Xenophon
Gone and forgotten
Italian biplane fighter
In a war which embraced the last of the biplane generations and the first of the jets, the Italian CR 42 'Falco' ('Falcon') was a popular all-rounder which served with many foreign air forces including those of Belgium, Hungary and Sweden. The last in a line of Italian biplanes, the CR 42's best-known predecessor was the CR 32, an agile machine that fought in the Spanish Civil War and was more than the equal of the Russian Polikarpov I 15 biplane and 1 16 monoplane fighters. The CR 32 gave rise to the CR 41, an up-engined fighter powered by a 900-hp Gnome-Rhone radial engine. This plane was produced in only small numbers, but many of its advantages were carried over into the design of the CR 42, which first flew in 1939.
With a maximum speed of 267 mph the CR 42's effectiveness in aerial combat was not extraordinary, but it was versatile enough to take on numerous roles other than that of an interceptor fighter, its original function. In addition it served as an escort fighter, a night fighter, and a fighter-bomber armed with two 220 Ib bombs carried in special racks slung beneath the lower wings. There was also a floatplane version, the ICR 42, which first appeared in 1941 and was useful for coastal patrol duties in the Mediterranean.
But it was in the Western Desert that the CR 42 played its most significant part in the war. Even in the early stages of the fighting, however, CR 42s were more often than not out fought by the no less obsolescent British Gloster Gladiator biplanes. Their shortcomings were further illuminated when in late-1940, at Mussolini's special request, or so the 'Duce' wished it to be known, Italian pilots were moved up to Belgium and joined the Luftwaffe in the cross-Channel raids that marked the tapering-off of the Battle of Britain. Again, the CR 42s met their match; on one day, llth November, 13 Italian machines were shot down - five CR 42s and eight BR 20 bombers. In all, some 1,780 CR 42s of all types were built. Production was ended in 1942.
Specifications:
Length: 27 ft 2 ins
Span: 31 ft 9 ins
Engine: 1,840 Hp Fiat radial
Combat weight: 15,049 Ib
Crew: one
Top speed; 267 mph
Armament: two 12,7-mm Breda MGs; two 220lb bombs optional.
In a war which embraced the last of the biplane generations and the first of the jets, the Italian CR 42 'Falco' ('Falcon') was a popular all-rounder which served with many foreign air forces including those of Belgium, Hungary and Sweden. The last in a line of Italian biplanes, the CR 42's best-known predecessor was the CR 32, an agile machine that fought in the Spanish Civil War and was more than the equal of the Russian Polikarpov I 15 biplane and 1 16 monoplane fighters. The CR 32 gave rise to the CR 41, an up-engined fighter powered by a 900-hp Gnome-Rhone radial engine. This plane was produced in only small numbers, but many of its advantages were carried over into the design of the CR 42, which first flew in 1939.
With a maximum speed of 267 mph the CR 42's effectiveness in aerial combat was not extraordinary, but it was versatile enough to take on numerous roles other than that of an interceptor fighter, its original function. In addition it served as an escort fighter, a night fighter, and a fighter-bomber armed with two 220 Ib bombs carried in special racks slung beneath the lower wings. There was also a floatplane version, the ICR 42, which first appeared in 1941 and was useful for coastal patrol duties in the Mediterranean.
But it was in the Western Desert that the CR 42 played its most significant part in the war. Even in the early stages of the fighting, however, CR 42s were more often than not out fought by the no less obsolescent British Gloster Gladiator biplanes. Their shortcomings were further illuminated when in late-1940, at Mussolini's special request, or so the 'Duce' wished it to be known, Italian pilots were moved up to Belgium and joined the Luftwaffe in the cross-Channel raids that marked the tapering-off of the Battle of Britain. Again, the CR 42s met their match; on one day, llth November, 13 Italian machines were shot down - five CR 42s and eight BR 20 bombers. In all, some 1,780 CR 42s of all types were built. Production was ended in 1942.
Specifications:
Length: 27 ft 2 ins
Span: 31 ft 9 ins
Engine: 1,840 Hp Fiat radial
Combat weight: 15,049 Ib
Crew: one
Top speed; 267 mph
Armament: two 12,7-mm Breda MGs; two 220lb bombs optional.
