A Croat Surviving in Serbia

 

    The FIAT G.50bis in Croatia

    By Decio Zorini (Translated and edited by L. Pavese)

    In 1940, several modifications were identified and made to improve the FIAT G.50 as an interceptor, including removing the fragmentation bomb bay and streamlining the rear fuselage. However, the tailwheel remained fixed instead of retractable as planned. The powerplant was unchanged, and performance remained largely the same despite slight increases in empty and gross weight. Designated the G.50bis, the new variant first flew in September 1940, though deliveries did not begin until April 1941. It was then deployed alongside the original G.50 on most operational fronts. From 1941 to 1943, several Squadriglie operated in the Balkans, including Greece and Albania.

    In October 1941, the Italian Mission in the Kingdom of Croatia received a request for military aid, including medium tanks, armored cars, fighter, bomber, and liaison aircraft, as well as other equipment.

    In 1942, the Italian government agreed to provide Croatia with military aid. The Hrvatska Zrakoplovna Legija (Croatian Air Legion) received nine G.50bis fighters, one two-seat G.50 B trainer, used Caproni Ca.311 reconnaissance aircraft, and FL.3 trainers. The shipment to Croatia included Ansaldo-FIAT L.33 and L.35 light tanks—formerly designated C.V.33 and C.V.35—and other equipment.

Summer of 1944. The G. 50bis, code 3504, on the ramp of the Borongaj air base. (Photograph by Dragan Savic via Boris Ciglic. The airplane in the picture above the headline is the same aircraft)

    The G.50bis aircraft supplied to Croatia were built by Aeritalia and had previously served with the Regia Aeronautica. Before delivery, they were returned to the manufacturer for refurbishment, which included a general overhaul, engine replacement, repainting, and installation of a two-way radio with direction-finding capability in place of the receive-only set. The new radios allowed the fighters to integrate into the German system in which the Croatian aircraft operated, although the increased empty weight limited the amount of fuel that could be carried.

    The aircraft were transferred to Croatia in mid-June 1942, to be employed in actions against insurgents.

    The aircraft that was photographed in the aviation museum of Belgrade belonged to the Croatian Air Force, and it was employed in the defense of Zagreb. On the fuselage it bears the residue of a national emblem, the writing G. 50bis and Croatian number 3505. To these the Yugoslav insignia were superimposed when the airplane was voluntarily consigned, in 1944, by Lieutenant Colonel Andrija Arapovič on the island of Vis in Dalmatia. In September 1944, the airplane was examined by J. Broz Tito, as documented by a photograph.

    The aircraft was written off for damage it suffered on a single wheel landing, followed by the complete collapse of the landing gear. Later, it was painted in “military green” and exhibited in the open for about twenty years in the Kalamegdan fortress in Belgrade. The painting was very damaged due to a botched paint stripping attempt, made after the aircraft was removed from the fortress and stored in a warehouse with its disassembled wings.

The FIAT G, 50bis 3505 in the Republic of Serbia Aviation Museum at the Belgrade Nikola Tesla airport. 

    In 2002, personnel from the Vigna di Valle Italian Air Force museum examined the airplane. The aircraft should be a series V (5th), G. 50bis (which received the Italian registration MM 5933 to 6247. But the original MM number is not legible), produced by Aeritalia in 1940-1941.

Below, more pictures of the 3505 at the Belgrade Aviation Museum.

    This article was excerpted from the N. 149 issue of the Italian magazine Ali Antiche which is a publication of the G.A.V.S. (Gruppo Amici Velivoli Storici), an organization dedicated to the preservation of Italian aviation heritage.

    Your comments will be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you,

    L. Pavese