AEROPLANE TO AEROPLANO

      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 li...

“It is certainly German. Its wings bearing the black crosses reveal it; but it’s a very odd bird. It’s running away at full speed. It’s really extraordinary: it has a cruciform empennage, but it looks like it not only has a forward propeller but also a pushing one behind the stabilizers, at the end of the tail.” Do-335 This is how Pierre Clostermann described his first encounter with the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil, over the Elbe River, in April of 1945. Ten years earlier, Alberto Jona had designed an astonishingly similar heavy fighter, the J.10. The  drawing of the J.10 that was filed  in 1935. By Roberto Gentilli  (translated by L. Pavese) The drawing of the first patent, # 342987, which was filed on June 22, 1935, depicts a large single-seat, monoplane, retractable-gear fighter. The projected aircraft was powered by an air-cooled radial engine, mounted in the conventional position in the nose, and by a fuselage mounted, in-line eng...