FIAT FEATURE copy Tony OK 17/7/12 09:47 Page 2

SUBJECTS FOR SCALE

FIAT CR
The world
highly ele ’s last fighter bip
refreshin gant machine t lane to enter se
g chang h
e mainst
ream
r
e from th at offers Warbird vice is a
ers a
.42
26 FLYING SCALE MODELS SEPTEMBER 2012
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Q
uite natu
rally, figh
the ‘mea ter
t & potato aircraft are
growing e
Warbird sc s’ of the ever
scene. If ale mod
it’s a figh elling
and slee part of th ter, then
kness of e appea a large
performa shape - A l is in eleg
nc ND, yes, ance
attractive e. If you are look aerobati
c
WW2 era ing for a
that’s sev warbird to highly
erely ove model a
folks, IT’S rlooked, nd one
HER then dig
The Fiat C E! no furthe
r
R.42 ‘Falc
biplane d o’ was th
esigned, e very la
tion and that wen st fighter
front line t into seri
esting to combat es produ
note tha service a c-
ment sta t it nd it is in
ges actu s design and initia ter-
poraries ally post l develop
as dated su -
Hurricane the Supermarine ch conte
m-
and Mess Spitfire, H
dated w erschmitt a wker
hat one Bf 109. It
more ob mig a
vious con ht, perhaps, con lso post-
Gladiato tempora sider its
r, which w ry, the G
fighters. as the la loster
st of the
The CR.4 RAF’s bip
2 was a e lane
the earlie volutiona
r Fiat CR.3 ry design
turn, deri 2 (See FS based on
ved from M
1932. As the Fiat C Juky 2008). That,
wit R.3 in
Aeronau h Germany’s Luft 0 series created in
tica used waffe, Ita
the years the Span ly
19 ish Civil w ’s Regia
bat aircra 36-1938 to test a ar during
ft in a dir nd prove
employe ect com their com
d the CR ba -
great suc .32 during t situation. Italy
cess, whic th is conflic
more ad h led to F t with
vanced
charged fighter ba iat proposing a
Fiat A.74 se d around
in lieu of R1 th
the in-line C.38 air-cooled ra e super-
craft of th engine u dial engin
e se d for the e
sesquipla Fiat line, to produ earlier air
ne desig c e a robust, c -
The result n. lean,
was a m
clean (fo o
r a biplan dern, aerodynam
a strong e ic
steel and type) design base ally
low-drag alloy fram d around
NA e.
engine, w CA cowling hou It incorporated a
ith fairing sing the ra
riage an s for the dial
dp fixe
thanks to roved exception d main undercar-
its very lo ally man
the expe w oeuvrab
nse of arm wing loading, alt le
and radio our prote hough a
equipme ction for t
Thus, the nt. the ‘vitals
CR.42 co ’
km/h (27 uld delive
2 mph) a r a top sp
km/h (21 t 5 eed of 4
3 mph) a ,300 m (17,400 ft) 38
minute a tg and 342
nd 25 sec round level. Clim
of 7 minu o nds to 1,0 b rate was
tes 00 1
Although and 20 seconds to m (3,280 ft) and
the age 6 ,0 00 m
an end, of the bip (19,700 ft
an la .
interest in umber of other a ne was coming to
the new ir forces e
CR.42s w fighter, a xpressed
ere deliv n
including ered to fo d a number of ea
Belgium, reign cust rly
the Germ Hungary, omers,
an Luftw Iraq and
tors, by fa affe even (late
r the most . Of these foreig r)
air force su c c e ss n opera-
of Hunga fu l in c o m
alongside ry which bat was
German ope the
Eastern F forces on rated the type
ront aga th e E u ro
Soon afte inst U pean
r its comb SSR.
oped a n at introd
umber o
CR.42ter f variants uction, Fiat deve
ha . The CR.4 l-
was a nig d increased firep 2bis and
ht fighter, ower, the
for groun the CR.4 CR.42N
d attack 2
two-seat , and the AS was optimised
trainer.[ CR.42B B
The CR.4 iposto wa
2DB was sa
an attem

2 ‘FALC
type’s pe
rformanc pt to imp
DB 601 1 e ro
,010 hp in by installing a Da ve the
-line V12 imler-Ben
engine. z

O’
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C.R.42 FALCO. , 412 SQUADRIGLIA C.T.,

