Aircraft · Italy · 1939-1945
Fiat CR.42 Falco
biplane fighter
The CR.42 was the last operational biplane fighter built anywhere in the world, entering Regia Aeronautica service just as monoplane fighters were becoming standard elsewhere. Superbly manoeuvrable but slow and lightly armed, it fought over Malta, Greece, and East and North Africa, and about fifty flew with the Corpo Aereo Italiano from Belgian bases on daylight raids against south-east England in November 1940, where RAF Hurricanes handled them roughly.
| crew | 1 |
|---|---|
| top speed | 441 km/h |
| armament | 2x 12.7mm machine guns |
| produced | 1,781 |
Mediterranean and North Africa