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Macchi C.202 Manufacturer : Macchi Number Built : 1200 Production Began : 1941 Retired : Type : The Macchi C.202 Folgore (Thunderbolt) was an Italian fighter aircraft developed during the World War II. It was built by Macchi Aeronautica. It was less known outside Italy but was the best plane of the Regia Aeronautica. The Folgore went into service with the Regia Aeronautica in July 1941 and immediately proved to be an effective and deadly combat fighter. The Australian ace Clive Caldwell stated that the C.202 was one of the best and most undervalued of fighters. It was insufficiently armed, with just two machine guns that easily jammed. The radios were unreliable, forcing the pilots to communicate by waggling wings. The oxygen system was inefficient, causing 50 to 60 per cent of the pilots to break missions off, sometimes even causing fatal accidents. The Folgore showed that Italy can design and build such a world-class fighter plane. It was based on the earlier C.200 Saeta (Thunderbolt).

Macchi C.202