In June 1938 the first prototype, initially fitted with a very small tail, was tested and found inferior to the
Macchi C.200 and
Fiat G.50. It was overall a poor aircraft. The trials to re-engineer the wing came too late and no orders were made. The second prototype
Ro.51/1, featured a retractable landing gear which boosted its top speed to 489 km/h. It was later converted into a fighter floatplane. Like the
Ro.44 it had a large central float and two smaller ones under the wings. The maximum speed dropped to 430 km/h, but endurance was increased to 1,200 km. Unfortunately during a trial one of the wings suddenly sank in the water. The rest of the aircraft swiftly followed, and the loss of this prototype meant the end of the program. Although performance was apparently fairly good, the project was overall a failure, especially in the early aspects, even if it was not too different from the
Fokker D.XXI. But with so many other superior machines also involved, waiting for the problems the Ro.51 had to be fixed was not an option. ==Operators==