Macchi M.C.205 Veltro

Macchi M.C.205 Veltro.
Nouvelle évolution chez Macchi du 200/202 avec le Daimler DB605, de la série des .5 italiens


Le bref chapitre de wikipedia en français :

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Le Macchi MC.205 Veltro (lévrier) est un [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], produit à partir du milieu de la [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].


Conception


Le Macchi MC.205V Veltro est conçu à partir de la cellule du [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] et du moteur allemand [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] DB 605A.

Il effectue son vol initial le [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], mais n'est produit en masse que tardivement à cause de la faiblesse de la production des moteurs. Environs 200 exemplaires furent construits

Deux versions de prototype furent conçues : le MC.206 et MC.207.

Engagements


À cause de ces retards, la mise en service n'eut lieu que vers [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Il effectua ses premiers combats en juillet, puis à partir de la capitulation italienne, servit à la fois dans le camp allié, et dans celui de l'Axe, la [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] en ayant conservé de nombreux exemplaires.


Autres caractéristiques

Le Macchi MC 205 était une machine exceptionnellement agile a moyennes et basses altitudes et fut le seul chasseur de la série 5 à avoir un emploi opérationnel significatif, il se montra capable de rivaliser avec les meilleurs chasseurs alliés.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Pas simple de faire la différence au premier regard avec le 202 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

Une vidéo sur le "Lévrier"

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

La page MC 205 sur Wikipedia.en, encore bien fournie :


The Macchi C.205 (also known as MC.205, "MC" standing for "Macchi Castoldi") Veltro ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]: Greyhound) was
an [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] built by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Along with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] engine.

The C.205 was a development of the earlier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Folgore.

Although the Macchi C.205 Veltro was able to match the best Allied opponents in speed and maneuverability, it was
introduced late in the conflict.

Due to poor industrial capability, only a small production run was delivered before the end of the war;
"...like the Spitfire, the Veltro was tricky (in its construction), and thus slow, to build."

"With a top speed of some 400 mph and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannons as well as 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the C.205 was highly respected by Allied and Luftwaffe pilots alike.

Regarded as the best Italian aircraft of World War II, in action it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers and capable of successfully taking on equal terms such renowed fighters as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien],
a capability which encouraged the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to use a number of these aircraft to equip one Gruppe.

Italy's highest scoring ace, Adriano Visconti, achieved 11 of his 26 victories in the few weeks he was able to fly on the Veltro, with the top scoring Veltro pilot Sergente Maggiore[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] shooting down 14 enemy aircraft plus six damaged with the C.205.

Design and development


In 1941, seeking to further improve the performance of the C.202 fighter, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] decided to license-build the German DB 605 1,100 kW (1,475 hp) liquid-cooled [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] inverted V-12 engine in Italy, which Fiat produced as the RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (Typhoon).

Fighter manufacturers were invited to enter versions of their designs using this engine as the caccia della serie 5 ("series-5 fighter") and were provided with imported DB 605s for prototype use.

All of the designs used the number 5 in the name, with the Macchi becoming the C.205 (instead of C.202bis or C.203).

Macchi had used a licence built [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] engine in the C.202, an engine which was closely comparable in size to the later, more powerful DB 605 .

This meant that the C.202 airframe could be easily adapted for the DB 605.

The C.205V Veltro first flew on 19 April 1942, and was considered as a stop-gap measure with the definitive variant being the 205N Orione (N stood for "new").

In testing, the Fiat G.55 Centauro and Re.2005 Sagittario proved to be better performers at high altitude due to their larger wing area.

In fact, the Veltro used the same wing as the earlier Folgore but its weight had increased from 2,350 kg (5,180 lb) to 3,408 kg (7,515 lb) and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] from 142 kg/m² (29 lb/ft²) to 203 kg/m² (41 lb/ft²).

The Veltro's performance was similar to German designs with their higher wing loading, and was at its best at medium altitudes where it could reach 642 km/h (399 mph).

The C.205 Veltro was placed in production until the G.55 and the Re.2005 could become available.

Un dessin du DB 605 fabriqué par Alfa Romeo

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

The first 100 Veltro Serie I were only machine gun-armed, but many were also fitted with the 20 mm [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

There were no Serie II built, but 150 Serie III were ordered, which were fitted with cannons in the wings as standard.

