Italy was not prepared for WWII. It was a nation set up for warfare against lesser opponents. It had pretty much mediocre equipment when compared to the major powers. This was quite true of its aviation industry. The industry was pretty much a few years behind the 'big boys' in terms of airframes and armament and even worse off when it came to aero engines. In fact, the majority of engines that were in Italian aircraft were license built versions of the power plants of other nations. However, they did build some very nice looking and well handling aircraft and prior to the armistice, had some planes, powered by German engines, that were the equal of the Allies.

Reggiane was one of those companies. A follow-on of Caproni, it did not lack from expertise and thanks to importing and license building German Daimler-Benz engines, were able to produce some nice aircraft. In fact, the aircraft built around the DB.605 was one of the best Italian planes of the war. Unfortunately, as with most everything Italian, it was not built in the numbers required to make any real difference in the outcome of the war.

The Re.2001 was more successful as a ground attack plane as it was an air to air fighter. It was powered by a DB.601 as used in the Bf-109E/F aircraft. It was close to the Spitfires it met over Malta, but simply did not have the hoped full success in this regard. The other operational aircraft in the book is the Re.2005. It was one of three major Italian aircraft that used this engine, the others being the Fiat G.55 and Macchi C.205. Since the Macchi plane was based on the earlier C.202, it was the one built in the greatest numbers. The Fiat aircraft, though built in pretty small numbers, was considered the best of the three. Included in this book are a few aircraft under development, but never built along with the Re.2006 which was built, but never flew.

The book provides the development story of each aircraft along with a fairly comprehensive combat history. Each section has several pages of full color profiles, all based on photographs. There is also an extensive technical description using period photos and images from technical manuals. Included are planes of both the 2001 and 2005. Finally, a neat section on the recovery and restoration of an Re.2001. In all, a great book and a welcome companion to the volume on the radial engine Reggiane aircraft. Highly recommended.

August 2024

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