The Macchi C.205 Veltro (Italian: Greyhound) (also known as MC.205, "MC" standing for "Macchi Castoldi") was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. The C.205 was a development of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 Veltro was highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers. The Macchi C. 205 proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms, which encouraged the Luftwaffe to use a number of these aircraft to equip one Gruppe.

While the C.205 was able to match the best Allied opponents in speed and maneuverability, it was introduced late in the conflict. Due to the limitations of the Italian war economy, only a small production run was delivered before the end of the war. Like the Spitfire, the Veltro was tricky in its construction and slow to build. Italy's highest-scoring ace, Adriano Visconti, achieved 11 of his 26 credited victories in the few weeks he was able to fly the Veltro, with the top-scoring Sergente Maggiore pilota Luigi Gorrini shooting down 14 enemy aircraft plus six damaged with the C.205.
In 1941, seeking to further improve the performance of the C.202 fighter, the Regia Aeronautica decided to license-build the German DB 605 1,100 kW (1,475 hp) liquid-cooled supercharged inverted V-12 engine in Italy, which Fiat produced as the RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone (Typhoon). Fighter manufacturers were invited to enter versions of their designs using this engine as the caccia della serie 5 ("series-5 fighter") and were provided with imported DB 605s for prototype use. All of the designs used the number 5 in the name, with the Macchi becoming the C.205 (instead of C.202bis or C.203).

Macchi had used a licence-built DB 601 engine in the C.202, an engine which was closely comparable in size to the later, more powerful DB 605. This meant that the C.202 airframe could be easily adapted for the DB 605. The C.205V Veltro first flew on 19 April 1942, and was considered a stop-gap measure with the definitive variant being the 205N Orione (N stood for "new"). In testing, the Fiat G.55 Centauro and Re.2005 Sagittario proved to be better performers at high altitude due to their larger wing area. In fact, the Veltro used the same wing as the earlier Folgore but its weight had increased from 2,350 kg  to 2,581 kg  and the wing loading from 140 kg/m2 to 153.6 kg/m2. The Veltro's performance was similar to German designs with their higher wing loading, and was at its best at medium altitudes where it could reach 642 km/h . The C.205 Veltro was placed in production until the G.55 and the Re.2005 could become available.

The first 100 Veltro Serie I were only machine-gun-armed, but many were also fitted with the 20 mm MG 151 cannon. There were no Serie II built, but 150 Serie III were ordered, which were fitted with wing cannons as a standard.

The necessity to re-engineer the forward fuselage was time-consuming but, after several months of delays, the "205N" was ready. The C.205N1 first flew on 1 November 1942, with armament consisting of a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller hub, and four cowling-mounted 12.7 mm  Breda-SAFAT machine guns for which it carried 300–400 and 1,400 rounds of ammunition respectively. This configuration allowed a higher ceiling but lower speed 629 km/h . The better aerodynamics (with a longer and more streamlined rear fuselage) provided an advantage over the Macchi C.205V/MG151

The maiden flight of the second prototype, the C.205N2, took place on 19 May 1943, reaching 628 kilometres per hour  during testing, which was marginally slower than the C.205N1 with a correspondingly longer time to reach its operational altitude. It was equipped with one engine-mounted 20 mm cannon, two wing-mounted 20 mm cannon and two fuselage-mounted 12.7 mm  machine guns. The ammunition load comprised 600 or more 12.7 mm  rounds and a maximum of around 900 20 mm rounds which was much heavier than that carried by the C.205N1 and more than that of the Reggiane and the Fiat which carried 490–550 and 650 20 mm rounds respectively. Although 1,200 aircraft were ordered, the design was abandoned due to the Italian armistice.

The N-series aircraft should have performed better than the C.205V but Macchi test pilot Guido Carestiato noted that their flying characteristics were inferior to the lighter and more agile C.205 Veltro. The later series also experienced overheating while climbing.

The C.205, known initially as the C.202bis, was generally similar to the previous Folgore, although there were numerous differences in the fuselage: the tail was larger, the cockpit and its hump were redesigned, the antenna mast was bigger and some modifications were made to the wings. Both the C.202 and C.205 had the port wing 8" longer than the starboard to compensate lift for engine torque.

The C.205 was a single-seat, all-metal, monoplane fighter, intended primarily as an interceptor but with ground attack and escort capabilities. The long nose housed the DB605 engine which drove a three-blade, constant-speed metal propeller, with the main fuel tank situated between the engine and the cockpit. The radiator was located under the centre section of the fuselage beneath the cockpit while the short rear section housed the radio equipment, oxygen cylinder and an 80 L  reserve fuel tank. The wings were made of light aluminium alloys and steel, having two spars and three sections, housing two additional fuel tanks, and the fully retractable wide-set main undercarriage gear. Apart from the all-metal flaps in the inner wing, all the other control surfaces were metal-framed and fabric-covered. Veltros had self-sealing fuel tanks, an armoured seat, and armoured windscreen as standard. The cramped cockpit possessed a limited field-of-view, but some examples were fitted with a rear-view mirror.

The 827 kg (normal) payload consisted of the fully equipped pilot (85 kg, fuel (307 kg), two Breda machine guns and two Mauser MG 151/20 cannon (60 and 84 kg respectively), 740 rounds of 12.7 mm  ammunition (76 kg), 500 rounds of 20 mm ammunition (100 kg), and other sundry items such as oil (33 kg), oxygen cylinder (12 kg) and radio equipment. Additionally, 100 L  fuel tanks or 160 kg  of bombs could be carried on two underwing hardpoints. Due to a lack of passenger transport aircraft, modifications were made to a C.205 to enable it to carry eight passengers in the belly of the fuselage and, among others, three pilots of 51° Wing (including Adriano Visconti) made the journey from Sardinia to Italy after the Armistice in this manner.

