DISCONTINUED Special Hobby 72082 IMAM (Romeo) Ro 57

The IMAM Ro.57 was a single-seat, cantilever low-wing, powered by two radial engines of the FIAT A-74 RC.38 type. It had a mixed structure - wooden wings covered with plywood and a metal fuselage covered with duralumin sheet. The plane received light standard armament for the then single-engine Italian fighters, consisting of only two 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns in the front of the fuselage. The design of the machine was based on the experience of the earlier Ro.53 project. The Ro.57 prototype, marked with a military registration number (Matricola Militare) MM.407, was flown at the beginning of 1939. The plane turned out to be much worse during the tests than the standard Regia Aeronautica single-seat fighters and the decision to start serial production was not made until 1942. Although a small number of these aircraft were included in the equipment of several Regia Aeronautica fighter squadrons, soon - mainly due to poor armament and insufficient performance - the aircraft was withdrawn for assault and diving bombing tasks. The new version, designated Ro.57bis, differed from the standard Ro.57 with two fixed cannons reinforced with two guns (not all publications confirm this fact), the possibility of attaching up to 500 kg of bombs to the external hooks under the fuselage and wings, and aerodynamic brakes on the wings. A number of the original Ro.57s were converted to the Ro.57bis standard and entered service with the Italian Air Force in early 1943, mainly at the 97o Gruppo Autonomo Intercettori in Crotone. The plane turned out to be more successful in its new use than it was originally as a fighter, but its combat use was very limited. Technical data (Ro.57 version): length: 8.8 m, wingspan: 12.5 m, height: 2.9 m, maximum speed: 501 km / h, speed of climb: 10.5 m / s, practical ceiling: 7800 m, range maximum: 1200 km, armament: fixed - 2 Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm machine guns.