- Yes
- Maybe
- No
History.
The Reggiane 2002 is perhaps the most famous Italian fighter-bomber of the Second World War together with the Breda 65. It was designed by engineer Roberto Longhi based on the quite famous Reggiane 2000 with a more powerful Piaggio engine than the 2000. The aircraft satisfied the Italian high command despite the various problems in building the engine and several examples were ordered. In 1940 the plane made its first flight and two years later the first example was included in the ranks of the Regia Aeronautica. There were never any major modifications to the aircraft, except in a few isolated cases. After 8 September the Germans thought of modifying the captured Reggiane 2002s and re-engineering them with BMW engines, but even before this a special example was built. Registered MM 7327, this particular aircraft had the airframe (fuselage and tail) of a classic Reggiane Re.2002, but was fitted with the wings of its worthy successor Reggiane Re.2005 and had a modified radiator, as well as a slightly lowered engine. The aircraft appears to have taken to the skies for the first time on 12 July 1943, but after the armistice the aircraft was destroyed by Allied bombs while the conversion to the standard Re.2002 series was underway. This particular aircraft was named Reggiane Re.2002bis.
Armaments and propulsion.
Like all Reggiane 2002s, this one was armed with four machine guns: two 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT mounted in the nose synchronized with the propeller and two 7.7 mm placed in the wings (with the same ammunition reserve as a standard Reggiane 2002.)
In terms of engine, the aircraft was equipped with the typical Piaggio P.XIX R.C.45 radial turbine engine with 14 cylinders in double star, air-cooled with 1,160 hp of power, which, added to the new wings, allowed the aircraft to reach 580 km/h of maximum speed.
Specifications.
Spoiler
Crew: 1
Length: 8.16 m
Wingspan: 11.00 m
Height: 3.15 m
Wing surface area: 20.40 m²
Maximum weight: 3,700 kg
Engine: 1x Piaggio P.XIX R.C.45 Turbine 1,160 hp
Maximum speed: 580 km/h
Tangency: 10,500 m
Armament: 2x 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT and 2x 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT
Pictures and drawnings.
Sources.
Spoiler
Aerei Italiani - Scheda Tecnica - Reggiane Re.2001
Caratteristiche - Reggiane fighters
Reggiane 2002 : la carenatura della presa d'aria del radiatore dell'olio motore
Reggiane Re.2002 - Wikipedia
Reggiane Re.2002 Ariete | Plane-Encyclopedia
Captcha
https://war-book.ru/reggiane-re-2002-ariete-ii-istrebitel-bombardirovshhik/
Reggiane 2000 Falco I e 2002 Ariete II, in I Grandi Aerei Storici, N.50
Reggiane Re.2002 Ariete - Wikipedia
Fotoalbum Reggiane N.261
Reggiane Re.2005 - Wikipedia
RE 2002 - Ariete
Reggiane Re.2002 Ariete | Plane-Encyclopedia
Aerei Italiani - Scheda Tecnica - Reggiane Re.2002
Storia | Officine Meccaniche Reggiane
https://www.alieuomini.it/AJAX/catalogo/dettaglio2_catalogo/49