Re.2001 serie 1
| This page is about the Italian fighter Re.2001 serie 1. For other versions, see Re.2001 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Re.2001 serie 1 is a rank II Italian fighter with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB/RB) and 2.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic". The Re.2001 serie 1 is a lot like the C. 202, other than having different, slower-to-lower/retract landing gear, a different engine that overheats a bit more quickly, and worse armour. The Re.2001 is also a tad more manoeuvrable, with a turn time (upgraded) of 18 seconds, versus the C. 202's upgraded turn time of 21.4 seconds. Additionally, the Re.2001 has a worse climb rate and is slower. Thanks to all of this, the Re.2001 should be played similarly to the C. 202. Just be careful, as you have worse armour.
General info
Flight performance
The Re.2001 is a fairly balanced fighter with more emphasis on turning performance than speed. The listed top speed of 545 km/h in realistic battles is good for its battle rating. At sea level, it can only reach about 460 km/h. As the Spitfire-esque elliptical wings might suggest, it is adept at turning and will only be exceeded by Spitfires and Japanese aircraft. The other characteristics such as climb rate, roll rate, and energy retention are good to average.
Despite using the same RC.41 engine as the C. 202, the Re.2001 suffers from more severe overheating. Even opening the radiators fully is not enough to stop the engine from cooking itself when running WEP continuously. Use WEP sparingly and consider using Manual Engine Controls to help keep the engine cool outside of combat.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 5,450 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 525 | 509 | 11000 | 18.8 | 19.4 | 12.6 | 12.6 | 155 |
| Upgraded | 567 | 545 | 17.2 | 18.0 | 20.2 | 15.9 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 740 | 320 | 454 | 421 | 250 | ~12 | ~9 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 350 | < 350 | < 420 | > 312 |
Survivability and armour
- 8 mm Steel - Pilot's seat
- 8 mm Steel - Armoured plate behind the pilot
- Critical components located at the front of aircraft (pilot, engine, controls)
- More fuel tanks located in wings near the fuselage
- Fuel tank in the fuselage behind the pilot
The Re.2001 has enough armour to not get pilot-sniped by rifle calibre weapons from behind, but its overall survivability is poor. It has no bulletproof glass to protect the pilot from the front and the fuel tanks are scattered around the aircraft. If ignited, the results are usually fatal.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Offensive armament
The Re.2001 serie 1 is armed with:
- 2 x 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, nose-mounted (350 rpg = 700 total)
- 2 x 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, wing-mounted (600 rpg = 1,200 total)
The Re.2001 has typical armament for an early Italian fighter. The twin 12.7 mm heavy machine guns are underwhelming, generally considered the second worst heavy machine guns in the game. They have very poor ballistics and a mediocre rate of fire, being incapable of dealing serious damage outside of 300-400 m. Their one redeeming quality is the availability of AP-I rounds. For best results, use the Air Targets belt, engage targets at close range, and lead generously.
The 7.7 mm machine guns are nothing special and are unlikely to take any target down by themselves. It is best to equip them with Stealth belts and focus on the heavy machine guns instead. The ballistics are similar between the two guns and they provide some supplemental damage.
Usage in battles
The Re.2001's greatest strength is its turning capability and its greatest weakness is its poor armament. This means that it should be primarily used against other fighters as opposed to hunting bombers or heavy twin-engined fighters. It is best to drag opponents into extended engagements since it is unlikely that the Re.2001 will be able to destroy a target in one pass.
At the start of a match, try to climb and gain some altitude. If using MEC, open the radiators fully, set the propeller pitch to 66% and keep an eye on the engine temperatures. If things get too hot, dial back the throttle and let the engine cool off. Scan around for enemies. The best targets are those that are fragile, less manoeuvrable than the Re.2001, and at a lower energy state. If you have a significant altitude advantage over your target, dive in, make a pass, then loop around. Repeat until your target has lost significant energy, then try to jump on their tail and hose them down with the machine guns. If you can force them to constantly manoeuvre and corral them into a turnfight, the results will usually be in your favour. A faster opponent that chooses to run instead can be difficult to dispatch. In that case, let them go and start climbing to reset the engagement.
Avoid committing to head-ons since the Re.2001's complete lack of frontal armour protection, poor machine gun ballistics, and fragile liquid-cooled engine do it no favors. Fire off a burst, break off early, and observe what your target does after the merge. If they commit to a turnfight, again try to latch onto their tail. If they continue their course and are fast enough to escape, let them go and try to conserve your own energy.
Be wary of engaging targets that are as or more manoeuvrable than the Re.2001 in turning engagements. Try to obtain an altitude advantage before engaging and stick to boom-and-zoom or energy fighting tactics instead of flat turning. A Spitfire can put up a very tough fight if it has the same energy level as the Re.2001, but as with any plane, it becomes less threatening with less altitude and speed. Other targets that should be attacked with caution include planes with decent defensive armament like the IL-2 M-82. There is a very real chance that the IL-2's rear gunner can ignite or pilot-snipe the Re.2001 more quickly than it can whittle down the "flying tank" in turn. Large bombers with multiple engines and gunners are similarly hazardous. If you must engage these, try to set their engines on fire and break off.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Not controllable | Controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Separate | Not controllable 1 gear |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Adept turning ability - capable of competing with Spitfires
- Cockpit views are exceptional and has a rear-view mirror
- Decent rate of climb
Cons:
- Engine overheats rather quickly
- Low firepower compared to its peers
- Lacks an armoured windscreen so pilot is more vulnerable to being knocked out
History
The Re.2000 "Falco I" was the Reggiane company's first successful fighter design. Taking some design notes from the Seversky P-35, the Re.2000 was a very capable design compared to other early Italian fighters like the Macchi C. 200. It did have several issues: the wing mounted fuel tanks were not self sealing and the engine was unreliable. In light of this, the Regia Aeronautica declined to order the Re.2000 for mass production and it was largely produced for export.
