Reggiane Re.2000 Falco I

Common card · No. 372617

The Reggiane Re.2000 Falco I is an Italian all metal, low-wing monoplane developed and manufactured by aircraft company Reggiane. The type was used by the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) and the Swedish Air Force during the first part of the Second World War. The Re 2000 was developed by a team headed by aircraft designers Roberto Longhi and Antonio Alessio to be a lightly built and highly maneuverable interceptor/fighter aircraft. The emergent design, which had been designated as the Re 2000 Falco I, was equipped with a Curtiss-Wright-style retractable undercarriage, bore substantial similarities to the American-built Seversky P-35. On 24 May 1939, the prototype performed its maiden flight. Flight testing of the prototype revealed it to be able to outfight several significant combat aircraft of the time, including even the more modern Macchi C 200 and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighters. During the run up to and following the outbreak of the Second World War, the aircraft was...

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