what is it?
The IMAM Ro.57 was an Italian twin-engined, single-seat monoplane fighter of the Regia Aeronautica. Based on a 1939 design by Giovanni Galasso the aircraft did not enter production until 1943. Two hundred aircraft were ordered, but only 50–75 were produced in two versions, one flown as an interceptor, the other in the role of a ground attack aircraft.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 12.5 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 87 years ago, in 1939.
- Top speed is 3.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 12.5 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Can fly 1.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1939
- introduced
- 1943
- status
- retired
- number built
- 75
- role
- fighter, attacker
- origin
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- makers
- Meridionali
- engines
- 2× Fiat A.74 R.C.38
- crew
- 1
- length
- 8.8 m
- wingspan
- 12.5 m
- height
- 3 m
- max take-off weight
- 4,990 kg
- top speed
- 466 km/h
- cruise speed
- 350 km/h
- range
- 930 km
- ceiling
- 8,850 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2263322, Wikipedia: IMAM Ro.57 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.