C. 202 (Germany)

▀C. 202

▀C. 200 serie 7

▀C. 202

▀C. 200 serie 7

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.0	3.0	2.3

Class:

Fighter

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

This page is about the fighter C. 202 (Germany). For the Italian version, see C.202. For other versions, see C.202 (Family).

Description

The ▀C. 202 Folgore is a rank I German fighter with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB/RB) and 2.3 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. In Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica", the C.202, as well as the other Italian planes in the German tree, were moved to the new Italian tree, although it still exists in the German tree for those who unlocked it prior to Update 1.69.

The Folgore is an Italian fighter that is best suited to attack other fighters. It's unsuited as a fighter bomber due to its lack of any suspended ordinances such as bombs or rockets.

The advantages of the Folgore are the combination of good speed, very good rate of climb and roll rate. Furthermore, it's fairly sturdy, it can take a few hits and get back to base with few problems. The Folgore is a fairly speedy turner, preferring to turn at high speeds, however flat out turning is still a bad idea, unless you abuse the rate of the roll to get into an advantageous position.

The second major issue the Folgore has is that the damage output is low. It needs quite extended bursts of fire to deal decent amounts of damage. Furthermore, the Breda SAFAT's damage potential drops off when it's fired at ranges above 300 meters. The poor armament also makes it less than optimal at engaging bombers and heavy fighters. The consensus by the community is that the best belts are anti-air, tracer or stealth for the 12.7 mm's and stealth and omni for the 7.7's. These seem to do the most damage.

While neither of these is crippling, they are something to keep in mind, especially since the Folgore doesn't allow for many mistakes.

General info

Flight performance

In essence very similar to the Bf 109 F: Great climb rate and acceleration and with good top speed and turn rate. Dive performance is great, yet the control surfaces lock up hard above 600 km/h IAS. So leave plenty of space to pull out of a dive, it reaches said speeds rather quickly! Even so the locked controls prevent G-force failure of wings. A blessing in disguise for many new inexperienced RB/SB pilots. Energy retention in Zooms is good, too. This however is mostly due to the aforementioned climb rate which is engine enabled. A damaged engine guts and severely hinders most flight characteristics.

Like its German brother in heart the Folgore also features several downsides: The engine torque is significant and will roll the aircraft to the side when performing any kind of manoeuvre. Note the slightly longer left wing to at least neuter this effect in level flight, unlike the Bf 109 pilots who will have to permanently trim their ailerons on the runway. Further aiming and aligning yourself to the target can thusly be rather difficult, as the craft will twitch and shift significantly. As usual lead in deflection shots are the easiest approach. The control lock up was already mentioned and must always be considered.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	576	560	10200	22.5	23.2	22.5		368
Upgraded	624	600		20.4	21.4	29.5	25.6

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	X	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
		600	???	260	~15	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 400	< 270	< 550	> 350

Compressor	Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
Setting 1	4,500 m	1,084 hp	1,218 hp

Survivability and armour

Quite vulnerable to all weapons fire. The engine and water coolers lack any protection and are often the first to go under fire. The pilot is not much better. While the windscreen is quite thick it is also very small and the 8 mm of steel will only stop a sneeze. Any calibre past 7 mm will kiss your pilot's cheek.

Ace Tip #1 applies: Don't get shot at!

• 8 mm Steel - Armoured headrest
• 50 mm Bulletproof glass - Armoured windscreen

Armaments

Offensive armament

The C. 202 (Germany) is armed with:

• 2 x 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, nose-mounted (400 rpg = 800 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, wing-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

It is unfortunate that such a fast fighter is paired up with relatively weak armament of the 12.7 and 7.7 mm machine guns, however, all is not lost with this setup. Since the setup locates the two 12.7 mm machine guns in the nose and a single 7.7 mm machine gun in each wing, convergence is a must to be considered to make the shots count when the fighter engages. The punch of the machine gun ammunition starts to significantly drop beyond 400 m, therefore setting convergence between 150 and 300 m should help to concentrate all the ammunition into one area resulting maximum damage possible. The pilot must remember though, with convergence set this close, he will need to manoeuvre his fighter in close before opening up and then it is important to concentrate on critical components as just shooting into the fuselage will not do a whole lot of damage. Trying to shoot any aircraft down outside of the 400 m range may result in a "lucky" shot, but those will be few and far between.

Usage in battles

Over the deserts of Africa

The most important things the Folgore needs are Speed and Altitude. It's generally a good idea to climb to at least 5,000 - 6,000 meters before levelling out and gaining speed. From there on, it's Boom and Zoom, working your way from top to bottom. Priority should be given to P-39 Airacobras, F6F Hellcats and the early Spitfire, as these are hard to beat if they are allowed to engage on their terms. The Hellcat is a considerable problem for the Folgore, due to the fact it's considerably faster and climbs only slightly worse. The best way of dealing with them is to fight them at speeds above 400 km/h (250 mph), where the Hellcat begins to stiffen up, but you retain your very good roll rate, which you can use to spoil his gun solution by constantly changing direction.

