Macchi MC202, MC205 - Motore

[schwarze-man]

Hi everyone! This is a post to ask if anyone has details of the engine production in Italy of the DB601 and DB605. The engines were licence built during WW2. There may have been some initial German supplied engines for production start-up and for aircraft but, I have no details. It is openly recorded that the Macchi MC202 was built with approx 1,100 aircraft. This could be guessed to need approx, 2,000 engines to support. The DB601A engine was produced as the, Alfa-Romeo RA. 1000 R.C.41-1 Monsone.
The Maachi MC205 was built with approx 260 aircraft. The engine used was the licence built DB605A as the FIAT RA. 1050 R.C.58 Tifone.
I would be very interested to read any details of the licensed engine production by Alfa-Romeo and FIAT. The important details include; number of engines built, engine numbering and any engines supplied to Germany. My information that I have at the moment only includes a listed DB605 production by FIAT of 334 engines.
Thanks for any info! Cheers

SM

[schwarze-man]

Here is an update from information in the 1980 squadron/signal publication Macchi C.202 in action by Roberto Gentilli and Luigi Gorena. This booklet describes the Italian DB601 and DB605 production in this way. Initially, Germany supplied 4 DB601 for aircraft prototypes in early 1940. Germany also supplied 400 DB601 for production aircraft and, then semi-prepared components to Alfa-Romeo. The first all Alfa-Romeo built DB601 engines were built in the summer of 1941 and eventually "2,000" were produced.
The DB605 story is even less detailed, the FIAT Turin works was heavily bombed in December 1942.

SM

[borborygm]

FWIW, from Italian Wikipedia:
The licence production of the DB 601Aa started after a long preparatory period in 1941 with pre-series engines which were called, as was use at Alfa, 150 RC 41.
Series examples were ready in 1941 and had the designation RA 1000 RC.41. Total production was 1500 examples.

The DB605 was produced in versions A and Aa and in very reduced numbers, C.
FIAT started preparations at the end of 1941, first examples were realised in 1942 (still called DB 605).
Mass production under the designation Fiat 1050 RC 58I started in 1943 (1196 units), while in 1944 548 were produced.
The C version made by Fiat had a different gear ratio between crankshaft and propeller: 1:0,485 instead of 1:0,593.

[schwarze-man]

Thank you Borborygm. Those production numbers are better than nothing.
I don't think I have found the same Italian wiki pages. Do the entries that you have found have cross references to source documents please? In the results so far, we have information on a reasonable amount of engines being built. Thanks!

SM

[borborygm]

See here:

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimler-Benz_DB_605
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimler-Benz_DB_601


References there:

• Gigli-Cervi, A., (1998), Rolls Royce Merlin e Daimler Benz 601/605 in Aerei nella Storia, agosto, pp. 14–21
• Vaccari, P.F., (1996), DB601, DB605: i 12 cilindri dell'Asse in Rivista Storica, aprile, pp. 61–69
• Marchi, O., (1980), Aeronautica Militare - Museo Storico - Catalogo Motori, Pàtron Editore: Bologna.

• (EN) Bill Gunston, World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines, Cambridge, UK, Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1989, ISBN 1-85260-163-9

Hope this helps a bit
Saluti,
Hein

[schwarze-man]

Thank you for those links!

SM