#c200

AerMacchi C.200 “Saetta” MM not identified, Museo Aeronautico “Gianni Caproni” – Trento

The Gianni Caproni Aeronautical Museum in Trento has a pair of fuselage sections, recovered from an aviation enthusiast in Bologna in the early 70s, having purchased them from the University’s Faculty of Aeronautical Engineering. After being offered to AerMacchi, the wrecks were purchased by the Caproni Museum.

Although the identity of the aircraft remains unknown, it is hypothesized that it could be one of the two C.200s of the 8th Group which were to be handed over to the Allies after the Armistice. It is presumed that during the transfer flight, one of the pilots made an emergency landing not far from his home in the Marche region. The dismantled fighter was hidden disassembled by the pilot and returned after the war to the Air Force which probably gave it to the local College’s Engineering Faculty. In 1992, in anticipation of its exhibition at the new headquarters of the Caproni Museum in Trento, an attempt was made to reconstruct the fuselage, but this was not possible due to the complexity of the work. The restoration work on the fuselage revealed the original codes of the aircraft, 91-4 relating to the 92nd Squadron of the 8th Autonomous Group in 1943. Further analysis revealed the individual number 86 which confirmed that the fighter was used by the 86th Squadron of the 7th Group of the 54th Wing. An important detail was the discovery of part of the 54th Wing’s badge, represented by a tiger’s head. After painstaking restoration work which started at the end of 2010 what remains of the aircraft was exhibited in the main hall of the Caproni Museum at the Trento Mattarello airport.

@classicwarbirds via X

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