While flying on your chosen target, be mindful of your speed, the Folgore's rate of the roll becomes considerably worse when you hit 600 km/h (370 mph), so it's a good idea to cut throttle at the final part of your dive, slowing your acceleration down by a bit. Also, when trying to lead an enemy plane that is making a hard break turn, try to avoid making high G turns or turns that burn a lot of speed, this mostly happens when you dive in at a shallow angle, as it will inevitably force you to engage in a dogfight, where the turn rate offers an advantage to the enemy. While it is doable, it's generally better to run, by going into a shallow dive. Alternatively, engage in a shallow climb, the rate of climb is one of the best at its tier, meaning that if you have a small speed advantage you can get some separation and climb away.

The guns make it unsuited to effectively engage bombers, especially well-defended bombers such as the B-25 and the A-20. It's better to team up with your teammates than to try to attack them on your own. Further, it's best to aim for the engines and wings, basically engaging them the same way as you would engage fighters.

Furthermore, the Folgore cannot carry any bombs, so it's less effective in a ground attack role.

For belts use tracers, anti-air or stealth as they deal the most damage, with a good mix of incendiary and shrapnel. Breda-SAFAT's shell velocity is low, hence they suffer at ranges greater than 300 meters, so only fire at or below that range for best effects. Furthermore, the armament is woefully inadequate to deal with bombers. It is best to avoid them entirely or focus on taking out the engines. The only exceptions are the very early biplane bombers, such as the Swordfish, Po-2 and the likes.

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

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
III	Wings repair	Engine		Offensive 12 mm
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 12 mm MGs

The Folgore's focus on energy fighting should be reflected in the desired grind strategy. Compressor & Engine are the top priority, boosting the acceleration and climb to the maximum needed for most situations. The next upgrades are free to choose for you. New belts are always nice, but the default ones are decent.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good speed
• Good rate of roll under 600 km/h (370 mph)
• The best climb rate in its rank
• Decent performance on all altitudes, especially for a 1^st rank plane
• Decent cockpit visibility, especially to the rear
• Decent energy retention in horizontal turns

Cons:

• Large turn radius, not as agile as its predecessor
• Firepower leaves things to be desired
• Thick canopy framing can make spotting hard from cockpit view
• Armament is weak. Will struggle to kill bombers and heavy fighters with structural damage alone

History

Folgore in an olive grove

The famed Italian ace Maggiore Adriano Visconti flew the Folgore, including the predecessor Macchi C.200 Saetta and the successor Macchi C.205 Veltro.

In late 1941 the newer and deadlier Macchi MC.202 Folgore (Thunderbolt) began to equip units of 7° Gruppo, and in early 1942 Visconti began flying the sleek, new fighter on photo reconnaissance sorties over Malta. Throughout these early years of the war, a near constant trickle of supplies was required to keep the strategically vital island of Malta alive and in allied hands: mid-June 1942 saw two of these convoys simultaneously attempt to resupply the island from different directions. Operation Harpoon – a convoy from Gibraltar – was coordinated with Operation Vigorous from Alexandria. Both convoys were opposed by axis forces and on June 15th, in the air battle above Operation Harpoon which would become known as the Battle of Pantelleria, Visconti shot down a Bristol Blenheim. On August 13th, whilst on a two aircraft reconnaissance sortie, Visconti and his wingman were jumped by four RAF Spitfires. Visconti engaged and shot down two Spitfires, allowing the second M.C.202 to complete the sortie. He was awarded another Medaglie d’Argento for his skill and courage.

Visconti served in Greece before being promoted to Capitano and taking command of 76a Squadriglia as 54° Stormo was deployed in Tunisia in March 1943. In the brief weeks of fighting which led up to the axis surrender in May, Visconti was credited with two Spitfires and a P-40, as well as several other probable victories. Sharing a cramped cockpit with a fellow pilot, Visconti escaped the allied advance by flying to Sicily. Given his wealth of experience carrying out high speed, daylight reconnaissance flights over Malta, Visconti was given command of 310a Squadriglia Caccia Aerofotografica, a newly formed reconnaissance squadron equipped with modified Macchi C.205 Veltros (Greyhounds) which were based east of Rome.

Visconti remains a controversial figure due to his political alignment with Mussolini's Italian Social Republic.

In-game description

"The Macchi M.C.202 was an Italian all-metal fighter interceptor, initially armed with nothing but twin synchronised 12.7mm (.50-cal) machine guns in the engine housing. The woefully ineffective armament for a fighter that plagued many other Italian fighters was finally remedied on the M.C.202 Serie VI (variants of the aircraft were designated with Roman numerals, I through XI), when two additional 7.7mm machine guns were added to the wings.

The Folgore (Lightning), as the new fighter was called, was aerodynamically clean and well-balanced. Its sturdy construction used modern flush riveting on all surfaces, and special care was taken in design and production to streamline all joints. The engine cover had a clean aerodynamic profile, which formed a smooth line from the propeller hub, through the canopy, and back into the empennage."

Media

Custom skin - plane close up screenshot

See also

• [Profile] Ace of the Month - January - Maggiore Adriano Visconti from the War Thunder official forum.
• [Devblog] C.202: As Fast As Lightning

External links

• [Profile] Ace of the Month - January - Maggiore Adriano Visconti from the War Thunder official forum.