The Fiat G.50 Freccia is a monoplane fighter found in the Italian aviation tech tree. It was Italy’s first single-seat, all-metal monoplane that had an enclosed cockpit and retractable undercarriage. It conducted its maiden flight on the twenty-sixth of February of 1937. During early 1938, the Freccia served in the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force) and with its expeditionary arm, the Aviazione Legionaria, in Spain, where they compared well in speed and manoeuvrability with their adversaries in the theatre. Two variants of this airplane are available in War Thunder: the G.50 serie 2 and the G.50 AS serie 7.
| Pros | Cons |
| Adequate agility. | Poor armament. |
| Machine guns have access to belts designed to destroy air targets. | Limited close air support capabilities. |
| Adequate speed. | No armour protection. |
| Small in size, which can make it hard to be hit. | Exposed engine is easy to destroy. |
Survivability:
Neither of the variants of the Freccia in the game have armour, but they do have self-sealing fuel tanks, which means that they have a chance of surviving fires. Another problem which greatly reduces the G.50's survivability is the fact that the pilot is not inside an enclosed cockpit, exposing them to enemy fire and increasing the probability of the pilot being knocked out. The engine is also a problem due to the fact that it is a radial engine which can be directly shot at by the enemy. A destroyed engine means that the plane will not be able to remain airborne for long before it is forced to land. While piloting the G.50, it is important to avoid receiving damage as much as possible.
Flight Performance:
The G.50 has good flight performance overall. Its speed, although not the best at its rank, is comparable to other early monoplane fighters like the Ki-27 or the M.S.405C1. It is capable of catching up with biplane fighters and slow bombers, but might struggle to chase slightly faster fighters like the P-36C if they decide to put some distance between the Freccia and them. The rate of climb is decent but agility is the G.50's strength. While it is not particularly impressive, it is superior to many enemy monoplanes that the Freccias face. Examples include the American P-400 and the German He 100 D-1, aircraft which aren’t particularly manoeuvrable. That being said, pilots sould not try to engage biplanes and Japanese fighters like the aforementioned Ki-27 in a turn fight due to their superior agility. Turn fighting is recommended only against opponents who are less agile than the Freccia, where leveraging its manoeuvrability is the best advantage for victory.
Armament:
The offensive armament of the G.50 is, unfortunately, very poor, consisting of two 12.7 millimetre Breda-SAFAT machine guns. When playing the G.50, players may encounter aircraft with similar armament configurations, but many of them are equipped with more than two guns, and some even have autocannons which are devastating against the G.50. The Breda-SAFAT machine guns have access to five belts: Default, Universal, Air targets, Tracers and Stealth. It is recommended to use the Air targets belt on the G.50, since it features a solid combination of bullet types that can shoot down enemy aircraft with relative ease.
The G.50 AS serie 7 can carry two 50 kg GP 50 bombs under the wings which can be used to attack ground or naval targets. Unfortunately, the bombs are quite weak and do little damage to the enemy unless you choose to bomb artillery and unarmoured targets. Nevertheless, it isn’t really worth it to equip the bombs because they will add weight to the G.50 and make it slower and less manoeuvrable.
Usage In Battles:
As stated above, the Freccia is relatively nimble and agility will be your greatest ally when flying this fighter. Your speed is somewhat low when compared to more advanced monoplane fighters, but there are some that share a similar maximum speed to your’s. Against faster opponents, it is recommended to employ turn fighting and fight your enemy in such a way that you force them to maneuver and lose speed. Against opponents that are more agile than you, such as biplanes and Japanese aircraft, you will have to rely on speed instead and put some distance between you and them. Attack these enemies when they are distracted or going in a different trajectory, but don’t engage them in a turn fight if they can turn faster than you.
Bombers and large strike aircraft should be avoided because of the Freccia’s firepower, which is inadequate to shoot them down. Such airplanes often have defensive turrets which can pose a serious threat to the G.50, which does not have armour and whose pilot is exposed. Remember to avoid enemy fire at all costs.