The necessity to re-engineer the forward fuselage was time-consuming, but after several months of delays, the "205N" was ready.

The C.205N1 first flew on 1 November 1942, with armament consisting of a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller
hub, and four cowling-mounted 12.7 mm (.5 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] for which it carried 300-400 and 1,400 rounds of ammunition respectively.

This configuration allowed a higher ceiling, but less speed (629 km/h/391 mph), however, the better aerodynamics (with a longer and more streamlined rear fuselage) provided an overall advantage over the Macchi C.205V/MG151
(620 km/h/385 mph).

The maiden flight of the second prototype, the C.205N2, took place on 19 May 1943, reaching 628 km/h (390 mph) during testing, which was marginally slower than the C.205N1 with a correspondingly longer time to reach its operational altitude.

It was equipped with one engine-mounted 20 mm cannon, two wing-mounted 20 mm cannon, and two fuselage-mounted 12.7 mm (.5 in) machine guns.

The ammunition load comprised 600 or more 12.7 mm (.5 in) rounds, and a maximum of around 900 20 mm rounds which was much heavier than that carried by the C.205N1, and more than that of the Reggiane and the Fiat which carried 490-550 and 650 20 mm rounds respectively.

Although 1,200 aircraft were initially ordered, the design was abandoned due to the Armistice.

The N-series aircraft should have performed better than the C.205V, but Macchi test pilot Carestiano noted that their flying characteristics were inferior to the lighter and more agile C.205 Veltro. The later series also experienced overheating while climbing.

Design


The C.205, known initially as the C.202bis, was similar to the previous Folgore, but there were many differences in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]: the tail was larger, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and its hump were redesigned, the antenna mast was bigger and some modifications were made to the wings.

The C.205 was a single-seat, all-metal, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] fighter, intended primarily as an interceptor but with ground
attack and escort capabilities.

The long nose housed the DB605 engine which drove a three-blade, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], with the main [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] situated between the engine and the[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was located under the centre section of the fuselage beneath the cockpit while the short rear section housed the radio equipment, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] cylinder and an 80 L (20 US gal) reserve fuel tank.

The wings were made of light aluminium alloys and steel, having two [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and three sections, housing two additional
fuel tanks, and the fully retractable wide-set main [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] gear.

Apart from the all-metal [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in the inner wing, all the other control surfaces were metal-framed and fabric-covered.

Veltros had [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], an armoured seat, and armoured windscreen as standard.

The cramped cockpit possessed a limited field-of-view, but some examples were fitted with a rear-view mirror.

The 827 kg/1,823 lb (normal) payload consisted of the fully equipped pilot (85 kg/187 lb),
fuel (307 kg/677 lb),
two Breda machine guns and two Mauser cannon (60 and 84 kg/130 and 185 lb respectively), 740 rounds of 12.7 mm
(.5 in) ammunition (76 kg/168 lb), 500 rounds of 20 mm ammunition (100 kg/220 lb),
and other sundry items such as oil (33 kg/73 lb), oxygen cylinder (12 kg/26 lb) and radio equipment.

Additionally, 100 L (30 US gal) fuel tanks or 160 kg (350 lb) of bombs could be carried on two underwing hardpoints.

Due to a lack of passenger transport aircraft, modifications were made to a C.205 to enable it to carry eight passengers in the belly of the fuselage, and among others, three pilots of 51° Wing (including Adriano Visconti) made the journey from Sardinia to Italy after the Armistice in this manner.

Relative performance


The following are relative performance and characteristics data for the three versions of the C.205 (or MC.205, as the machines designed by Castoldi were often called):


The following are relative performance and characteristics data for the three versions of the C.205

(or MC.205, as the machines designed by Castoldi were often called):

Although these figures provide an indication of the relative performance of each variant, and showed that the Orione, especially the N2, suffered as a result of the weight increase (particularly in climbs), they are not truly representative as they were obtained under different test conditions.

As opposed to the two N versions, the Veltro was tested under ideal conditions, ie. at light weight (3,250 kg/7,170 lb) and with full emergency power (2,750 rpm). In a climb to 6,000 m (19,700 ft), a Veltro III series, fully equipped and using combat (not emergency) power at 2,600 rpm needed 7 minutes.