Editing Macchi C.202 Folgore (section)

==Operational history==

===Service introduction===
[[File:Mc 202 folgore.sized.jpg|thumb|An early Macchi C.202 (no radio mast) of 81ª ''Squadriglia'', 6° ''Gruppo'', 1° ''Stormo'' CT, likely in Libya]]

During 1940, the ''Folgore'' was put into production using imported DB 601Aa engines, while Alfa Romeo set up production of the engine under license as the RA.1000 R.C.41-I ''Monsone'' (Monsoon). Due to initial delays in engine production, Macchi resorted to completing some C.202 airframes as C.200s, powered by Fiat-built radial engines. Nevertheless, by late 1942, ''Folgores'' outnumbered all other fighter aircraft in the ''Regia Aeronautica''.

The first units selected to be equipped with the C.202 Series I were the 17° and 6° ''Gruppi'', from 1° ''Stormo'', based at the airfield of [[Campoformido]], near [[Udine]], and the 9° ''Gruppo'' of 4° ''Stormo'', based in [[Gorizia]].<ref name="Cattaneo p. 5." /> Their pilots started to train on the new fighter in May–June 1941, at [[Lonate Pozzolo]] ([[Varese]]), the airfield of the [[Aermacchi|Macchi]].<ref name="Malizia pp. 92-93.">Malizia 2002, pp. 92–93.</ref> Although first deployed in mid-1941, the C.202 did not see action until later that year; this delay came as a consequence of the many defects that were discovered upon the first fighter deliveries. Some defects appeared similar to those on the early C. 200 version: on 3 August, during a mock dogfight, ''Sergente Maggiore'' Antonio Valle – an experienced pilot, credited with two kills in [[Marmarica]] and recipient of a ''Medaglia di Bronzo al Valor Militare'' ([[Bronze Medal of Military Valor]]) – at a height of {{convert|4000|m|ft}} entered in a [[Flat spin (aviation)|flat spin]] and could not recover or bail out, losing his life.<ref name="Duma pp. 216-217.">Duma 2007, pp. 216–217.</ref>
The oxygen system was also regarded as being inefficient, causing, at least during the first sorties, up to 50/60 per cent of the pilots to abandon their missions and in some cases having been determined to have caused fatal accidents.<ref name="Angelucci and Matricardi p. 219." />
By November 1941, the C.202 had appeared on the Libyan front.<ref name="Cattaneo p. 5." /> However, according to aviation author Gianni Cattaneo, the type may have been more of a hindrance than help in that theatre, attributing this to the pilots flying it only being semi-trained, which was in turn caused by the type being rushed into service as Axis air superiority had faded in North Africa, and a lack of spares to maintain it with. The C.202 had a better time on the home front, where supplies were more plentiful and units had more time to prepare and familiarise themselves with the type.<ref name="Cattaneo p. 56.">Cattaneo 1966, pp. 5-6.</ref> The type was quickly put to use outside of North Africa, seeing limited service against the [[Soviet Union]] on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] where, between 1941 and 1943, together with C.200s, the fighter reportedly achieved an 88 to 15 victory/loss ratio.<ref name="Cattaneo p. 8.">Cattaneo 1966, p. 8.</ref> However, according to authors Jeffery Ethell and Pietro Tonizzo, that ratio refers only to the C.200 "Saetta".<ref>Ethell 1996, p. 69.</ref><ref>De Marchi, Italo – Tonizzo, Pietro. ''Macchi MC. 200 / FIAT CR. 32''. Modena, Edizioni Stem Mucchi 1994, p. 10.</ref>

===Malta===
[[File:Macchi M.C.202 Folgore Flight.jpg|thumb|A C.202 in camouflage scheme, circa 1941]]

The ''Folgore'' first saw service during the [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Siege of Malta]] on 29 or 30 September 1941; their first mission was the interception of British Hurricanes over Sicily.<ref name="Duma p. 223.">Duma 2007, p. 223.</ref><ref name="Malizia p. 95.">Malizia 2002, p. 95.</ref>

