Reggiane

Officine Meccaniche Reggiane SpA was an Italian aircraft manufacturer, owned by Caproni (Count Giovanni Battista Caproni) and situated in Reggio Emilia, a city of what today is the Emilia-Romagna region. The first aircraft produced was the medium bomber Piaggio P.32bis, which had been developed from the Caproni Ca.405C Procellaria.

Reggiane would eventually become famous for its agile single-seat fighter aircraft. When World War II erupted, Reggiane's fighters were taken over by the Regia Aeronautica (the Italian Air Force). Other fighters found their way to the German Luftwaffe and to the Hungarian and Swedish Air Forces.

After the end of World War II, the Officine Reggiane was occupied by workers who begun a conversion of the production geared towards the civilian market, in a pattern similar to the nationwide wave of factory occupations of the years 1920-1921.

The present

The company, which is currently still active (though with a name and a location different from the original, due to the changes of ownership and name), especially in the production of cranes and trolleys for lifting a container. The company was taken over first by the group Fantuzzi (Fantuzzi Reggiane) and then recently acquired by American company Terex Corporation. The current name is: Reggiane Cranes and Plants S.p.A.

Reggiane Re.2005

The Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario (English: Archer, Sagittarius) was an Italian monoplane fighter/fighter-bomber produced for the Regia Aeronautica during the later years of World War II. Along with the Macchi C.202/C.205 and Fiat G.55, the Reggiane Re.2005 was one of the three Serie 5 Italian fighters. The lines of the fuselage were aerodynamically efficient, and everything was designed to get the most out of the famous Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. The only drawback was a certain structural weakness in the rear section of the fuselage. Only 48 examples had been delivered before the Armistice and these fighters took part in the defence of Naples, Rome and Sicily with the final survivors battling above the crumbling ruins of Berlin, with German insignia. Well-respected ace and military observer, Group Captain Duncan Smith, DSO DFC, stated: "The Re.2005 was altogether a superb, potent aeroplane."

Design and development

The Reggiane 2005 was the last of the Reggiane aircraft line to be built during World War II. The project which started in 1941 was carried out by a team led by Roberto Longhi, and included designers Alessio, Maraschini, Toniolo and Pozzi. Preliminary work was completed before the end of the year despite being a new project, and not simply a revamping of an existing aircraft design such as the Reggiane Re.2002. The DB 605 engine was waiting to be delivered when the airframe was ready in February 1942.