The Macchi C200 has been the standard fighter with wich the Italian Airforce entered into the second WW. With this aeroplane the Italian pilots faced, in the Malta and North Africa skies the British Hurricanes and the first Spitfires.

As follows will describe the radio sets used from this aeroplane during its operational life.

After the War in Ethiopia for the Italian RA (Regia Aeronautica = Royal Airforce) became evident the requirement of a whole rehearing of the own means in order to bring them to a level at least comparable to that of the others greater aviations. In such purpose cells, engines, armament and also the introduction of adequate radio equipments came faced at least like commitment.

 On radioelectric field the situation was disastrous because the few apparatuses at the moment on line were similar or derived from those used from Italo Balbo during the Atlantics cruises ten years before.

The selected philosophy to recover the long time lost was to put immediately under study new sets and in parallel increase the production of those existing in order to equip the multiengines airplanes with a complete equipment (receiver, transmitter, RDF) and the single engine airplanes at least with a receiving set. In a second phase, when the new assemblies would have been rendered available, all the airplanes would have a complete equipment.

The research of these new units had assigned to the Radioelectric Division of the DSSE (Direction Superior Studies and Experiences) of Guidonia which took the necessary steps for the development of the plans, the follow up of the production (entrusted at external Firms), and last, take care about the board installatiion on the airplanes with the resolution of possible operational problems.

 Concerning the radio use on the fighters and in particular above the C200 the history followed exactly the phases above mentioned.

This receiver, with initials ARC 1 (Aviation- Receiver for Fighter n.1), whose mass production had entrusted the SAFAR, used a 6 valves superetherodyne circuit of high selectivity. It was able to receive R/T and CW signals on the range of the Medium Waves (200 - 400 m.) powered through dry batteries placed into a container easily removable.The valves used were of Italian construction ( made by FIVRE) but of american type and precisely:

78 RF Amplifier

6A7 Mixer-Oscillator

78 IF Amplifier

78 BFO

75 Detector and LF preaplifier

41 LF Amplifier

  It had contained in a alluminum chest from which went out the connectors for the remote control box. On the sides of the chest was existing the attachments to fix the set to the airplane structure, made through elastic ropes.

  The ARC 1 had mounted behind the seat of the pilot which had the boxes of the commands on the right side of the cabin. Switched on the receiver the pilot through the command of tuning sought the station to listen then adjusting accordingly the sensitivity he rendered clear and possible snug the emission. The antenna systems used were several, but always formed from a wire that departing from the wings or from the vertical rudder did end to a ceramic insulator placed in the vicinity of the receiver.

From the operative point of view the set was revealed rather scarce for different reasons, all or almost, due to technical defects. The receiver was of operation not sure and unstable. This forced the pilot, busy in the conduction of the airplane, to continuous adjustments of the tuning. These problems brought well shortly to acrid disputes between the operatives and the technicians and to the almost rejection of the pilots to use the receiver even because they did not understand its benefit. In addition they pushed for the introduction of transceiver sets from time in use from Germans and English.

In these conditions the C200, that for long time were the tip of lance of the Italian aviation, fight over Balcans, Malta, North Africa and even in Russia.

 With the introduction on line of the new fighter C202, provided with the B.30 (Board set 30 Watts) transceiver,the pilots of the C200 thought to get also on their airplanes the new radio stations. The facts didn't fulfill their expectations for the followings greater reasons:

The B.30 was not installable over the C200 for space reasons;

The C200 was not fitted with a suitable battery to supply the station of that type;

Also the B.30 revealed the usual problems of reliability.

 Despite the aforesaid points, for problems of unification and also in order to give a "sop" to the crews of the C.200 had decided to install the receiving part of the B.30 on this airplane.

On the other hand with the introduction of the B.30 the "Bighe" (Two-wheeled chariot with medium power radio station) of the ground control started to work in Short Waves for which in all the cases the ARC 1 was completely useless.

The receiver r.B.30 used 5 valves ( 4 type E1R and 1 type EL2) with a superheterodyne circuit. R/T facility only and covered the frequency range from 2.9 to 5.5. Mhz. The working frequecy were at ground predetermined and for the pilot in flight was possible make only minor adjustments by the control box.

The power supply at the beginning were assured from dry batteries after by a vibrator unit.

 Meantime the Allocchio Bacchini, the manufacturer of the B.30, invested of the problem of the scarce reliability of its apparatus, in order to eliminate the lamented problems, provided to modify the equipment and then introduced a new radio station, the B.5, of smaller sizes, lower power and then lower current consumption. The working frequency were crystal controlled solving in this way all the problems in a single shot and allowing the usage of a complete radio station also on the C200.

The B.5 set (Board set 5 Watts) was composed from the receiver r.B.30, already seen, from the sender T.B.5 and from the controll box q.B.30. The transmitting set include the RF stages, the modulator and the dynamotor all combined in a single frame.

The output power was of 5 Watt on R/T mode only on the band from 60 to 100 m in a single channel. The set used 4 tubes with the following functions :

E1R Crystal oscillator

6T Power Amplifier

EL2 Micro preamplifier

6T Modulator

The control box, single, it had all the necessary commands for the use of the unit and a snatch junction for the connection with pilot helmet provided with a throatphone and a headset of telephonic type. The installation of this station on the C200 begins around half of the 1942 and the airplanes equipped with this set are easily recognizable for the heavy antenna mast placed immediately behind the canopy.

The technical and operational result of this radio station has been fairly positive also if not of the all acceptable cause the low output power.

In the radioelectric field the material in use from the RA was not always to the height of the necessities. Faults and responsibility go adequately sought in all the spheres of competences: Ministry, Commands, "Operatives," manufacturers. Nobody firmly belived in the utility of quick and reliable connections among airplanes and between airplanes and ground. For the fighters only starting from the 42 all the airplanes of this specialty come out from the assembling lines with radio stations working in Short Waves, while in the same time English and German communications were in VHF with multichannel sets, RADAR guided and already equipped with an automatic identification device (IFF).