From early October 1941, the Italian units commenced extensive operations over Malta, which provided many opportunities for encounters with RAF fighters. From its initial combat missions, the C.202 displayed marked superiority over the [[Hawker Hurricane]] II, which formed the island's main form of aerial defence at the time.<ref>Caruana 1999, p. 175.</ref> However, the Macchi's main weakness, its weak armament, proved to be a problem even at this stage.<ref name="Skulski p. 25.">Skulski 2012, p. 25.</ref> Over the skies of the besieged island, the new Macchi fighter was not only used to conduct fighter operations, but also for performing ground attack runs and [[aerial reconnaissance]] missions. Among the pilots who flew recce C.202s on Malta was [[Adriano Visconti]], later to become a famed ace and credited with at least 10 air victories.<ref name="Skulski p. 25.">Skulski 2012, p. 25.</ref>

The presence of the ''Folgores'' in Maltese skies was to last only until the end of November, when most of the unit was transferred to the deteriorating North Africa front. The 4° ''Stormo'' returned to Sicily at the beginning of April 1942, with 10º ''Gruppo'', to Castelvetrano. The airport was already the base of ''Gruppi'' 7º and 16º from 54º ''Stormo'' equipped with some C.202s besides the Macchi C.200s and Fiat CR.42s.<ref name="Duma p. 267.">Duma 2007, p. 267.</ref> The 4° ''Stormo'' C.202s flew the first sortie, on 21 April, claiming a Spitfire V, while escorting three more "recce" Macchis from 54º Stormo.<ref name="Duma p. 268.">Duma 2007, p. 268.</ref> The 4º ''Stormo'' flew its last mission on Malta on 19 May before moving back to North Africa.<ref name="Duma p. 277.">Duma 2007, p. 277.</ref><ref name="Cattaneo p. 6.">Cattaneo 1966, p. 6.</ref> In the meantime, the 16° ''Gruppo'' had started to re-equip with the C.202s at the end of 1941. During May 1942, the Macchis of 51° ''Stormo'' and 23° ''Gruppo'' (3° ''Stormo'') also arrived.<ref>Caruana 1999, pp. 175-177.</ref>

During [[Operation Harpoon (1942)|Operation Harpoon]], one of two simultaneous Allied convoys sent to supply Malta in the Axis-dominated central Mediterranean Sea in mid-June 1942, C.202s were involved in clashing with Sea Hurricanes.<ref name="Cattaneo p. 6." /> It was during this time that the Axis had to abandon their plans for the invasion of Malta, [[Operation Herkules]] (Operation C 3) due to the aircraft and men being necessary elsewhere. On 7 March 1942, the carrier {{USS|Wasp|CV-7|6}} delivered the first Spitfires to Malta, and the Axis' air-superiority started to shift in favour of the Allies.<ref>Shores et al. 1991, pp. 106–110.</ref> At the end of June, however, about 60 C.202s could be mustered in Sicily to operate against Malta, which had been receiving the Spitfire Mk. V in ever-increasing quantities.<ref>Caruana 1999, pp. 175–177.</ref> The Macchi could out-turn the Spitfire, but the ''Folgores'' suffered from the lack of a more powerful armament and, without radios, the ''Regia Aeronautica'' pilots were forced to communicate with one another by waggling their wings and, consequently, had to adopt formations that were too tight and less effective in combat. Their performance had also suffered due to the lack of [[radar]], which the RAF were making extensive use of to successfully vector their fighters against their aerial opposition.<ref>Beurling with Roberts 1943, pp. 165–166.</ref>

Nevertheless, the C.202's pilots were able to achieve many successes against the British Spitfires. The top scoring Italian pilots in this theatre included ''Capitano'' [[Furio Niclot Doglio|Furio Niclot-Doglio]] (a 7 kills ace, shot down and killed on 27 July 1942 by RAF ace [[George Beurling|George "Screwball" Beurling]]) and ''Sergente'' Ennio Tarantola. Both pilots flew with 51° ''Stormo'' C.T., the most successful Italian unit over Malta, having reportedly achieved a score of 97 aircraft destroyed for the loss of only 17 ''Folgores''.<ref name="Skulski p.29">Skulski 2012, p. 29.</ref>