The Re.2000's basic design was good and its issues were solvable. After the Re.2000 first flew, the Italian government proposed that Reggiane look into equipping the Re.2000 with a R.A.1000 RC.41 inline engine, which was a license-produced version of the famous German DB601 that powered early Bf 109s. The RC.41 was more compact and mechanically reliable than the Re.2000's Piaggio radial engine. The Re.2000 design was modified to accept the engine and trim off some weight, and the resulting prototype Re.2001 "Falco II" first flew in June 1940. Further development work resulted in the addition of a 7.7 Breda-SAFAT machine gun in each wing, an electric engine starter, and other minor changes. Series production of the Re.2001 began in mid 1941, but delays in obtaining the engines resulted in the orders being cut from 200 aircraft to 110.
As with other Italian fighters, a large number of Re.2001 variants were explored. The Re.2001 CB was a fighter-bomber variant equipped with bomb racks and the Re.2001 CN was a nightfighter variant with a pair of MG151/20 cannons mounted in the wings. The navalized Re.2001 OR was made in anticipation of the Italian fleet's planned aircraft carriers, though none were completed by the end of the war and the aircraft were modified back for ground-based use. The Re.2001 GV variant was capable of mounting a 630 kg bomb for attacking aircraft carriers. In its one and only operational use, a pilot managed to lob a bomb onto the deck of the carrier HMS Victorious, but it failed to fuse and bounced harmlessly into the ocean. The GV was thus abandoned. Several other photo reconnaissance and testbed variants were created.
In operational service, the Re.2001 first saw combat in 1942 over the skies of Sicily and Malta in bomber escort roles. They fared well against opposing RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes at medium to low altitudes but lagged behind above 7,000 m. In their first engagement, two Spitfires were shot down by Re.2001s for no fighter losses. They were used in intense fighting, and one notable battle in June 1942 saw 9 Re.2001s and 12 C. 202s escorting an Italian naval convoy. The fighters successfully protected the fleet from RAF fighters and torpedo bombers, and the ships managed to nearly wipe out a British cargo convoy bound for Malta.
Over time, attrition dwindled the numbers of Re.2001s in Italian service. It was never produced in large numbers due to the difficulty of its construction and the limited availability of engines, which were prioritized for the C. 202 instead. Only 71 Re.2001s were operational by the summer of 1943 and the Allied invasion of Sicily cut their numbers further. The Italian armistice in September 1943 saw a portion of the 33 surviving Re.2001s transferred to the new Co-Belligerent Air Force, where they fought alongside the Allies against the Italian Social Republic and Nazi Germany until the end of the war. Combat aside, they were also used on a few occasions to carry money in underslung containers.
The few Re.2001s that survived World War II were largely scrapped in the postwar era since they were long obsolete compared to the fine "Series 5" fighters like the Macchi C. 205 and Fiat G.55 that lingered in Italian service. A few were retained for communications tasks and meteorological testing. None are known to survive today.
A contemporary of the C. 202 with the same engine and armament, the Re.2001 is not as famous in the present day as the Folgore. Much of this is due to its smaller production numbers and limited role in World War II. Only 237 Re.2001s were produced compared to over 1,000 C. 202s and they were all deployed close to Italy. Its combat records show that it was still a formidable aircraft and a close match to the early Spitfires, especially in the hands of skilled pilots. Despite being a clean-sheet design, the Re.2005 "Sagittario" can be seen as the successor to the Re.2001 with similar aerodynamic features. Though the Sagittario was even harder to produce than the Re.2001, it had fantastic performance and could compete with the finest wartime Allied aircraft on equal terms.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Related development
External links
| Reggiane Mechanical Factory (Officine Meccaniche Reggiane SpA) | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Re.2000 serie 1 · Re.2000 G.A. |
| Re.2001 serie 1 · Re.2001 gruppo 22 · Re.2001 CB · Re.2001 CN | |
| Re.2002 Early | |
| Re.2005 serie 0 | |
| Export | J20 |
| Italy fighters | |
|---|---|
| Fiat | CR.32 · CR.32 bis · CR.32 quater · CR.42 · Marcolin's C.R.42 CN |
| G.50 serie 2 · G.50 AS serie 7 | |
| G.55 sottoserie 0 · G.55 serie 1 · G.55S · G.56 | |
| Reggiane | Re.2000 G.A. · Re.2000 serie 1 |
| Re.2001 serie 1 · Re.2001 gruppo 22 · Re.2001 CB · Re.2001 CN | |
| Re.2002 Early | |
| Re.2005 serie 0 | |
| Macchi | C. 200 serie 3 · C. 200 serie 7 |
| C. 202 · C. 202D · C. 202EC | |
| C. 205 serie 1 · C. 205 serie 3 · C. 205N2 | |
| IMAM | Ro.44 |
| Foreign: | |
| Germany | ▄Bf 109 G-14/AS |
| USA | ▄P-47D-30 |
| Britain | ▄Spitfire Mk Vb/trop |
| Hungary | ◐Bf 109 F-4 · ◐Bf 109 G-2 · ◔Yak-9P |
| Romania | He 112 B-1/U2 · IAR-81C |
