Two prototypes of the Fiat CR.1 biplane fighter, designed by Celestino Rosatelli, were flown in 1923, and the type was selected for large- scale production for the newly formed Regia Aeronautica. First deliveries of an eventual 240 production aircraft, designated CR.1, began in 1925. During the 1930s many Italian CR.1s were given more powerful Isotta Fraschini engines, and these were to continue in service until 1937. Nine aircraft were exported to Latvia. The Fiat CR.2, CR.5 and CR. 10 were variants of the basic aircraft fitted with different engines, usually on an experimental basis.
Fiat CR.1 Engine: 1 x 300hp Hispano-Suiza 42 8-cylinder Take-off weight: 1154 kg / 2544 lb Wingspan: 8.95 m / 29 ft 4 in Length: 6.16 m / 20 ft 3 in Height: 2.40 m / 7 ft 10 in Max. Speed: 272 km/h / 169 mph Ceiling: 7450 m / 24450 ft Armament: 2 x 7.7mm machine guns
On receiving a joint requirement from the air force and the navy, CMASA, a FIAT subsidiary, developed the RS.14 a floatplane for maritime reconnaissance. 152 examples were produced (including the prototypes), and were used with great success. The aircraft could also be converted for attack missions by fitting a canoe-shaped belly pod able to carry to 400 kg of bombs.
In the summer of 1943 a land-based version with retractable landing gear and 6 12,7 mm machine-guns and a 37 mm cannon was produced and designated A.S. 14. 184 plus 2 prototypes were built.
Fiat R.S. 14 Engines: 2 Fiat A.74 RC.38, 649 kW(882 hp) Empty weight: 5470 kg Takeoff weight: 8470 kg Wingspan: 19,54 m Lenght: 14,10 m Height: 5,63 m Wing Area: 50,00 square metres Max speed: 390 km/h Ceiling: 6300 m Range: 2500 km Climb to 5000 m: 15 minutes Armament: 1×12,7 mm machine-gun in the dorsal turret; one 7,7 machine-gun on each side; 400kg of bombs in a ventral canoe-shaped pod . Crew: 5
A medium bomber, the Fiat BR.20 Cicogna (stork) series was nearing obsolescence by the outbreak of World War II. Designed by Ingeniere Celestino Rosatelli, and owing much of its design to the Fiat APR.2 commercial transport, the Fiat B.R.20 prototype flew first on 10 February 1936.
Powered by two 745kW Fiat A.80 RC.41 radial engines, the B.R.20 possessed a maximum speed of 430km/h at 4000m, and was armed with two 7.7mm and one 12.7mm machine-guns. The first unit of the Regia Aeronautica to receive B.R.20s was the 13º Stormo BT stationed at Lonate Pozzolo: the 7º Stormo BT, also at Lonate, received Fiat B.R.20s in February 1937. Elements of the 7º and 13º Stormi BT were despatched to Spain in May 1937 for combat experience, while other B.R.20s were exported to Japan, and saw service with indifferent results in China and Manchuria as the JAAF’s Army Type 1 Model 100 Heavy bomber. Modified nose contours, increased armour protection and revised armament featured in the B.R.20M, of which 264 were produced.
When Italy declared war on 10 June 1940 the Regia Aeronautica had 162 Fiat B.R.20s and B.R.20Ms in commission with the 7º, 13º, 18º and 43º Stormi BT. The first bombing mission was made on 13 June when 19 B.R.20Ms of the 13º Stormo BT attacked installations at Hyeres and Fayence in southern France. A detachment of 80 B.R.20MS of the 13º and 43º Stormi BT were sent to the Belgian airfields of Chieveres and Melsbroeck in late September 1940 to assist the Luftwaffe in its bombing campaign against England. As part of the Corpo Aereo Italiano the B.R.20Ms suffered losses as a result of crew failings and fighter attacks. The campaign in Greece saw the 116º Gruppo (37º Stormo) in action from bases in Albania, followed by action over Crete, and on a day and night attacks against Malta. In the USSR B.R.20MS of the 38º and 116º Squadriglie operated from August 1942 in the southern sector.
