In this video, we talk about the Macchi C.205 Veltro and its two predecessors, the C.202 Folgore and C.200 Saetta, a line of Italian fighter aircraft fielded by Fascist Italy in World War 2. We first talk about the failings of the Italian military during WW2 and what that can be attributed to, like their bad tanks and guns, and how their aircraft managed to rise above these failings and actually perform quite well. We start with the C.200, looking at its solid flight performance but more lacking combat performance.

We then look at the C.202 and how it represented a major improvement in both performance and technology, but also still needed refining and improving. We then move to the C.205, a fighter that represented an effective peak for Italian fighter designs during the war that, arguably, was as good as planes like America's P51 Mustang or Germany's Fw 190 or Bf 109. We look at how the C.205 improved upon the C.202 and also why the C.205 was relegated to just a minor role despite its performance. We end with the high praise of pilot Eric Brown and how he viewed the Macchi fighter line.