GURA, ERITREA AND ADDIS ABABA,
ABYSSINIA, 1940-41

C.R.42 FALCO. , 162 SQUADRIGLIA C.T., 161

GRUPPO C.T., AEGEAN ISLES, 1940

C.R.42 FALCO. , 97 SQUADRIGLIA C.T., 9

GRUPPO C.T., 4 STORMO C.T., BENINA,
LIBYA 1940

First combats
The Fiat CR.42 entered service in May
C.R.42 FALCO, 383 SQUADRIGLIA 1939, and by the time Italy entered World
ASSALTO, ZARA, YUGOSLAVIA, 1942 War II on 10 June 1940, about 300 aircraft
had been delivered. The type continued
in service with the Regia Aeronautica until
the Italian armistice with the Allies on 8
September 1943. During that time, CR.42s
fought against the British Gloster Gladiator
over Malta and North Africa, and later
against the British Hawker Hurricane,
sometimes with unexpected success,
largely thanks to its impressive manoeu-
vrability. When production was stopped in
1942, a total of 1,784 CR.42s had been
C.R.42 FALCO. , 1/4 FIGHTER SQUADRON, built of which only around 60 of the air-
HUNGARIAN AIR FORCE craft were in flying condition.
Initial combat deployment commenced
during the Battle of France during June
1940, when Italian forces invaded the
French southern coastal areas. Over
Malta, the CR.42 encountered Hurricanes
for the first time on 3 July 1940.

Battle of Britain
For political reasons, in September Benito
Mussolini sent a contingent of Regia
Aeronautic fighters and Bombers to col-
J II, FLOTTILJ E.9, 3RD DIVISION, SAVE, laborate with German Luftwaffe forma-
GOTEBORG ROYAL SWEDISH AIR FORCE tions for the assault on the British Isles.
Based in Belgium during November 1940,
CR.42s of the Regia Aeronautic launched
two raids against Great Britain in compa-
ny with the German Luftwaffe aircraft that
had difficulty flying in formation with the
slower biplanes. Even though slower, with
an open cockpit, no radio, and armed
with only two machine guns, the CR 42s
were able to survive the attentions of the
RAF fighters, being able to easily out-turn
the Hurricanes and the Spitfires and
proved difficult to hit and so, against British

28 FLYING SCALE MODELS SEPTEMBER 2012

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This large formation of standatd FIAT

CR.42 fighters is mad up of aircraft of the
9th GRUPPO, 4th STORMO. Note the
‘Prancing Horse fuselage motif on the
rear fuselage, ahead of the tailplane.

monoplane fighters, the CR.42s were not trol of territories held, pre-WW2, in Ethiopia, ly pitted against the contemporary Gloster
always outclassed. Eritrea, and Somaliland - territories that the Gladiator and Hawker Hart of the South
Even so, the northern European winter was Italians termed Africa Orientale Italiana African Air Force. Here, air combats high-
really no place for an open cockpit, lightly (A.O.I). Here the nimble Italian biplane had lighted the advantages of the Gladiator
armed biplane in a combat situation domi- more success. During that short campaign, over the CR.42; especially in radio equip-
nated by higher performance monoplane from mid-1940 until the autumn of 1941, Fiat ment that enabled the British fighters to co-
fighters. In any case, the depletion of com- fighters destroyed a large number of Royal ordinate tactics during attacks, using the
bat strength in other ‘spheres of influence’ Air Force and South African Air Force aircraft, Gladiator’s superior low altitude perform-
for Italy dictated that, during the winter of including successes against Hawker ance, with markedly superior horizontal
1940-41, aircraft of the Regia Aeronatica, Hurricanes. Most of the encounters were manoeuvrability.
including the CR.42s were transferred back however with British bombers and reconnais-
to Italy and the Mediterranean theatre. sance aircraft, mostly obsolescent Vickers Foreign operators
Wellesleys. The CR.42’s first foreign purchaser was the
Middle East and North Africa During the 1940-42 to-and-fro, advance- Royal Hungarian Air Force (MKHL), which
The Fiat CR42 played a significant role during and-retreat phases of the war along the placed orders for 52 aircraft in mid-1938,
the British campaigns to dislodge Italian con- North African coastline, the CR.42 was initial- accepting the outdated nature of the type

C.R.42 FALCO, 95 SQUADRIGLIA CACCIA TER-

RESTRE, 18 GRUPPO C.T., 56 STORMO C.T.,
CORPO AEREO ITALIANO, MALDEGEN, BELGUIM,
1940. ALSO DESIGNATED 18/JG56.

