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{{Short description|Italian manufacturing company}}
{{Other uses|Officine Meccaniche (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Officine Meccaniche Reggiane SpA
| logo =
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| slogan =
| foundation = {{start date and age|1901}}
| defunct = {{end date|2010}}
| location = Italy
| key_people =
| industry = [[Engineering vehicle|Heavy equipment]]|
| products = [[Machinery]]
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| num_employees =
| parent =
| subsid =
| homepage = [http://www.terex.com/cranes/it/aboutus/locationinformation/Italy/Lentigione/index.htm Reggiane Cranes and Plants S.p.A.]
| footnotes =
}}
'''Officine Meccaniche Reggiane SpA''' (commonly referred to as '''Reggiane''') was an Italian industrial manufacturer and aviation company.
Reggiane was founded during 1904 by its parent company [[Caproni]], which was in turn owned by the [[aeronautical engineer]] [[Giovanni Battista Caproni]]. Throughout the company's existence, it was involved in numerous industrial activities, such as [[railway]]s, [[agriculture]], [[aeronautics]], and processing machinery.<ref name = "ERIH"/> During the first half of the Twentieth Century, Reggiane became well known for the design and production of aircraft. Through the development of the [[Reggiane Re.2000|Re.2000]], an all-metal monoplane, Reggiane gained a reputation for producing relatively agile single-seat [[fighter aircraft]].
Following the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]], the majority of Reggiane's fighter production was taken over by the ''[[Regia Aeronautica]]'' (the Italian Air Force). However, the company continued to manufacture and deliver fighters for various other [[neutral country|neutral]] and [[Axis powers|Axis]]-aligned nations around this period, such as for the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' of [[Nazi Germany]], the [[Hungarian Air Force]] and the [[Swedish Air Force]]. Following the end of the war, the company turned its back on aircraft production, instead focusing upon the civil sector. Throughout the second half of the century, Reggiane came to specialise in the supply of [[crane (machine)|crane]]s and other dockside equipment.
==History==
The company established its main facilities in [[Reggio Emilia]], a city of what today is the [[Emilia-Romagna]] region of Italy. At its height, Reggiane's factory in the city was the fourth largest in Italy, its footprint covering an area as large as the center of Reggio Emilia, employing as many as 11,000 employees at a time.<ref name = "ERIH">{{cite web |url = https://www.erih.net/i-want-to-go-there/site/show/Sites/officine-reggiane-historical-archive/ |title = Officine Reggiane Historical Archive |publisher = European Route of Industrial Heritage |access-date = 25 March 2020}}</ref> It was primarily through this plant that Reggiane performed its various industrial activities, becoming involved in the nations's [[railway]]s, manufacturing a number of [[locomotive]]s, as well as the [[agriculture|agricultural]] sector, producing a range of food processing equipment.<ref name = "ERIH"/>
[[File:Piaggio P.32 black-and-white.jpg|thumb|A Piaggio P.32]]
During the 1930s, the company branched out into aircraft production; the first aircraft to be produced by the firm was the [[Piaggio P.32]]bis, a [[medium bomber]], which had been developed from the [[Caproni]] Ca.405C ''Procellaria''. However, Reggiane's management were keen to branch out into developing their own aircraft designs, rather than solely producing other company's aircraft [[licensed production|under license]].
During 1938, work commenced at Reggiane on a new fighter design; the company's design team, which was headed by Roberto Longhi and Antonio Alessio, set about designing an aircraft that would be offered to the Italian Air Ministry that would not only meet but exceed the requirements of its Programme R.<ref name = "catt 3"/><ref name="Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 214">Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 214.</ref> Having little development time available, Reggiane considered various options, including the potential for manufacturing an American-developed fighter aircraft [[Licensed production|under license]] instead; however, under the influence of [[Aerospace engineering|aeronautical engineer]] [[Giovanni Battista Caproni]], a completely original design was rapidly prepared.<ref name = "catt 3"/> The design team took inspiration from the contemporary American fighter [[Seversky P-35]]; their resulting design, the [[Reggiane Re.2000]], bore a superficial resemblance to the P-35.<ref name = "catt 3">Cattaneo 1967, p. 3.</ref><ref>Cappone, Max C.A. [http://planesandpilotsofww2.webs.com/Reggiane.html "Reggiane RE 2000 Falco (Hawk): The Regia Aeronautica: American".] ''Planes and Pilots of World War Two'', Retrieved: 23 June 2011.</ref> It was the first aircraft to be designed by Reggiane to employ [[Aluminium|aluminum]] [[stressed skin]] construction, as opposed to the wooden or mixed wood and metal structures that had been traditionally used in contemporary Italian aircraft such as the [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.79]], another aircraft which had also been produced by Reggiane under license.<ref name = "catt 4">Cattaneo 1967, p. 4.</ref>
