C. 202 (Germany)

▀C. 202

▀C. 200 serie 7

▀C. 202

▀C. 200 serie 7

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.0	3.0	2.3

Class:

Fighter

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Description

The C.202 Folgore is a Rank I German fighter with a battle rating of 2.3. It was in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.29 in the German aviation tree. In Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica", the C.202 as well as the other Italian planes in the German tree were moved to the new Italian tree, although it still exists in the German tree for those who unlocked it prior to Update 1.69.

The Folgore is an Italian fighter, that is best suited to attack other fighters. its unsuited as a fighter bomber due not being able to carry bombs or rockets.

The Advantages of the Folgore are the combination of good speed, very good rate of climb and rate of roll. Furthermore its fairly sturdy, it can take a few hits and get back to base without much problems. The Folgore is a fairly speedy turner, preferring to turn at speeds, However flat out turning is still a bad idea, unless you abuse the rate of roll to get into an advantageous position.

The second major issue the Folgore has, is that the damage output is low. it needs quite extended bursts of fire to deal decent amount of damage. Furthermore, the Breda SAFAT's damage potential drops off when its fired at ranges above 300 meters. the poor armament also makes it less then optimal at engaging bombers and heavy fighters. The consensus by the community is that the best belts are anti-air, tracer or stealth for the 12.7 mm's and stealth and omni for the 7.7's. these seem to do the most damage. While neither of these are crippling, they are something to keep in mind, especially since the Folgore doesn't allow for many mistakes.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
571	559	11,500	22.8	23.1	20.6	22.4	368
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
628	600	11,500	20.1	21.4	32.8	25.6	?

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
805	360	480	~26	~10

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 400	< 400	< 420	> 230

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,700 m	1,100 hp	1,236 hp

Survivability and armour

• No armour plating
• No armour glazing
• Critical components located at front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• More fuel tanks located in wings near fuselage

Armaments

Offensive armament

The C.202 (Germany) is armed with:

• 2 x 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, nose-mounted (400 rpg = 800 total)
• 2 x 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, wing-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

Usage in the battles

Over the deserts of Africa

The first most important thing the Folgore needs is Speed, and Altitude. Its generally a good Idea to climb to at least 5000- 6000 meters before levelling out and gaining speed. From there on, its Boom and Zoom, working your way from Top to bottom. Priority should be given to P39 Airacobra's, F6F Hellcat and the early Spitfire, as these are hard to beat if they are allowed to engage on on their terms. The Hellcat is a considerable problem for the Folgore, due to the fact its considerably faster and climbs only slightly worse. The best way of dealing with them is to fight them at speeds above 400 kph, where the Hellcat begins to stiffen up, but you retain your very good roll rate, which you can use to spoil his gun solution by constantly changing direction.

While Diving on your chosen target, be mindful of your speed, the Folgore's rate of roll, becomes considerably worse when you hit 600 kph, so its a good idea to cut Throttle at the final part of your dive slowing your acceleration down by a bit. Also when trying to lead an enemy plane that is making a hard break turn, try to prevent making high G turns or turns that burn a lot of speed, this mostly happens when you dive in at a shallow angle, as its kills all the speed you have, forcing you to engage in a Dogfight, where the turn rate offers an advantage to the enemy. and while its doable, its generally better to run, by going into a shallow dive and get out. alternatively, engage in a shallow climb, the rate of climb is one of the best at its tier, meaning that if you have a small speed advantage you can get some separation and climb away.

The Guns make it unsuited to effectively engage bombers, especially the well defended bombers such as the B25 and the A20. Its better to team up with your team mates then try to attack them on your own. Further its best to aim for the engines and wings, basically engaging them the same way as you would engage fighters.

Furthermore, the Folgore cannot carry any bombs, so its less effective in ground attack role.

For belts use tracers, anti-air or stealth as they deal the most damage, with a good mix of incendiary and shrapnel. Breda-SAFAT's shell velocity is low, hence they suffer above 300 meters, so only fire at or below that range for best effects. Furthermore, the armament is woefully inadequate to deal with bombers. It is best to avoid them entirely, or focus on taking out the engines. Only exception are the very early biplane bombers, such as Swordfish, Po-2 and the likes.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not ontrollable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair, Radiator
II	Compressor	Airframe
III	Wing Repair, Engine
IV	Engine Injection	Cover

The Folgores focus on energy fight should be reflected in the desired grind strategy. Compressor & Engine are the top priority. Boosting the acceleration and climb to the maximum needed for most situations. The next upgrades are free to choose for you. New belts are always nice, but the default ones are decent. Engine throttle as of now has no impact on performance.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good speed.
• Good rate of roll under 600 km/h.
• The best rate of climb on its rank.
• Decent performance on all altitudes, especially for a rank 1 plane.
• Decent cockpit visibility, especially to the rear.
• Decent energy retention in horizontal turns.

Cons:

• Large turn radius, not as agile as it's predecessor.
• Firepower leaves things to be desired.
• Thick canopy framing can make spotting hard from cockpit view.
• Armament is weak. Will struggle to kill bombers and heavy fighters with structural damage alone.

History

Folgore in an olive grove

The famed Italian ace Maggiore Adriano Visconti flew the Folgore, including the predecessor Macchi C.200 Saetta and the successor Macchi C.205 Veltro.

In late 1941 the newer and deadlier Macchi MC.202 Folgore (Thunderbolt) began to equip units of 7° Gruppo, and in early 1942 Visconti began flying the sleek, new fighter on photo reconnaissance sorties over Malta. Throughout these early years of the war, a near constant trickle of supplies was required to keep the strategically vital island of Malta alive and in allied hands: mid-June 1942 saw two of these convoys simultaneously attempt to resupply the island from different directions. Operation Harpoon – a convoy from Gibraltar – was coordinated with Operation Vigorous from Alexandria. Both convoys were opposed by axis forces and on June 15th, in the air battle above Operation Harpoon which would become known as the Battle of Pantelleria, Visconti shot down a Bristol Blenheim. On August 13th, whilst on a two aircraft reconnaissance sortie, Visconti and his wingman were jumped by four RAF Spitfires. Visconti engaged and shot down two Spitfires, allowing the second M.C.202 to complete the sortie. He was awarded another Medaglie d’Argento for his skill and courage.

Visconti served in Greece before being promoted to Capitano and taking command of 76a Squadriglia as 54° Stormo was deployed in Tunisia in March 1943. In the brief weeks of fighting which led up to the axis surrender in May, Visconti was credited with two Spitfires and a P-40, as well as several other probable victories. Sharing a cramped cockpit with a fellow pilot, Visconti escaped the allied advance by flying to Sicily. Given his wealth of experience carrying out high speed, daylight reconnaissance flights over Malta, Visconti was given command of 310a Squadriglia Caccia Aerofotografica, a newly formed reconnaissance squadron equipped with modified Macchi C.205 Veltros (Greyhounds) which were based east of Rome.

Visconti remains a controversial figure due to his political alignement with Mussolini's Italian Social Republic.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

• [Profile] Ace of the Month - January - Maggiore Adriano Visconti from the War Thunder official forum.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.