===North Africa and Pantelleria===
On 29 July 1941, the three first operational C.202s of 4° ''Stormo'', 97ª ''Squadriglia'', landed at Merna airport.<ref name="Duma p. 215.">Duma 2007, p. 215.</ref> On 26 November, during [[Operation Crusader]], 19 Macchis of 9° ''Gruppo'', 4° ''Stormo'' were sent to Africa, and by the end of the month the whole 1° ''Stormo'' was in Libya, both units taking part in the last stages of the British offensive that led to the raising of the siege of [[Tobruk]], and the retreat of Italian and German troops in [[Cyrenaica]] in December.<ref name="Cattaneo p. 67.">Cattaneo 1966, pp. 6-7.</ref> During its initial combats over the Western Desert, the ''Folgore'' was quite a surprise to British pilots and it remained a respected adversary.<ref name="Ethell p. 71">Ethell 1995, p. 71.</ref> Squadron Leader Dennis Harry Clark, [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|D.F.C.]] and [[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|A.F.C.]], in his book ''What Were They Like to Fly'' (1964), stated: "Sleek, supremely fast (..) the 202 was capable of out-turning our P-40s with ease; but the majority would pull away effortlessly into a climbing roll off or a roll off the top when things became at all hectic... Their aircraft was superior to ours on all counts." {{sfn|Palermo|2014|p=237}}

In the desert war, incursions by the [[Special Air Service|SAS]] behind enemy lines were often aimed at destroying aircraft on the ground. Macchi 202s of 1° ''Stormo'' based at [[Uadi Tamet]] had been transferred from Italy one month before and recently relocated from [[Bir el Merduma]] because the airbase was too exposed to SAS attacks. 1° ''Stormo'' had 60 fighters, 17°''Gruppo'' around 30. In a month of combat, the latter lost a total of eight fighters to raids. On the night of 28 December 1941 the SAS managed to destroy a further nine aircraft. After this attack the Italians were forced to move their remaining aircraft well away from the front lines to avoid incurring further losses to such raids.<ref>Massimello, Giorgio. "Il SAS e la R.A." ''Storia Militare'', February 2008, pp. 9–10.</ref>

During 1942, Bf 109F/Gs and Macchi C.202s fought against the Allied air forces in North Africa. At the time of [[Erwin Rommel|Rommel]]'s offensive on Tobruk, 5ª "''Squadra Aerea''" ("Aviation Corps"), based in North Africa, had three Macchi wings: 1° ''Stormo'' had 47 C.202s (40 serviceable), 2° ''Stormo'' had 63 C.200s (52) while 4° ''Stormo'' had 57(47). This, coupled with the 32 [[Cant Z.1007]]s, was one of the most powerful fighter forces that the Italians fielded in the war, and constituted almost a tenth of the overall ''Folgore'' production.<ref name="Sgarlato" />{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}
During April 1942 the 4° ''Stormo'' solved the frequent problems to the [[oxygen masks]] by adopting the German Dräger "oxygen apparatus" that already equipped the Bf 109s.<ref name="Duma pp. 270.">Duma 2007, pp. 271.</ref>

