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The Fiat G.55 Centauro' (Italian: "Centaur") was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica and the A.N.R. (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana) in 1943-1945. It was designed and built in Turin by Fiat.
The Fiat G.55 was an excellent fighter regarded on the whole as the best of the "Serie 5" Italian fighters, built around the powerful Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine, that included the formidable Reggiane Re.2005 and Macchi C.205. During its short operational service, mostly under the Repubblica Sociale Italiana insignia, after the 8 September 1943, this robust and fast fighter proved itself to be an outstanding interceptor at high altitude. In the air battles over Northern Italy, in the last year of war, the Centauro clashed with renowned opponents, like the British Supermarine Spitfire, P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt and P-38 Lightning and every time it was a very capable opponent. Fighter pilots loved their Centauro but by the time the war ended, only 105 had been built.
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