On 24 May 1939, the prototype Re.2000 conducted its [[maiden flight]] at [[Reggio Emilia]], [[Emilia-Romagna]], Italy, flown by [[Mario De Bernardi]].<ref name="State p.57">Green and Swanborough 1990, p. 57.</ref><ref name = "catt 4"/> According to Cattaneo, early flights had quickly demonstrated the type's favourable flying attitude, including good speed and high manoeuvrability. Only minor modifications were required after the successful completion of the initial factory flight test programme; these including changes to the exhaust, the lengthening of the [[carburetor]] air intake, and the replacement of the round windshield with a framed counterpart.<ref name = "catt 4"/> During testing, the Re 2000 demonstrated the ability to perform better than other existing fighters then in production.<ref name="Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 214"/> In mock [[dogfight]]s, it could successfully fight not only the slower [[Fiat CR.42]] biplane,<ref>'L'aviazione', De Agostini, Novara 1986, vol 12. p. 156.</ref> but even the more modern [[Macchi C 200]] and the German [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Messerschmitt Bf 109E]] fighters.<ref name = "catt 4"/> However, the Re.2000 was afflicted by a major handicap in the form of the unavailability of reliable in-line engines of sufficient power; as such, the RE.2000 was able to represent only a limited advance over the rival [[Macchi C.200]].<ref name = "catt 3"/>
Throughout the [[World War II|Second World War]], the company would develop numerous improved variants of the Re.2000, including the [[Reggiane Re.2001|Re.2001]], [[Reggiane Re.2002|Re.2002]], [[Reggiane Re.2003|Re.2003]], [[Reggiane Re.2004|Re.2004]], [[Reggiane Re.2005|Re.2005]], and [[Reggiane Re.2006|Re.2006]], some of which never progressed beyond the stages of prototyping or limited production. It has been alleged that the Reggiane had been working on developing their own wartime [[jet propulsion|jet-propelled]] fighter, the [[Reggiane Re.2007|Re.2007]]; however, some figures have cast doubts over the authenticity of the documentation produced.<ref>{{cite book |title=Storia della seconda guerra mondiale |last=Solmi |first=Angelo |year=1967 |publisher=Rizzoli-Purnell & Sons |language=it  }}</ref><ref name=www.secretprojects.co.uk>{{cite web |url=http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=835.0;wap2 |title=The real Re.2007 story|date=24 September 2006 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=August 2018}}
===Postwar activities===
Following the conclusion of the conflict, Reggiane's factory was occupied by a large contingent of its work force, during which time its works were converted for to produce goods orientated towards the civilian market instead. This [[industrial action]] followed a pattern similar to the nationwide wave of [[occupation of factories|factory occupations]] of the years 1920–1921.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}
The company, which is currently still active (though with a name and a location different from the original, due to the changes of ownership and name), specializes in the production of [[crane (machine)|crane]]s and trolleys for lifting containers. The company was taken over first by the group Fantuzzi (Fantuzzi Reggiane) and then recently acquired by American company [[Terex Corporation]]. The current name is: Reggiane Cranes and Plants S.p.A.
==Products==
[[File:Reggiane2000 San Diego Air Space Museum 1.jpg|thumb|[[Reggiane Re.2000|Re.2000]]]]
[[File:Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario.jpg|thumb|[[Reggiane Re.2005|Re.2005]]]]
===Aircraft production===
* [[Reggiane Re.2000]] ''Falco''
* [[Reggiane Re.2001]] ''Falco II''
* [[Reggiane Re.2002]] ''Ariete''
* [[Reggiane Re.2003]]
* [[Reggiane Re.2004]]
* [[Reggiane Re.2005]] ''Bifusoliera''
* [[Reggiane Re.2005]] ''Sagittario''
* [[Reggiane Re.2006]]
* [[Reggiane Re.2007]]
* [[Reggiane Re.2008]]
* [[Piaggio P.32#Variants|Caproni-Reggiane Ca.400]]
* [[Caproni-Reggiane Ca.8000]]
===Locomotives===
* [[FS Class D.341]]
* [[FS Class E.428]]
* [[FS Class E.636]]
* [[FS Class E.656]]
* [[FS Class E.424]]
==See also==
{{Portal|Italy|Companies|Aviation|Trains}}
* [[Caproni]]
* [[Compagnia Nazionale Aeronautica]]
* [[Isotta Fraschini]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
* Angelucci, Enzo and Paolo Matricardi. ''World Aircraft: World War II, Volume I'' (Sampson Low Guides). Maidenhead, UK: Sampson Low, 1978. {{ISBN|0-562-00096-8}}.
* Cattaneo, Gianni. ''The Reggiane Re.2000 (Aircraft in Profile Number 123)''. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1967. No ISBN.
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "RE 2000... The 'State-of-the-Art' Reggiane". ''[[Air Enthusiast]]'', Forty-one, Midsummer 1990, pp.&nbsp;54–69. Bromley, UK: Tri-Service Press. ISSN 0143-5450.
{{Refend}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Officine Meccaniche Reggiane}}
* [http://www.terex.com/cranes/it/aboutus/locationinformation/Italy/Lentigione/index.htm Reggiane Cranes and Plants S.p.A. Official website]
{{Reggiane aircraft}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Reggiane| ]]
[[Category:Forklift truck manufacturers]]
[[Category:Crane manufacturers]]
[[Category:Firearm manufacturers of Italy]]
[[Category:Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Italy]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1901]]
[[Category:Italian companies established in 1901]]
[[Category:Italian brands]]
[[Category:Companies based in Reggio Emilia]]
[[Category:Caproni]]