[[File:Castel Benito airfield destroyed hangar 1943.jpg|thumb|left|Wrecked fighters in a destroyed hangar at [[RAF Castel Benito|Tripoli-Castel Benito Airport]], [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], [[Libya]], early 1943]]
During the [[Battle of Bir Hakeim]] the C.202s performed successfully against the assorted fighters of the Desert Air Force, typically using "dive and zoom" tactics, similar to those of Luftwaffe fighters.{{sfn|Palermo|2014|p=222}} In the morning of 26 May, about 60 ''Folgore'' from 1° and 4° ''Stormo'' attacked Gambut airfield destroying and damaging many Allied aircraft surprised while taking off.<ref name="Emiliani, Ghergo, Vigna p. 111.">Emiliani, Ghergo, Vigna 1979, p. 111.</ref> Even if often outnumbered, the C.202s achieved 22 confirmed air victories against Hurricanes and P-40s for the loss of just five of their number, a kill/loss ratio of 4,4/1, bettering the Bf 109s' (3,5/1).{{sfn|Palermo|2014|pp=255–264}} On 23 December 1942, the ''Regia Aeronautica'' authorized the use of under-wing jettisonable tanks on the C.202s of 6° and 7° ''Gruppo'' based in [[Pantelleria]], significantly boosting their endurance.<ref name="Borgiotti p. 3.">Borgiotti 1994, p. 3.</ref> By the end of the year, the growing strength of the Allied forces was overwhelming and after the defeat in the skies over Malta as well as [[El-Alamein]] the last operational Axis units lost their air superiority in the Mediterranean.<ref name="Cattaneo p. 7.">Cattaneo 1966, p. 7.</ref> The Germans and the Italians succeeded in establishing a bridgehead in Tunisia, and later in December the ''Regia Aeronautica'' transferred four fighter squadrons there; the 5ª ''Squadra Aerea'', which had left Libya and retreated to Tunisia, had previously repatriated all unserviceable aircraft to Italy. By early 1943, ''Regia Aeronautica'' had only 54 serviceable C.202 across 12 squadrons.<ref name="Skulski p. 36">Skulski 2012, p. 36.</ref>

By 21 February 1943 the 5ª ''Squadra Aerea'' still had the 6°''Gruppo'' C.T. with three squadrons of C.202s at [[Sfax]] and [[Gammarth]] in the northern sector, and in the southern sector, 3°''Stormo'' with six squadrons of C.200s and C.202s at El Hamma. Although these forces were insufficient they nevertheless achieved notable successes. On 6–7 March 1943, C.202 pilots claimed 19 RAF and two USAAF aircraft, for the loss of two ''Folgore''.<ref name="Skulski p. 36">Skulski 2012, p. 36.</ref> Pilots of 16° ''Gruppo Assalto'', an attack unit, downed no fewer than 10 aircraft.<ref name="Skulski p. 37">Skulski 2012, p. 37.</ref>

The Macchis continued fighting while retreating to Tunisia and then in the defence of Sicily, Sardinia and Italy against an increasingly stronger opponent. The Macchis of two groups at [[Korba, Tunisia|Korba]] were forced to concentrate 40 C.202s (both 7° and 16°, 54° ''Stormo''), and on 8 May 1943, almost all their C.202s were destroyed on the ground by marauding Spitfires.<ref>Massiniello 1996</ref> Only eleven aircraft were repaired by 10 May 1943 and retreated to Italy. Because no transport aircraft were available every surviving fighter had two men inside, a pilot and a mechanic. At least one was destroyed and the two crewmen wounded after crash-landing on a beach near [[Reggio Calabria]]. During the Tunisian operation the ''Regia Aeronautica'' lost a total of 22 C.202s in the air and 47 on the ground.<ref name="Skulski p. 37">Skulski 2012, p. 37.</ref>

===Eastern Front operations===
During May 1942, the 22° ''Gruppo Caccia'', which had reached its operational limit, was replaced by the newly formed 21° ''Gruppo Autonomo C.T.'' composed of 356ª, 382ª, 361ª and 386ª ''Squadriglia''. This unit, commanded by ''Maggiore'' (Major) Ettore Foschini, brought new C.202s and 18 new Macchi C.200 fighters.<ref name="Neulen p. 63">Neulen 2000, p. 63.</ref> During August 1942, at the beginning of the German offensive, they were deployed at the [[Stalino]], [[Luhansk|Lughansk]], Kantemirovka and [[Millerovo]] airfields, typically performing ground attack strikes against the [[Red Army]] positions along the east [[Don River (Russia)|Don river]] during October–November 1942.<ref name="Cattaneo p. 7." /> In this theatre, the fighters were operated under adverse climate conditions (40° to 45° below zero and heavy snow storms) as well as frequently coming under heavy harassment from Russian fighter-bombers.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} As a consequence of these operational circumstances, 21° ''Gruppo'' – which had 17 C.202s on strength – were rarely able to conduct sorties; as such, only a total of 17 missions were flown with ''Folgores'' on the Eastern Front during a four-month period.<ref name="Bergström p. 98">Bergström 2007, p. 98.</ref>

