WOW300 Macchi Folgore

Description

The Macchi C.202 Folgore (“thunderbolt”) was an Italian fighter developed and manufactured by Macchi Aeronautica. It was operated mainly by the Regia Aeronautica in WW2. According to aviation author David Mondey, the Folgore has been considered to be one of the best wartime fighters to serve in large numbers with the Regia Aeronautica.

During July 1941, the Folgore went into service with the Regia Aeronautica. In combat it very quickly proved itself to be an effective and deadly dogfighter against its contemporaries. During its service life, the C.202 was deployed on all fronts in which Italy was involved. During late 1941 it commenced offensive operations over Malta and in North Africa, where Italian and German forces were engaged in heavy combat against British and later American operations. The C.202 continued to be used in North Africa as late as mid-1943, by which point the type was withdrawn to support defensive efforts in Sicily and the Italian mainland following their invasion by Allied forces. It also saw limited use on the Eastern Front.

The Australian ace Clive Caldwell who fought a wide variety of German, Italian and Japanese fighters during 1941–45, later stated that the C.202 was “one of the best and most undervalued of fighters”. The C.202 also had its defects: like its predecessor, the C.200, it could enter a dangerous spin. The radios were unreliable, routinely forcing pilots to communicate by waggling their wings and Western historians regard the C.202 as insufficiently armed, being furnished with just a pair of machine guns that had a tendency for jamming. Still in mid-Summer 1942, in North Africa, the Folgore achieved a ratio kill/loss better than that of the Messerschmitt Bf 109’s operated by the Luftwaffe.

This 1/30 scale Mahogany model is limited to 5 in number and is priced at $550 plus shipping or £425 in the EU/UK.

Our Folgore comes in the markings of Ace Luigi orrini’s aircraft whilst serving in Tunisia in 1943.
He summed up his career with these words: “212 air combat, 24 solo air victories, 5 parachute jumps.”

You Gotta’ luv him, he survived all that and made it to 97 years of age.

All TG/K&C figures or accessories shown are for size reference purposes only.