Fifteen of the improved B.R.20bis model were produced. These were powered by two 932kW Fiat A.82 RC.42S engines, had additional 7.7mm machine-guns and a power-operated dorsal turret. Early in 1943 the B.R.20M bomber had been withdrawn from active service with the Regia Aeronautica, units being re-equipped either with CANT Z.1007s or with Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79S. Production totalled 602 of all marks.
In 1938 the JAAF purchased 80 BR.20 bombers for use in China, designated Type-I Italian Type. Western sources originally called it ‘Mikado’. It appeared in code lists as ‘Ruth’.
JAAF BR.20
FIAT BR. 20 Cicogna Engine: 2 x FIAT A. 80 RC.41, 986 hp / 745kW Length: 53 ft 2 in / 16.2 m Height: 14.108 ft / 4.3 m Wingspan: 70 ft 10 in / 21.56 m Wing area: 796.536 sqft / 74.0 sq.m Max take off weight: 21829.5 lb / 9900.0 kg Weight empty: 14112.0 lb / 6400.0 kg Max. speed: 267 mph / 233 kts / 432 km/h at 4000m Cruise speed: 340 km/h / 211 mph Service ceiling: 29528 ft / 9000 m Wing loading: 27.47 lb/sq.ft / 134.0 kg/sq.m Range w/max.fuel: 1620 nm / 3000 km Armament: 1x MG 12,7mm, 2x MG 7,7mm, 1600kg Bomb. Crew: 4-5
G.12C Engine: 3 x FIAT A.74 RC 42, 574kW Wingspan: 28.6 m / 93 ft 10 in Length: 20.16 m / 66 ft 2 in Height: 4.9 m / 16 ft 1 in Wing area: 113.5 sq.m / 1221.70 sq ft Max take-off weight: 12800 kg / 28219 lb Loaded weight: 8890 kg / 19599 lb Max. Speed: 396 km/h / 246 mph Cruise speed: 308 km/h / 191 mph Ceiling: 8000 m / 26250 ft Range: 1740 km / 1081 miles Crew: 3 Passengers: 14
G.12L Engines: 3 x Fiat A.74 RC.42, 770 hp. Crew: 4. Pax cap: 13.
The Fiat G.8 was a military utility aircraft produced in Italy in the mid-1930s. Its design and production were undertaken at the CMASA works in Pisa which became part of Fiat in 1930, hence the type is sometimes referred to as the CMASA G.8 or Fiat-CMASA G.8.
Designed by Giuseppe Gabrielli, it was a conventional biplane design with staggered wings of unequal span braced by struts arranged in a Warren truss. The pilot and a single passenger (or instructor) sat in tandem open cockpits, and the aircraft was fitted with fixed tailskid undercarriage with divided main units.
The prototype first flew on 24 February 1934, sixty more of these aircraft were purchased by the Regia Aeronautica and used for liaison and training duties. They were retired in 1950.
Powerplant: 1 × Fiat A.54, 99 kW (135 hp) Wingspan: 8.76 m (28 ft 9 in) Wing area: 18.9 m2 (203 sq ft) Length: 7.00 m (23 ft 0 in) Height: 2.50 m (8 ft 2 in) Empty weight: 560 kg (1,230 lb) Gross weight: 840 kg (1,850 lb) Maximum speed: 212 km/h (132 mph, 115 kn) Range: 925 km (575 mi, 500 nmi) Service ceiling: 5,200 m (17,100 ft) Crew: one, pilot Capacity: one passenger
The Fiat G.5 tandem two-seat touring and training monoplane was produced in 1933 in two versions, the G.5 with a 140 hp Fiat A.54 radial engine, and the G.5bis with a 205 hp Fiat A.70 radial.
The prototype G.5 was powered by a 142 hp Fiat A.60 four cylinder inverted inline engine. The wing structure was entirely wood and the fuselage a welded steel-tube structure. Dual controls were fitted and the aircraft is fully aerobatic.
The G.5 was also produced as a three-seater.
