Italy entered WWII totally unprepared for what was to come. They had a military force that was fine for fighting in their colonial territories, but one that was simply overwhelmed by the pace of modern warfare against European armies.

Basically, Italy was not able to produce material in the quantity and quality that was sufficient to perform the task. Their air force was mostly comprised of fighter aircraft that were a pleasure to fly, but were underpowered and underarmed compared to most of its contemporaries.

This was exacerbated by Italian industry's inability to produce what was needed in the sort of numbers that were needed. They also tended to produce multiply products to fill the same need when they should have concentrated on just one. An example of this was the Macchi C. 200/202/205 series of fighters. The C.200 was a radial engine aircraft that was later re-engined with a DB.601, which was even later upgraded to a DB.605.

The DB.605 engine was, like many others, license built in Italy, but at a rate that was insufficient to meet needs. Indeed, there were often airframes awaiting power plants. Even the MC.205 was a bit under armed, but it at least was nearly equal to modern Allied aircraft when flown by competent pilots.

This is the story of the 205. Many of these planes were upgraded MC.202s as there was little difference in the two airframes save the engine. With the factory in the German held part of the country after the armistice, there were enough new airframes built to help outfit several ANR units until the end of the war. Those left in the southern part of Italy were incorporated into the Cobelligerent Air Force until parts ran out.  Post war, airframes were upgraded and sold to several overseas nations needing fighters.

In this book, the author covers the developmental history of the type, including profiles showing the differences between variants. Plans for the 205 in both 1/72 and 1/48 are supplied for those who like plans. There are also close-up images from the extant airframes and the usual several pages of large, well done profiles. Overall, it is an excellent book on the type and just the thing for enthusiasts and modelers alike.

June 2020

Review book courtesy of the fine folks at www.casematepublishing.com. You can get yours at this link. Visit them for more excellent books.

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