IMAM Ro.51

Ro.51

Role	Fighter
Manufacturer	IMAM
First flight	1937
Status	Prototype
Number built	2

The IMAM Ro.51 was an Italian fighter aircraft that first flew in 1937. It was designed for the 1936 new fighter contest for the Regia Aeronautica, with practically all the Italian aircraft builders involved.

Design

The aircraft, designed by the engineer Galasso, was a single-seat, monoplane fighter, of mixed construction (the wings were made of wood), and initially with a fixed undercarriage.

The engine was standard for this generation of fighters, an 840 hp Fiat A.74 RC 38 radial powering a three-blade propeller.

The fixed undercarriage, meant that the maximum speed was only 467 km/h. It was armed with two Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm machine guns.

Development

On June 1938 the first prototype, initially fitted with a very small tail, was tested and found inferior to the Macchi C.200 and Fiat G.50. It was overall a poor aircraft. The trials to re-engineer the wing came too late and no orders were made.

The second prototype Ro.51/1, was converted into a fighter floatplane. Like the Ro.44 it had a large central float and two smaller ones under the wings. The maximum speed dropped to 430 km/h, but endurance was increased to 1,200 km.

Unfortunately during a trial one of the wings suddenly sank in the water. The rest of the aircraft swiftly followed, and the loss of this prototype meant the end of the program. Although performance was apparently fairly good, the project was overall a failure, especially in the early aspects, even if it was not too different from the Fokker D.XXI. But with so many other superior machines also involved, waiting for the problems the Ro.51 had to be fixed was not an option.

Operators

Kingdom of Italy

Regia Aeronautica

Specifications (Ro.51 first prototype)

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters ^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 7.46 m (24 ft 5¾ in)
Wingspan: 9.78 m (32 ft 1 in)
Height: 2.71 m (8 ft 10⅞ in)
Wing area: 16.4 m² ^[2] (176 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,663 kg (3,666 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,092 kg (4,612 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Fiat A.74 R.C.38 14-cylinder radial engine, 618 kW (828 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 489 km/h at 4,500 m (264 knots, 304 mph)
Cruise speed: 444 km/h ^[2] (240 knots, 276 mph)
Range: 1,200 km ^[2] (648 nm, 745 mi)
Service ceiling: 8,200 m ^[2] (26,900 ft)
Climb to 6,000 m (19,700 ft): 7 minutes

Armament

2 × 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns

References

↑ Green, W; Swanborough, G (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark. pp. 308–309. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
1 2 3 4 "IMAM Ro.51" (in Russian). Retrieved 2007-09-23.

Lembo, Daniele Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali IMAM, Aerei nella Storia magazine n.34 Nov-Dec 2003, Delta editions, Parma. (in Italian)

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