Fiat CR.20

The Fiat CR.20 was an Italian biplane fighter used during the 1920s and 1930s. Designed by Celestino Rosatelli, it represented an intermediate step from the early biplane CR.1 and the later, successful series CR.30, CR.32 and CR.42.

CR.20
Role Fighter
Manufacturer Fiat
Designer Celestino Rosatelli
First flight June 19, 1926
Primary users Regia Aeronautica
Lithuanian Air Force
Hungarian Air Force
Number built c. 250 CR.20
c. 46 CR.20 Idro
c. 235 CR.20bis
c. 204 CR.20 Asso

Design and development

For the new aircraft, Rosatelli used a traditional sesquiplane configuration. The engine was a water-cooled 306 kW (410 hp) Fiat A.20 V-12 engine.

Major variants were the CR.20 Idro, a pontoon floatplane, and the CR.20 Asso, using a more powerful (336 kW/450 hp) Isotta Fraschini engine. CR.20bis, produced from 1930, differed from the original version only with the addition of a more advanced landing gear.

At its peak in 1933, the CR.20 equipped 27 squadrons of the Italian Regia Aeronautica. The aircraft was used against Libyan rebels and in the early stages of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in the attack role.[1] The CR.20s remained in service with the Regia Aeronautica in the aerobatics and training until the 1930s. In 1933, Italy sold five CR.20s to Paraguay, which was fighting the Chaco War against Bolivia, these serving as Paraguay's only fighters through to the end of the war.[2]

Variants
  • CR.20 Idro : Twin-float seaplane version.
  • CR.20bis : Single-seat fighter biplane, fitted with an advanced landing gear.
  • CR.20bisAQ : CR.20bis aircraft fitted with the Fiat A.20 A.Q. piston-engine.
  • CR.20 Asso : Single-seat fighter biplane, powered by a 336 kW (450 hp) Isotta Fraschini Asso Caccia engine.
  • CR.20B : Two-seat trainer, communications aircraft. Built in small numbers.

Operators
 Austria
 Hungary
 Kingdom of Italy
Lithuania
 Paraguay
 Poland
 Spain
 Soviet Union

Specifications (CR.20)
Fiat CR.20 3-view drawing from NACA Aircraft Circular No.43

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters [5]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 6.7 m (22 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in)
  • Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
  • Wing area: 25.65 m2 (276.1 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 980 kg (2,161 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,400 kg (3,086 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Fiat A.20 V-12 water-cooled piston engine, 331 kW (444 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 270 km/h (170 mph, 150 kn)
  • Range: 750 km (470 mi, 400 nmi) [6]
  • Endurance: 3 hours
  • Service ceiling: 7,500 m (24,600 ft) [7]
  • Time to altitude: 5,400 m (17,717 ft) in 13 minutes 37 seconds

Armament

  • Guns: 2 × 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine guns

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References
  1. Taylor 1981, pp. 54–55.
  2. von Rauch 1976, pp. 210–211.
  3. "Fiat CR.20". Plieno sparnai (in Lithuanian).
  4. CR.20. "Fiat CR.20". Airwar.ru (in Russian).
  5. Green and Swanborough 1990, p. 205.
  6. Angelucci 1983, p. 124.
  7. Taylor 1981, p. 54.

Bibliography
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fiat CR.20.
  • Angelucci, Enzo. The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980. San Diego, California: The Military Press, 1983. ISBN 0-517-41021-4.
  • Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York:Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
  • von Rauch, Gerd. "The Green Hell Air War". Air Enthusiast Quarterly, Number Two, 1976, pp. 207–213. Bromley, UK:Pilot Press.
  • Sapienza, Antonio Luis (September 1994). "Les chasseurs Fiat au Paraguay" [Paraguayan Fiat Fighters]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (19): 9–13. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Taylor, Michael J.H. Warplanes of the World 1918-1939. London: Ian Allan, 1981. ISBN 0-7110-1078-1.


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