Military Aviation Art
Summer
1943. A Regianne Re 2005 of the 362nd Squadriglia, 22nd Gruppo, completes
a firing pass on a B-17F of the 301st Bomb Group somewhere over the
Italian countryside. Considered by many to be the most beautiful of the
three "Serie 5" fighters Italy produced around the Daimler-Benz
DB 605 engine, the "Sagittario, (Archer) was capable of holding its
own ground in combat with either the US Mustang or the English Spitfire,
the Re 2005 was a sleek and graceful design that excelled in the hands of
a competent pilot, and although its handling was considered to be
exquisite, it still mounted a hefty weapons load. With a pair of
Breda-Safat 12.7mm machine guns in the upper cowling, one 20mm MG 151
cannon firing through the propellor hub, and two more Mauser 151s in the
wings, the Sagittario would have been a serious threat to Allied fighters
and bombers. However, because of production difficulties compounded by
aerial bombing of the Regianne factories, only 30or so of these fine
aircraft were completed before Italy capitulated in September of 1943.
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