sqn Hurricane II flown by five-kill ace Plt Off David Barnwell. Malta's leading nightfighter pilot Barnwell was in turn shot down and killed moments later by a second C.202 of 96a Sq. MM.7742 was subsequently repaired and assigned to 54o Stormo in April 1942. |
Aircraft: Macchi MC.202 Manufacturer: Aeronautica Macchi S.p.A. Type: Fighter Year: 1941 Engine: Daimler Benz DB 601A-1, 12-cylinder V, liquid-cooled, 1,175hp Wingspan: 34 ft 8 1/2 in (10.57m) Length: 29 ft 1 in (8.85 m) Height: 9 ft 11 1/2 in (3.02 m) Weight: 6,480 lb (2,937 kg) (Loaded) Maximum Speed: 372 mph (600 km/h) at 18,050 ft (5,500 m) Ceiling: 37,700 ft (11,500 m) Range: 475 miles (765 km) Armament: 2 x 12.7 mm SAFATs (0.5 in) Crew: 1 |
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November, 2013 STORMO! © 2013 |