The Re.2001 was an Italian fighter aircraft that served with Italy during world war II and the postwar years albeit in very limited numbers and roles during this last period.
Unofficialy it was known as the 'Falco II' (Eagle II) instead of 'Ariete I' (Ram I)
It was the main 'rival' of the more famous Macchi C.202 and originally its production was expected to be of 252 units, but only 237 were completed. However, thanks to its very flexible design, it could undertake a lot of aerial roles.
As it was very maneuverable it could dogfight against better opponents like the Supermarine Spitfire or the Curtiss P-40. It also served as basis for the upcoming reggiane fighter models, namely the Re.2002, Re.2003, Re.2004 and the Re.2005.
As i've said before, it was a very flexible airplane that could perform an enormous amount of roles. That characteristic gave this airplane a lot of variants.
- -First & first prototype modified: Completed in June 1940 (the same month of Italy's entrance into the war) it was powered by an original German DB601 engine and, was unarmed. In fact the modification made to the prototype was just to make the holes in the fuselage to fit the machine guns which were never installed.
-Second prototype: Much closer to the production variant, it was powered by the Italian copy of the DB601 engine, the Alfa Romeo RA 1000 RC.41 which would also powered the rest of the variants except for the Delta version. It also featured two Breda-SAFAT 7mm MGs in the wings as well as another two Breda-SAFAT 12,7mm MGs in the fuselage. It directly leaded to the pre-production series.
-Serie 0 or pre-production serie: It included a new and better cable system as well as a fixed rear landing gear as well as ailerons for the underwings radiators which wouldn't make their way to the production version but however will be present from the second series onwards (with some exceptions). 10 units produced.
-Series I: The production and most produced variant. It was the standard fighter version. Of this series 39 were produced in the CB variant. 100 of them produced.
-Re.2001bis: Version with the radiators set into the wings in order to improve the aerodynamics. Initially it was considered to build a third prototype, but in order to save time and resources the modifications were carried out on the second prototype. Such modifications forced to remove the underwings machine guns. Tested for the first time in April 1941, it managed to achieve a speed of 600km/h at 6000m high. Although it also was 50/60km/h faster than the Series I, as it was underarmed, it was decided to discard it's mass production and it was used as a testbed during the spring of 1942 for the more advanced Reggiane Re.2006.
-Re.2001 Delta: Version powered by an Isotta Fraschini Delta IV RC.16-48 air cooled engine. It was intended to be a lightweight version of the regular series. 100 of them were ordered and one prototype was built. However it prooved to be inferior to the regular version and the orders were called-off.
-Re.2001CN: The night fighter variant. It featured an anti-flash cowling in the engine and the two wing MGs were replaced with two 20mm MG 151. The anti-flash cowling was very easily removed and many of them were just regular fighters armed with the aforementioned underwings cannons.
-Re.2001CB: Fighter-Bomber version. Able to carry a 250kg bomb under the fuselage. 39 units were made. This was the basis for the OR, GV and G versions.
-Re.2001OR. OR stands for Organizzazione Roma (Rome's Organization) which was the codename given to the construction of Italian carriers RN Aquila and RN Sparviero. This was a carrierborne version of the CB. It featured a grappling hook but it didn't feature folding wings which, by the time this was being built (1942) it was an essential requisite for any carrier-borne fighter in order to save space inside the ship. 12 units were made and some of them featured an alternate hook configuration.
-Re.2001 fotografico: Photo-reconnaissance variant with cameras inside pods mounted on the wings. This wasn't an official variant because it was a field modification. Most probably the GV airplanes that attacked the HMS Victorious carrier were converted into this role.
-Re.2001H: A serie IV unit converted into the anti-tank role. It was armed with two 20mm underwings cannons as well as with small bombs also underwings. The Italian armistice of September 1943 stoped any further development.
-Re.2001S: Version equipped with an external extra fuel tank. This version was derived from the CB one and was only present in those units that served with the Co-Belligerent air force.
-Re.2001GV: A CB version carrying a 630Kg anti-ship bomb under the fuselage. This variant took part in the attack on the HMS Victorious carrier. The letters GV stands for Galimberti-Vaccari as they were the inventors of this variant, Lt. Aldo Galimberti and Riccardo Vaccari.
-Re.2001G: A series IV unit equipped either with a 600kg torpedo or with a liquid-oxygen bomb. In either case the rear landing gear was lengthened to avoid the torpedo or the bomb from touching the ground when landed.
And last, but not least, thanks to eswube for his review on this one.
Italy, Co-Belligerent Italy, Italian Social Republic, Reggiane Re.2001 'Ariete I' or 'Falco II'
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