Italian Forces

G.50 over Spain

Established at the end February 1939, for promotion of sales abroad and propaganda purposes, leader maggiore pilota Mario Bonzano, the 1st Gruppo Sperimentale (First Test Group) with 12 of 45 Fiat G.50 "Freccia" pre-series aircraft (with enclosed cockpit and sliding canopy), was moved in Spain and assigned at Aviación Legionaria (the expeditionary corps of the Regia Aeronautica set up in 1936 to provide support to Francisco Franco's Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War). The G.50s, transferred in Spain via ship, re-assembled at Reus, entered in operational service by mid March 1939 at Escalona airport, 70 km SW from Madrid, under the insigna of XXIIIrd Gruppo "Asso di Bastoni". Despite a sustained flying activity on many airports, also for propaganda purposes, the G.50s seized only an opportunity to sight enemies planes, some Polikarpov I-16, but without contacts. The G.50 was tested in flight by Spanish ace Garcia Morato wich declared the Fiat monoplane unisatisfactory. After the end of Civil War, the G.50s were gifted to Spanish Air Force, but their service was extremely brief: after many accidents the Spanish G.50s were grounded. VictorSierra.