Reggiane RE 2005 Sagittario Book Review

By David L. Veres

Review

With their “racy and aggressive lines”, Regia Aeronautica “Series 5” warplanes – the FIAT G.55 Centauro, Macchi C.205 Veltro, and Reggiane RE 2005 Sagittario – remain the apex of WWII Italian fighter designs.

Now Maurizio Di Terlizzi updates his classic 1999 Reggiane RE 2005 Sagittario with a meaty monograph on Fascist Italy’s comely combatant – a dual Italian-English study from IBN Editore.

Modelers will love this cool, compact chronicle of the rarest “Series 5” machine. Author Di Terlizzi metaphorically shoehorns massive measures of technical, operational, and markings minutiae into just 88 admirably illustrated pages.

Period photos. Detail images. Cockpit views. Tech manual excerpts. Archival art. 1:72-scale plans. Color profiles. And color model shots.

Eye candy, in short, abounds. All accompanied by extended, explanatory captions – and clear, concise commentary.

Like the earlier edition, text also teems with revelations.

“The ‘Sagittario’ stencil on the fin,” Di Terlizzi, for instance, notes, “was probably with a red shadow only on the very first examples, then it became white all over.” So accordingly plan that aspect of your subject’s scheme.

Current text sports new discoveries and previously unpublished photos – as well as performance and dimensional data. But since Di Terlizzi’s first edition – and more significantly for hobbyists – manufacturers have released “well-made”, “more sophisticated” RE 2005 kits to 1:32 and 1:48 scales. And superb builds of those now anchor the book’s new modeling sections:

• 1:32 PAC Models [for Pacific Coast Models by Sword]
• 1:48 Sword
• 1:48 Special Hobby

Sure, phraseology and diction sometimes sound awkward to English-speakers. But if your library contains just one book on Reggiane’s lithe, lovely Sagittario, make it this one.

But I’m befuddled. In what way was “the fin … noticeably redimensioned to reduce the torque effect of the Piaggio P.600I propeller”? And what does “redimensioned” mean?

Now consider two contemporary designs …

Both Reggiane’s sleek, streamlined Sagittario and Republic’s big, burly Thunderbolt ultimately derived from Seversky’s squat, stubby P-35. Like today’s kin of modern whales – hoofed mammals like cows and camels – both 1943-vintage fighters perfectly illustrate the vicissitudes of divergent technical evolution!

So think about it: what if Republic had chosen Reggiane’s path?

Biographies, aftermarket model items, and references conclude contents.

Robustly recommended!

My sincere thanks to IBN Editore for this review sample!