G.5 Engine: 140 hp Fiat A.54
G.5bis Engine: 205 hp Fiat A.70 Max speed: 143 mph Cruise: 126 mph Ceiling: 18,900 ft Range: 478 mi Empty weight: 1280 lb Loaded weight: 1898 lb Wing span: 34 ft 1.5 in Length: 25 ft 9 in Height: 7 ft 11.75 in
The Fiat AS.1 was a light touring aircraft developed in Italy in the late 1920s. It was a basic and conventional design: a parasol wing monoplane with tailskid undercarriage and seating for two in tandem open cockpits. The type proved extremely popular, and the production run would eventually extend to over 500 machines, with roughly half of these purchased by the Regia Aeronautica as trainers and liaison aircraft. Construction was of wood throughout, covered by plywood, fabric, and (around the nose) metal. A later development, designated TR.1 featured a metal structure instead.
TR.1
AS.1s were used successfully in a number of competitions and record-breaking events. In August 1929, they participated in the Challenge 1929 international contest, and in January 1930, an AS.1 piloted by Renato Donati with mechanic Gino Capannini was used to set endurance, distance, and altitude records in its class (29 hr 4 min 14 sec, 2,746.2 km/1,706.4 mi, and 6,782 m/22,251 ft respectively). On 28 December 1932, Furio Niclot and Mariano Lanciani used a specially-engined example to set the seaplane altitude record in its class (7,362 m/24,154 ft), then swapping wheels for pontoons, the same aircraft went on to set the equivalent landplane record two days later (9,282 m/30,453 ft). Long-distance feats included flights from Rome to Mogadishu and Vercelli to Tokyo (both by Francis Lombardi and Gino Capannini) and an aerial circumnavigation of Africa (27,600 km/17,150 miles) in 54 days by Francis Lombardi, Count Lodovico Mazzotti, and Mario Rasini).
AS.2
Variants
AS.1 – initial version with Fiat A.50 engine AS.1 Idro – floatplane version AS.1 Sci – ski-equipped version AS.2 – version with strengthened structure and Fiat A.50S engine TR.1 – version with metal structure and enclosed cabin
AS.1 Engine: 1 × Fiat A.50, 67 kW (90 hp) Length: 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in) Wingspan: 10.40 m (34 ft 2 in) Height: 2.53 m (8 ft 4 in) Wing area: 17.5 sq.m (188 sq.ft) Empty weight: 450 kg (990 lb) Gross weight: 690 kg (1,520 lb) Maximum speed: 158 km/h (98 mph) Range: 1,000 km (621 miles) Service ceiling: 6,800 m (22,310 ft) Crew: 1, pilot Capacity: 1 passenger
In 1939-1940, the Swedish air force had only a single fighter wing, equipped with 50-60 Gloster Gladiators with the Swedish designation J 8 (J = Jakt, interceptor or fighter). The government decided to equip two new wings and a total of 264 fighters of the types Seversky Republic EP-1 and Vultee Vanguard 48C 1 were ordered in the USA. 60 of the 120 EP-1s were delivered via Petsamo and were given the Swedish designation J 9. In July 1940 all export of fighters from the USA was stopped by a US Government embargo. An indigenous fighter design was required, but with SAAB busy producing its B17 bomber, Flygforvaitninggens Verkstad (FFVS) was formed and designer Bo Lundberg was appointed to design a machine using non-strategic materials. The air force chief instructed the aircraft designer Bo Lundberg to start planning for a Swedish made fighter. Lundberg had been in charge of the Swedish Air Commission in USA and before that chief designer of Götaverken’s aircraft division during the time they designed the GP 8 bomber which competed with SAAB 18 and the cancelled GP 9 fighter. When Lundberg returned to Sweden at the end of 1940, he had already started planning for the new fighter. Requirements was that it should use the same engine as EP-1, STWC-3, a Swedish made Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp, should be small and light, be made of components that could be made by a large number of subcontractors. The project was designated P 22 and a temporary air force branch was instituted to run the project, Flygförvaltningens Verkstad i Stockholm (FFVS). The aircraft was from the outset designed for the Pratt&Whitney Twin Wasp, an American engine not available to Sweden. Even worse, the Severskies using the same engine had been delivered without spare engines so the shortage was really acute! However, Flygmotor at Trollhättan