When they were able to conduct combat operations, the C.202 were frequently used as escorts alongside their older C.200 siblings for [[Fiat BR.20]]M and [[Caproni Ca.311]] bombers in attacks against Soviet columns, during which they would typically be facing aerial opposition from great numbers of [[Soviet Air Forces]] (VVS) fighters. The C.202 were also regularly used to escort [[CANT Z.1007]]bis during the latter's reconnaissance missions,{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} as well as for German transport aircraft. During one such mission, on 11 December 1942, which involved the escorting of several [[Junkers Ju 52]]s en route to [[Stalingrad]], ''Tenente Pilota'' Gino Lionello was shot down and forced to bail out from his ''Folgore''.<ref name="Bergström p. 98">Bergström 2007, p. 98.</ref>

After the abandonment of [[advanced airfield]]s between December 1942 – January 1943 at [[Voroshilovgrad]], Stalino and Tscerkow, the Italian air units were operated in a series of defensive actions against a more potent Soviet air offensive, consisting mainly of [[Ilyushin Il-2|Ilyushin IL-2s]] ''Shturmoviks'' and [[Petlyakov Pe-2]]s. During March 1943, the ''Corpo Aereo Italiano'' was detached to [[Odessa]] airbase, joining [[Reggiane Re 2000|Reggiane Re. 2000]] Héja I of the Hungarian ''MKHL'' 1 and 2/1 ''Vadászszázad'', as well as [[IAR 80]]C and [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Bf 109]]E/G of Romanian ''FARR'' 4 and 5 detached at the same base and [[Saky]] (Crimea) in a holding action against the VVS armada of 2,000 aircraft, at a time when the Axis air forces only countered with 300 operative aircraft, which were further constrained by having very small quantities of fuel, munitions and equipment available.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} On 17 January 1943, the last effective operation of ''Corpo Aereo Italiano in Russia'' occurred, when a single mixed formation of 25 surviving Macchi fighters (out of a remaining total of 30 C.200s and nine C.202s) attacked several Red Army armored and motorized infantry columns in support of German and Italian units that were encircled in Millerovo.<ref name="De Marchi p. 10">De Marchi 1994, p. 10.</ref><ref name="Cattaneo p. 7." />

===Sicilian and Italian campaigns===
[[File:Macchi C.202 at Dayton.jpg|thumb|A Macchi C.202 captured during the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]] of [[World War II]] being evaluated at [[Wright-Patterson Field]] outside [[Dayton, Ohio]], for the [[United States Army Air Forces]]]]

The C.202s played a significant role in the defense of Sicily and Southern Italy against bombing attacks launched by the USAAF, however, by the time of Allied invasion of Sicily during July 1943, their effectiveness had been diminished considerably as a result of attrition, which had reduced the number available.<ref name="Mondey p. 155">Mondey 2006, p. 155.</ref><ref name="Cattaneo p. 89.">Cattaneo 1966, pp. 8-9.</ref> Furthermore, it was increasingly recognised that 20&nbsp;mm cannons were required in order to cause enough damage, thus a mixture of Bf 109F/Gs, [[Macchi MC.205]]s and [[Fiat G.55]]s were deployed to replace the remaining C.202s as soon as possible. Mixed units (such as the 51° ''Stormo'', [[Sardinia]]) were formed with C.202s, yet were often serving with C.205s as well.<ref name="Cattaneo p. 8." />

