Fiat G.50 Freccia 1/72 Scale Model

Italian G.50bis- This is a model of a fighter that flew from Italian-occupied Albania against Greece in 1940 and 1941. The G.50 was Italy's first monoplane fighter. It had poor performance and was inferior to the Macchi MC.200, but it went into production anyway because of Fiat's close ties to the government. It first saw combat in 1939 in Spain, flying with Italy's Aviazione Legionaria against the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. After the Soviet Union invaded Finland in late 1939, Italy sold 35 G.50s to the Finns. The Finns flew their G.50s with success against the Soviets during this conflict, called the Winter War, and then again beginning in 1941, when they participated with the Germans in the invasion of the Soviet Union. But the G.50's poor performance against modern fighters relegated it to ground support duties for most of WWII. The Italians gave 10 G.50s to Axis Croatia in early 1943 for use against Yugoslavian partisans. The G.50 was succeeded by the Fiat G.55, which was introduced in 1943.

More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Rear, Front Angle Left, Front Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Above Right, Above Left

Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete, Christopher Shores

Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, Gerald Howson

Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II, David Mondey

Croatian Aces of WWII, Dragan Savic

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Fighters Over the Desert: The Air Battles in the Western Desert. June 1940 to December 1942, Christopher Shores

Finnish Aces of WWII, Kari Stenman

Finnish Air Force 1939-1945, Kalevi Keskinen

In the Skies of Europe: Air Forces Allied to the Luftwaffe 1939-1945, John Cochrane

Italian Aces of WWII, Giorgio Apostolo

Italian Aircraft of WWII, Nico Sgarlato

Regia Aeronautica: Pictorial History of the Italian Air Force 1940-1943, Christopher Shores