sales: 13 G.50s had been sold to Spain, along with 35 aircraft to Finland and a final 10 to Croatia. Two of the G.50 aircraft to be delivered were destroyed due to a lack of fuel before arriving in Finland. On 7 March, sergeant Asser Wallius forgot to switch the fuel pump to the main tank and the G.50 (FA-8) crashed, injuring the pilot. On 8 March, a Hungarian volunteer pilot, 2nd lieutenant Wilmos Belassy, apparently dived into the Baltic sea, after running out of fuel and failing to cross it from Sweden to Finland. The FA-7 and pilot have not been found. His fellow pilot, 2nd lieutenant Matias Pirity, had turned back and saved both the G.50 and himself. Design The Fiat G.50 was a low-wing single-engine monoplane fighter interceptor aircraft. It featured all-metal construction, comprising a semi-monocoque fuselage with an exterior skin composed of light alloys. The structure of the fuselage was formed from four main longerons and 17 formers, closing into a load-bearing bulkhead forming the rear of the fuselage. The wings were divided into three separate sections, composed of a steel tube centre-section structure that was paired with duralumin outer wings and an alloy skin. The ailerons, which were both statically and aerodynamically balanced, had a metal structure covered by fabric. Hydraulically-actuated four-piece slotted-flaps were fitted to the aircraft's wings to improve its take-off and landing performance; these would automatically retract upon attaining a certain airspeed. The G.50 was equipped with retractable landing gear, consisting of inwardly-retracting mainwheels and a fixed, castoring tailwheel. It was the first front-line Italian fighter to be fitted with a retractable undercarriage, an enclosed cockpit, and a constant speed propeller; these improvements have been credited with enabling the G.50 to achieve a maximum speed that was faster than its contemporary, the Fiat CR.42 biplane. According to aviation author Gianni Cattaneo, the G.50 was a "robust and viceless aircraft which marked the introduction of new concepts and techniques, of design and manufacture". Powered by a single Fiat A.74 R.C.38 14-cylinder air-cooled supercharged radial engine, rated at for take-off and at , enclosed in a NACA cowling and mounted upon a chrome-molybdenum steel tubular structure attached with flexible mounts. Access for maintenance of the engine was provided via large cowling doors and panels on the fuselage aft of the firewall gave access for fuel tanks and armament. The engine incorporated a reduction gear