One of the Best Axis Fighters in World War 2: Fiat G.55 Centauro

     The Fiat G.55 Centauro is arguably one of the best Axis Fighter aircraft in World War 2. It is an Italian single engine, single seat, propeller driven monoplane that was produced by a part of the Fiat Automobile company, Fiat Aviazione. It was used by Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) and Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (Italian National Republican Air Force) during World War 2, although it only had very short service time due to complications that the Italy had met as the war progresses. There are several reasons why it was claimed to be one of the best fighters in the Axis at the time.


    When it underwent testing, among the other two planes that used the same engine, being the license built Daimler-Benz DB-605, the Fiat G.55 ranked at two in terms of performance. Despite being better than the third one, the Macchi C.205 Veltro and being lower than the first rank that is the Reggiane Re. 2005 Sagittario, it was chosen due to its ease of manufacture over the Re.2005 while also retaining better performance overall than the C.205. The result of the performance test not only interested the Italian Air Force to order it, it also drew interest to its fellow Axis nation, Nazi Germany.


    Nazi Germany, specifically their Air Force, the Luiftwaffe, grew interested in the new line of Italian Fighters and the Italians were invited to do several tests with their own fighters. The test was a simulated dogfight between Italian and German Fighters. The Italian with their Re. 2005, G.55 and C.205 against German Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-4 and Focke-Wulf  Fw 190 A-5. The Germans were impressed by the results of the tests. Both the Re.2005 and G.55 was evaluated as excellent while the C.205 was average. The Germans however was more interested in the G.55 due to the fact that it was simpler to produce compared to the Re.2005 and still retains its excellent performance overall, to the point Oberst (Senior Officer) Edgar Petersen who was also Kommandeur der Erprobungstellen (Commander of All Luftwaffe Test Stations) defined the G.55 as "The Best Fighter in the Axis". Of course, they weren't the only one that saw the impressive performance of the G.55.


    Despite its short service time, alongside the Re.2005 and C.205, the G.55 has proven its worth even in combat. In 1944, over the skies of Northern Italy, it encountered and clashed with the Allied Fighters. The Allied Fighters being the Supermarine Spitfire, P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightning. It has proven to be quite a formidable opponent to these fighters, despite the fact that these Allies Fighters were quite dominant in the sky, even against Fighters from Nazi Germany at the time.


    At the end, it was not enough to change the tide of the war for Italy. They could not even produce it as much as their commissioned production amount which was around 1.800 units, then later raised to 2.400 unit and could only manage to produce around nearly 300 units. Yet, despite its short service time and low numbers of it in the war, the Fiat G.55 Centauro's excellent performance was able to made a mark to not even its allies but also its enemies. Not many aircraft could make such an impression in a very short time of its service, making the G.55 as one of the best Axis Fighters in World War 2 arguably a believable statement.

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