started an ambitious programme to copy an original Pratt&Whitney Twin Wasp engine – without any drawings or material data at all. Working hard, they almost managed to meet the schedule. In 1942, to compensate for the lag in the engine project, Sweden managed to purchase a batch of 100 engines from the French Vichy regime via Germany. The Swedish-made engines, designated STWC-3, proved very good. One of them was still flying in the late 1980s, now mounted in one of the Swedish Airforce’s last flying C-47s. Since the GV GP 9 was designed to use aluminum, it couldn’t be used as a basis for the new fighter, but its landing gear where the wheels were rotated as the were retracted back into the fuselage was used. The landing gear was made to accept skis, but as the air force’s ability to clear snow off runways had improved, they never were fitted on J 22. Since a wooden wing couldn’t be made strong enough if it was made thin enough for a fast fighter, so the aircraft was made of steel tubing covered with moulded birch plywood. The windshield was made either of 6 mm laminated Gemax or acrylic. The center part was 60 mm thick for ballistic protection. The first prototype of the aircraft which was to be designated J 22 was built in the workshop of Flygtekniska Försöksanstalten (FFA) near Bromma airport, and first flew on September 20,1942, and deliveries began to F9 at Gothenburg in September 1943. Both protypes crashed, one probably due to oxygen starvation of the pilot, the other due to engine failure during landing. Of the 17000 component parts, 12000 were made at 500 subcontractors all over Sweden, with final assembly in a hangar at Bromma, except for the final 18 which were assembled at the air force central workshop at Arboga (CVA), which was set up in 1944 to be the central maintenance facility.
198 aircraft were built and delivered 1943-46. Of these the first 143 were of the version J 22A and the rest J 22B. The only difference between them was that J 22A was armed with two 13.2 mm and two 8 mm guns in the wings, and J 22B with four 13.2 mm guns. The sight was a fixed reflex sight. The J 22 was a light and very manoeuvrable aircraft with good acceleration but when it entered service it was no match for the fighters then current. Tests were made against the P-51 after the war and even if the J 22 could hold its own for a while, especially with a skilled pilot, there is no doubt that the Mustang was the better fighter by a safe margin. In 1945 J 22A was redesignated J 22-1, J 22B into J 22-2 and S 22 became S 22-3. The last ones were retired in 1952. Nine J 22A were converted into reconnaissance aircraft in 1946 and redesignated S 22 (S = Spaning, reconnaissance) and converted back into fighters in 1947.
Engine: STWC-3, 1065 hp Span: 10 m Length: 7.8 m Height: 3.6 m Wing area: 16 sq.m Empty weight: 2020 kg Combat weight: 2835 kg Fuel load:525 litres Max speed: 575 km/h Cruise speed: 440 km/h Landing speed: 140 km/h Range: 1270 km Endurance: 2.9 h Max altitude: 9300 m Armament: 2 x 13.2 mm + 2 x 8 mm guns or 4 x 13.2 mm
Construction of the BA-14 Starling recreational trainer, designed by Bjorn Andreasson, began 1987.
First flying on 25 August 1988, the BA-14 SE-KFV was the result of a partnership between MFI and FFV Aerotech. The two seat BA-14 is powered by a 115hp Lycoming O-235 and is almost wholly of composite construction, one of its purposes being to allow FFV Aerotech to gain additional experience in the design of primary structure, production, testing and certification with this type of material.
It became a joint venture project between MFI and FFV Aerotech, but later redesigned by MFI to FAR Pt 23A. Development delayed by other work, but resumption of flight testing apparently still awaited.
Engine : Lycoming O 235, 85 hp Length : 21.654 ft / 6.6 m Height : 8.858 ft / 2.7 m Wingspan : 37.402 ft / 11.4 m Wing area : 122.71 sq.ft / 11.4 sq.m Max take off weight : 1797.1 lb / 815.0 kg Weight empty : 1058.4 lb / 480.0 kg Max. weight carried : 716.6 lb / 325.0 kg Max. speed : 124 kt / 230 km/h Landing speed : 40 kt / 75 km/h Cruising speed : 103 kt / 190 km/h Initial climb rate : 590.55 ft/min / 3.0 m/s Service ceiling : 11155 ft / 3400 m Wing load : 14.56 lb/sq.ft / 71.0 kg/sq.m Range : 346 nm / 640 km Crew : 2
