The IMAM Ro.51 was an Italian fighter aircraft that first flew in 1937. It was designed for the 1936 new fighter contest for the Regia Aeronautica, with practically all the Italian aircraft builders involved.

Design

The aircraft, designed by the engineer Galasso, was a single-seat, monoplane fighter, of mixed construction (the wings were made of wood), and initially with a fixed undercarriage. The engine was standard for this generation of fighters, an

Fiat A.74 The Fiat A.74 was a two-row, fourteen-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine produced in Italy in the 1930s as a powerplant for aircraft. It was used in some of Italy's most important aircraft of World War II. Design and development The A.74 marked ...

RC 38 radial powering a three-blade propeller. The fixed undercarriage limited the maximum speed to only 467 km/h. It was armed with two Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm machine guns.

Development

In June 1938 the first prototype, initially fitted with a very small tail, was tested and found inferior to the

Macchi C.200 The Macchi C.200 Saetta (Italian: "Lightning"), or MC.200, was a fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy. Various versions were flown by the ''Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Air Force) who used the type throughou ...

and

Fiat G.50 The Fiat G.50 ''Freccia'' ("Arrow") was a World War II Italian fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by aviation company Fiat. Upon entering service, the type became Italy’s first single-seat, all-metal monoplane that had an enclosed ...

. It was overall a poor aircraft. The trials to re-engineer the wing came too late and no orders were made. The second prototype Ro.51/1, was converted into a fighter floatplane. Like the Ro.44 it had a large central float and two smaller ones under the wings. The maximum speed dropped to 430 km/h, but endurance was increased to 1,200 km. Unfortunately during a trial one of the wings suddenly sank in the water. The rest of the aircraft swiftly followed, and the loss of this prototype meant the end of the program. Although performance was apparently fairly good, the project was overall a failure, especially in the early aspects, even if it was not too different from the

Fokker D.XXI The Fokker D.XXI fighter was designed in 1935 by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in response to requirements laid out by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (''Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger'', ML ...

. But with so many other superior machines also involved, waiting for the problems the Ro.51 had to be fixed was not an option.

Operators

; * Regia Aeronautica

Specifications (Ro.51 second prototype)

References

External links

Ro.51 in italiankits.it

{{IMAM aircraft Ro.51 1930s Italian fighter aircraft Abandoned military aircraft projects of Italy Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Floatplanes Aircraft first flown in 1937