Sword 72086 REGGIANE RE-2002 BIS

The Reggiane Re.2002 was an Italian WWII fighter aircraft with an all-metal low wing structure. The drive was provided by a single engine Piaggio P.XIX RC 45 Turbines with 1175 hp. The flight of the prototype took place in 1940, and serial production was carried out in the period 1942-1944. About 230 aircraft of this type were built in its course. The deck armament consisted of four BREDA-Safat machine guns: two 12.7 mm and two 7.7 mm. The machine could carry a load of bombs weighing up to 650 kilograms.

Re.2002 came about as a far-reaching development of another Reggiane aviation design. The changes mainly concerned the addition of completely new wings, strengthening the overall structure of the machine and the use of a new engine. The aerodynamics of the entire structure has also been improved. Re. 2002 turned out to be a successful design, with good performance, especially at low altitude. As a result, machines of this type were very often used as fighter-bombers. Reggiane Re.2002 planes were used mainly during the fighting in Sicily in the summer of 1943, as well as during the later stages of the campaign on the Apennine (1943-1945) by the Italian armed forces fighting the German occupier. Many aircraft of this type were also taken over by the Luftwaffe.