Fiat CR.42 Fighter "Falco"

Fiat CR.42 Fighter

The CR.42 Falco (Falcon) has been generally heralded as one of the best biplane fighters ever built. Unfortunately, it was past the age of the biplane, and it was outclassed by all modern fighters of the era. It first flew in 1938 when the Bf109, Hurricane and Spitfire had proven the way of new fighter aircraft. Nevertheless, the CR.42 provided the backbone of the Italian air force in 1940 and was exported to Belgium, Hungary and Sweden. The Italians used them with some success in North Africa where they were pitted against the equally aged Gloster Gladiator, however, even then the English pilots usually got the best of them in battle. Participation in the Battle of Britain was disastrous (as it was for the other Italian aircraft sent) but production continued well into 1943. The Luftwaffe used 150, as night attack aircraft in relatively quiet theatres. Over 1780 were built.

Technical Details
The CR.42 was powered by an 840hp Fiat A.74 RC38 radial engine. This provided power to get it to 258 mph (430km/h), a good ceiling of 33,000 ft (10200m) and a range of 775km. In the Italian style, it was typically underarmed with two 12.7mm machine guns and could carry 440 lbs (200kg) of bombs.

Canadian Aces Home Page

Image From: