Editing Macchi C.202 Folgore (section)

===In Croatian service===
About 20–22 Macchi C.202s were flown by Croatia, who typically operated them in the interceptor role against Allied bombers.<ref name="Skulski p.57">Skulski 2012, p. 57.</ref> During 1944, the [[Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia]], ''Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske'' (ZNDH), received several batches of C.202s. During January, eight brand-new ''Folgore'' fighters arrived at [[Zagreb]]'s [[Lucko]] airfield. Two weeks later, another four aircraft arrived; one of these was reportedly lost during a test-flight. The first batch of 16 "Folgores" delivered to the ZNDH was from the XII series, built by Breda following the German occupation of Northern Italy. These fighters equipped ''Kroat. JGr 1'' and retained their Luftwaffe markings whilst in service with the unit.<ref name="Savic & Ciglic p. 63" /> During 1944,  the [[Croatian Air Force Legion]] (HZL) fighter squadron had returned to Croatia from service on the Eastern Front. Upon its return, the HZL was redesignated ''Kroat. JGr 1'', while its operational fighter squadron was redesignated ''2./(Kroat.)JGr''; this unit was equipped with Macchis. A second training / operational conversion squadron was also formed, designated ''3./(Kroat.)JGr'' and equipped with [[Fiat G.50]], Macchi C.200 and [[Fiat CR.42]] fighters. During March 1944, they were scrambled for the first time against an American raid west of Zagreb but combat was avoided; Croatian Macchi pilots had been initially instructed to attack only those aircraft which had already been damaged or had become separated from their main formations.<ref name="Savic & Ciglic p. 63">Savic & Ciglic 2002, p. 63.</ref>

On 24 April 1944, the first confirmed air victory was claimed by ''Unteroffizier'' Leopold Hrastovcan against an American B-24 that was shot down near the village of [[Zaprešić]] (Zagorje).<ref name="Skulski p.57" /> According to some sources, during these first sorties, Croat C.202s claimed between 11 and 16 aerial victories, but only three further were confirmed. During May 1944, the Croatians received four C.202s from the Luftwaffe in [[Niš, Serbia|Niš]], [[Serbia]]; during the ferry flight, a single Macchi crash landed near [[Zemun]] airfield. Around June 1944, the Croat unit received the last six ''Folgore'' and three or four brand new [[Macchi C.205]]s.<ref name="Skulski p.57" /><ref name="Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 64">Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 64.</ref> Irrespective of the Croatian Air Force Legion having been disbanded at the end of July, after which it was replaced by the Croatian Air Force Group (''HZS''), the fighters themselves remained at [[Borovo, Croatia|Borovo]].<ref name="Skulski p.57" /> During a period of intensive activity in mid-1944, the squadron had claimed some 20 Allied aircraft shot down.<ref name="Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 64" />  By late 1944, those C.202s that were still in a flight-worthy condition, based in Borovo, were used by Croatian cadets for training purposes. During September 1944, Luftwaffe pilots flew all of the remaining airworthy ''Folgores'' to Borongaj, where they were used only for training.<ref name="Skulski p.57" />

According to aviation authors Dragan Savic and Boris Ciglic, Croatian pilots did not at first have a high opinion of the Macchi fighter, in part due to its armament consisting of just a pair of 12.7&nbsp;mm and two 7.7mm machine guns, which were regarded as scarcely effective against the heavily armed US four-engined bombers.<ref name="Savic & Ciglic p. 63" /> Eastern front veteran ''Major'' Josip Helebrant, an 11-kill [[flying ace]]<ref>Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 82.</ref> (used to flying Bf 109 Gs) and the CO of ''2./(Kroat.)JGr'', had reportedly initially regarded the Macchis as "old, weary and unusable", and described the morale of his men as "low", and his unit's results as "nil", primarily because of the [[NDH]]'s underdeveloped air-raid warning system, which saw the Croatian Macchi fighters often taking off to intercept attacking Allied bombers that were already flying overhead.<ref name="Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 63">Savic and Ciglic 2002, p. 63.</ref>