SEPTEMBER 2012 FLYING SCALE MODELS 29

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A tightly formated pair of 162 Squadriglia CR 42s over the Aergean sea during 1940,
display the clean lines of the type which was almost entirely devoid of bracing wires that
are generally a feature of biplanes. That alone, has its own attraction for modellers!

as an expediency to achieve the rapid re- diency led to the acquisition of 40 CR.42s for Some of these, operated in the northern ter-
equipment of their fighter formations and Belgium’s Aéronautique Militaire, the first ritories of the country, were equipped with
the Italian government released delivery arriving in March 1940, but not all had ski undercarriage.
positions destined for the Regia Aeronautica arrived before the German attack on May During their service in Swedish Air Force, the
in order to expedite the re-equipment of 10th. The Belgian CR.42s fought from the first CR.42 suffered many accidents, sometimes
Hungarian units. day of the invasion, but the entire contin- because of the poor quality of materials
When Hungary declared war on the Soviet gent of Fiats was soon overwhelmed by the used by the Fiat factory. Swedish pilots
Union on 27 June 1941, in concert with the attentions of Messerschmitt Bf 109s and by appreciated the CR.42s close-in dogfighting
German forces of Operation Barbarossa, bombing attacks on airfields. abilities, but they complained about low
their CR.42s were soon in successful action In an emergency measure prompted by speed, insufficient armament and the open
against Polikarpov I-15s and I-16s and contin- the outbreak of war, the Swedish Air Force cockpits that were unsuited for the severe
ued in combat until 1944. purchased various types of Italian combat climate of Scandinavia.
During 1939, similar considerations of expe- aircraft during 1939-41 including CR.42s.

A large assembly of CR 42 Falcos of the ‘Corpo Aero Italiana’, the force sent to
participate in the air assault on the British Isles, seen here in transit at Franfurt,
Germany during October 1940, en route to based in Belgium.

30 FLYING SCALE MODELS SEPTEMBER 2012

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ns.
mbat operatio
an theatre of co ps a squadron
n scen e from the North Afric rear, pu rha
A barre fabric at the y be an
in the fuselage tion that this ma acteriesed
Note the hole a trophy hunter - an indica ts tha t char
ed by ro retrea
insignia remov e of the to-and-f
ned during on
aircraft abondo aign.
an camp
the North Afric

Even with the Luftwaffe

After the Italian armistice in 1943,
when Italy became a ‘Co-
Belligerent’ on the Allied side, the
Luftwaffe took over the majority of
Regia Aeronautica aircraft, among
them a number of CR.42s. The
Germans also took control of Italy’s
northern aircraft industry, from which
were ordered 200 CR.42LW
(LW=Luftwaffe) from Fiat for use in
night harassment and anti-partisan
roles. I

This CR 42 is one supplied to

the Hungarian Air Force and
against the forces of USSR alon used in actions
gside German units involved
Barbarossa, the German push in Operation
into eastern Europe from sum
mer 1941.

the Swedish
type was given
ied to Sw eden, where the Wing of the Swedish 1st
42s su pp the F9
One of the CR is aircraft was operated by
1. Th
designnation J.1
Air Division.

SEPTEMBER 2012 FLYING SCALE MODELS 31

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FIAT CR 42 ‘Falco’ Scale 1:40

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DOCUMENTATION CLOSE-UP

FIAT CR.42
‘FALCO’ A close-up study of the example on view any day of
the week at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon.

SEPTEMBER 2012 FLYING SCALE MODELS 37

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3
4 1: Centre section struts are fully streamlined and substantial.
2: Close-up of the centre section struts upper anchor-point showing the cuff fairings.
3: Lower centre section strut anchor-point.
4: Wing strut lower anchor point and cockpit windscreen.
5 & 6: Two views of the fully faired interplane struts.
7 & 8: Two views of the cockpit and windshield.

5 6
7 8

9 9: Detail of the wing underside showing the 11

aileron hinge line.
10: Rear fuselage detail, showing the fully faired tailwheel.
11: Fuselage rear section. Fin & rudder unit has a graceful
outline.

10
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12 13 14
12 & 13: Two views of the
engine cowl, showing panel
lines and propeller spinner.
14: Rear view of the cowl,
showing vent gills.
15 & 16: Close-up of the
under-cowl air intake.
17: Spreader bars linking the
main undercarriage legs.
18: Close-up of exhaust pipe,
lower rear engine cowl.
19: Fuselage centre section,
behinf the cockpit.
20: Air-exit duct at wing root
trailing edge .
21 & 22: Two views showing the
wing strut geometry.
24: Detail of the outer wing strut
lower anchor points. Note the
substantial cuff fairings.
15 16
17 18 19 20

21 22

23
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24 25 26 27
28
24; Upper wing strut anchor point.
25: Detail of the underside aileron control horn.
26 & 27: Lower wing strut anchor point cuffs.
28: Faired and spatted main undercarriage legs.
29: Air intake duct at the front lower wing root.
30: Main undercarriage rear bracing struts.

29

30 31 & 32: Rear views of the main

33
undercarraige, showing oleo cuff.

33: Head-on view of a complete main

undercarriage leg sjowing how tightly it is
faired.

34: Detail of the fuselage underside

showing the long air duct that ruds fron
the engin cowl underside to the win trail-
ing edge.
.
35: Close-up of the main undercarriage
oleo cuff.

31 32

34

35