FIAT History, Vol. 4 - The G.55 Centauro
Tazilon Brenner | Published on 3/9/2025
FIAT History - Vol 4.
The G.55 Centauro
Those of you who don't already know what the G.55 is may be thinking "I never heard of that Fiat," right now. That is because the G.55 Centauro was not a car. It was one of the best fighter planes built during World War II.
Over the years, FIAT has risen to prominence in many industries other than automobiles. FIAT dominated the Italian tractor industry in the 1920s, selling over 80% of the tractors Italian farmers used. They went on to become best sellers in Europe and still produce tractors today. Not only do they continue to make their own tractors, but their conglomerate also owns brands such as Case and New Holland.
Along with tractors, the industrial side of the FIAT empire produces all sorts of heavy equipment and related items.
This little peek at FIAT history focuses on the G.55 Centauro, an extremely capable WWII fighter.
In 1908, FIAT began producing aircraft engines based on FIAT racing motors. By 1916, they decided to produce entire airplanes and formed the Societa Italiana Aviazione. This name changed to Fiat Aviazione in 1918. It should be noted Giovanni Agnelli began this adventure into aviation against the advice of his board of directors.
As the company progressed into the 1930s, it made a name for itself setting multiple air speed records and winning multiple aviation awards. It consulted and exchanged ideas with many well known people and companies in aviation along the way. You may recognize some of the names: Claude Dornier, Rinaldo Piaggio, Rolls Royce, Pratt&Whitney, Eurocopter, and more.
In the 1930s, FIAT designed the first single seat fighter to be used by the Italian Air Force in World War II: the G.50. (shown right)
The series progressed during the war. The radial engine morphed into inline engines, the hull became much more streamlined and by 1942, the first G.55 Centauro prototype took to the skies. (shown left)
In trials against other Italian fighters also in development, the Fiat G.55 and the Macchi C.205V Veltro were chosen for continued development. While the Veltro was very good at low and mid altitudes, it's performance dropped considerably at high altitudes. The G.55 excelled in high altitudes.
At the same time the G.55 was in development, the Luftwaffe was seeking to standardize German fighter production. The Italian aircraft being developed were known to the Luftwffe and attracted the attention of Herman Goring in 1942. In February 1943, a test commission led by Oberst Petersen was sent to Italy to evaluate the new Italian fighters. The test commission brought along some FW-190 A-5s and Bf-109 G-4s for comparison testing.
Oberst Petersen reported back to Goring that the G.55 was "the best fighter in the Axis". On February 22 1943, in a meeting requested by Herman Goring, Luftwaffe leaders voted to begin production of the G.55 in Germany.
Meanwhile, in Italy, the Italian Air Force placed a buy order for up to 2,400 G.55s. Unfortunately for the G.55, the war soon turned against the Axis and only 349 Centauros were ever produced.
The Italian pilots loved them and the top German pilots fought over the few who made it into service with the Luftwaffe. When G.55 Italian air units were converted to Bf 109s late in the war due to the lack of replacement G.55s, the Italian pilots complained bitterly, viewing the Messerschmitt as a vastly inferior aircraft.
In the air, the Centauros proved worthy opponents for P-51s and Spitfires. Its main use quickly became a high altitude interceptor of Allied bombers, a job it excelled at.
After the war, use of the G.55 continued for many years as a trainer.
Fiat Aviazione continued to excel in the aviation industry. The G.91 jet was selected as the NATO standard light fighter in 1958. A few years later, FIAT became a prime contractor on the NATO F-109. Renamed FIAT Avio, by the late 1980 and 90s FIAT collaborated to produce propulsion systems for such notable aircraft as the Tornado and Harrier, as well as working with Boeing and Airbus on commercial airliners.
In 2003, facing financial pressures in their automobile sector, the FIAT Group sold FIAT Avio to a group of American and Italian investors, becoming Avio S.p.A. Today Avio is part of the General Electric group, working on space oriented projects such as the Vega light lift launcher, a launch system currently used in Europe to put objects into orbit.
From it's humble beginnings producing aircraft engines to its spinoff's current role in space, FIAT has played a big part in aeronautical history. Through it all, one of FIAT's biggest successes in aviation was it's World War II fighter, the highly acclaimed G.55 Centauro.
World War II Photo of an operational G.55
While this looks like a G.55, the plane is actually a G.59 retrofitted to appear like a G.55 for modern air shows.