Veltros originally had "tropical" pattern camouflage, with a sand brown base coat and irregular black-green lines all over their surface (referred to as "smoke rings"). Those in service with Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana were painted an overall dark green (nearly black), while others adopted a variation of the "tropical" pattern or carried a camouflage pattern based on the German "Splinter Pattern" consisting of RLM 74 and 75, Gey/Green over RLM 76 Blue.

At the end of evaluation tests, the C.205 began series production, with a first order of 250 aircraft. The first C.205 left the factory in September 1942. Speed of production was very slow (about 12 machines per month), because of shortage of engines and strategic materials, and only in June 1943 did Macchi manage to complete the first batch of 100 fighters. It took until September before production reached 177 examples, of which 146 were delivered to Regia Aeronautica units.

At the time of the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces on 8 September 1943, the Regia Aeronautica had received 177 Veltros, but only 66 were still usable. Six of these flew to Allied airfields to serve with the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force.

Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana
A total of 29 C.205s reached northern airfields and were used by the Italian Social Republic Air Force (ANR – Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana).

Macchi produced the remaining 72 aircraft of the third series for the ANR before production was shut down by Allied bombing in May 1944. Statistics on aircraft production post-Armistice are unclear and incomplete. In general, C.205s fought well in RSI service: they were attached to units that had homogeneous equipment, or at least of comparable quality, and were guided by German radar stations. Though few in number, they achieved success in inflicting losses on Allied bombers and fighters. The first air battle of the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana – still with German insignia – took place on 3 January 1944. The C.205s, guided by Italian ace Capitano Adriano Visconti, intercepted a formation of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and their escort of Lockheed P-38 Lightnings bombing RIV factories in Villar Perosa. On 24 January, the Macchi 205 were transferred to two bases in Friuli. On 28 January, the C.205s, now with Italian markings, succeeded in shooting down a B-24 Liberator, their first four-engined American bomber. This air victory was credited to Sergente Marconcini, wingman of the ace Visconti.

1° Gruppo, based in Udine, was equipped with a few Veltros. According to one author:

At the start of February 1944, 1° Gruppo was transferred to a base on the outskirts of Reggio Emilia, with the task of attacking Allied four-engined bombers and the P-51s that escorted them. Dogfights with the aircraft that could be considered the best fighter of the time meant that the Italian pilots were hard pressed; however they were able to claim 58 Mustangs, though at a high price. At the end of May 1944, the number of C.205s of the ANR was so low that the unit had to be re-equipped with Fiat G.55.[22][23]

A few Veltros were also delivered to 3° Gruppo, based in Vicenza, while further Veltros were scattered throughout other small units. Regia Aeronautica also had a poor opinion about the Macchi C.205N, plagued by overheating in the climb. The 1° Gruppo C.T. of the ANR, based at the Campoformido airfield, was equipped with C.205. Its first operation, on 3 January, began with a surprise blow right away: the Italian fighter pilots shot down four P-38 Lightnings. By 25 February, 1° Gruppo C.T. had reported 26 victories for nine losses. An extremely bitter aerial combat took place on 11 March. The Italians claimed 12 victories for themselves, but lost three of their own pilots, including 1st Lt Boscutti, who was killed by an American P-38 Lightning pilot after he had bailed out from his stricken fighter and was hanging from his parachute. On 18 March, 30 C.205s from 1° Gruppo C.T. and 60 Bf 109 from JG.77 joined combat with about 450 Allied bombers and their escorts, shooting down at least four enemy aircraft, but Corp. Zaccaria was killed while hanging from his parachute again by a P-38 pilot who fired at him from close range. Allied bombing in April 1944 destroyed most of the Macchi and Fiat facilities bringing fighter production to an end. With the interruption of production, the Italians were forced to re-equip their three groups almost fully with Bf 109s, largely because the Germans were quick to offer some of their best models, including Bf 109G-6s and Bf 109K-4s. The Allies were less generous with the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force (ICAF), and Veltros, including some upgraded C.202s, were slowly replaced with worn-out P-39s and Spitfires, but not before summer 1944.

In Croatian Service
A small batch of C.205s were in service with the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia, Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske (ZNDH) in 1944, but the Croatian "Veltros" flew few sorties and were soon overwhelmed by the waves of Allied fighters that swarmed over Yugoslavian skies. On 30 June 1944, three recently arrived Macchi C.205s, flown by Eastern Front veterans (Major Josip Helebrant, Oberleutenant Ljudevit "Lujo" Bencetic[28] and Feldwebel Bozidar "Bosko" Bartulovic, along with three inexperienced pilots in Macchi C.202s, took off to intercept USAAF Fifteenth Air force bombers heading to bomb Blechhammer, location of Nazi Germany chemical plants, prisoner of war (POW) camps, and forced labor camps. The Macchis attacked the USAAF bombers and their escorting fighters, 5th FS/52nd FG P-51 Mustangs over Bjelovar, but five of the Italian-built aircraft were shot down both by the bomber's defensive fire and by the Mustangs. Only Bencetic – an ace with a final score of 15 kills and his "Veltro" succeeded in returning to base at Zagreb. Helebrant and Bartulovic bailed out and survived the war, with a final score of, respectively, 11 and eight kills.

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