By the signing of the 1943 [[Armistice with Italy]], there were only 186 ''Folgores'' remaining, of which roughly 100 aircraft were still considered to be in a serviceable condition.<ref>Sgarlato, ''Macchi 202'', p. 38.</ref><ref name="Cattaneo p. 9.">Cattaneo 1966, p. 9.</ref> Several C.202s served with the Allied-aligned [[Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force]], and some of these were subsequently reconstructed into C.205s or C.202/205 with the Veltro's engine. Others served as trainers in the Axis-aligned ''[[Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana]]'' (National Republican Air Force) of the [[Italian Social Republic]] (RSI) and the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' (German Air Force).<ref name="Sgarlato p. 40" /><ref name="Cattaneo p. 910.">Cattaneo 1966, pp. 9-10.</ref>

===''Folgore'' aces===
The Macchi C.202 was flown by almost all of the most successful Italian aces, Adriano Visconti, [[Leonardo Ferrulli]], [[Luigi Gorrini]], [[Franco Lucchini]], [[Franco Bordoni Bisleri]], Furio Niclot Doglio and top scorer ''Sergente Maggiore'' [[Teresio Vittorio Martinoli]], credited with 22 individual "kills" plus two probables, as well as 14 shared.<ref name="Sgarlato" /> Seventeen of these victories were obtained in 73ª ''Squadriglia'', 9° ''Gruppo'' (from 4° ''Stormo''). On 25 August 1944, Martinoli was killed during a training flight with the P-39 Airacobra. ''Capitano'' Franco Lucchini, who was credited with 21/26 individual victories and 52 shared, began to fly the ''Folgore'' after having already shot down 10 enemy aircraft. On 5 July 1943, Lucchini was killed in his C.202 while attacking a B-17 over Gerbini, [[Sicily]].<ref name="Sgarlato" />

===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>

===Postwar service===
As a consequence of the Allied aerial bombing against the Italian Social Republic, during which the manufacturing facilities of the Macchi company had sustained damage during 1944, both the production life and combat career of both the C.202 and the further refined C.205 were cut short. Post-war, some of the aircraft which had survived the conflict were joined by a small number of newly manufactured C.205s. The surviving aircraft were operated by the [[Aeronautica Militare Italiana]], where they were used as trainer aircraft as late as 1948 before being phased out entirely.<ref name="Angelucci and Matricardi p. 219." />

The [[Royal Egyptian Air Force]] ordered a total of 42 C.205s, but 31 of these were in fact re-engined ''Folgores'' (C.202s), armed with only a pair of 12.7&nbsp;mm Breda machine guns. Some of these aircraft later fought during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] the [[Israel|State of Israel]]; the Egyptian fighters were reportedly still in service as late as 1951.<ref>Sgarlato 1998, pp. 41–45.</ref> [[Switzerland]] had placed an order for 20 C.202s, however, none of these were ever delivered; this was due to the deteriorating war situation at the time (May 1943) that meant that Italy no longer had the capability to export these types of aircraft.<ref name="Sgarlato p. 40">Sgarlato 1998, p. 40.</ref><ref name="Savic and Ciglic 2002">Savic and Ciglic 2002</ref> During mid-1944, at least 12 C.202s, and probably another 12 aircraft, were delivered to the Croatian Air Force Legion for operational use against the [[Royal Air Force]] and [[United States Army Air Forces]] over Croatia, all of which being ex-LW fighters.<ref name="Sgarlato p. 40" /><ref name="Savic and Ciglic 2002" />

Those allied pilots who flew against the ''Folgore'' were frequently impressed with its performance and manoeuvrability.<ref name="Spick p. 117.">Spick 1997, p. 117.</ref> The C.202 was often considered to have been superior to both the British Hawker Hurricane and the American [[Curtiss P-40]] Kittyhawk that it commonly fought against, at first on the Libyan front, as well as being the equal of the [[Supermarine Spitfire]] Mk. V. The C.202 was able to out-turn all three, although the Spitfire possessed a superior rate of climb.<ref>Glancey 2007, pp. 165–166.</ref> The C.202 could effectively fly against the Hurricane, [[Lockheed P-38 Lightning]], [[Bell P-39 Airacobra]], Curtiss P-40 and even the Spitfire at low altitudes, but the aircraft's combat effectiveness was somewhat hampered by its weak armament.<ref name="Cattaneo">Cattaneo 1971, {{page needed|date=January 2018}}.</ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}