Fiat CR.32

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_CR.32

The Fiat CR.32 was an Italian biplane fighter used in the Spanish Civil War and
World War II. Designed by the aeronautical engineer Celestino Rosatelli, it was
a compact, robust and highly manoeuvrable aircraft for its era, leading to it
being a relatively popular fighter during the 1930s.

The CR.32 fought in North and East Africa, in Albania, and in the Mediterranean
theatre. It was extensively in the Spanish Civil War, where it gained a
reputation as one of the most outstanding fighter biplanes of all time. It also
saw service in the air forces of China, Austria, Hungary, Paraguay and
Venezuela. Furthermore, it frequently performed impressive displays all over
Europe in the hands of the Italian Pattuglie Acrobatiche. During the late 1930s,
the CR.32 was overtaken subsequently by more advanced monoplane designs; by the
start of the Second World War, it was considered to be obsolete. While it had
been superseded by a number of newer Italian fighters, including the newer Fiat
CR.42 that had been derived from the CR.32, the type continued to be flown
throughout the conflict.

Design

The Fiat CR.32 was a highly manoeuvrable biplane fighter aircraft; its agility
was a major quality of the design. Its fuselage shared the same structure as the
earlier CR.30, utilizing aluminium and steel tubes covered by duraluminium on
the nose up to the cockpit, on the back, in the lower section under the tail,
while a fabric covering was used on the sides and belly. According to Cattaneo,
the fuselage was very robust for the time. The CR.32 was fitted with a fixed
undercarriage arrangement, which incorporated two main legs, furnished with
independent wheels housed within fairings and hydraulic shock absorbers; braking
was achieved via a pneumatic system.

The wings and tail used a mixed composition, similar to the fuselage, composed
of a pair of aluminium alloy tubular spars and square tubes, which were covered
by fabric. According to Cattaneo, the atypical wing strut arrangement of the
CR.32 had been first used on the Ansaldo SVA of 1917. Another notable feature
was that the lower wing was shorter than the upper wing, making the fighter a
sesquiplane. Ailerons were only present upon the upper wings, which were
balanced via out-rigged tabs mounted upon steel struts. The empennage, which was
largely composed of aluminium tubes, featured a variable incidence tailplane and
a dynamically-balanced elevator.


Role
Fighter

Manufacturer
Fiat

Designer
Celestino Rosatelli

First flight
28 April 1933

Introduction
1933

Retired
1953 Spanish Air Force

Status
Retired

Primary users
Regia Aeronautica
Hungarian Air Force
Spanish Air Force
Chinese Nationalist Air Force

Produced
c. March 1934 – February 1936

Number built
1,052

Variants
Fiat CR.42

The new biplane proved to be an instant success. After a brief period of
testing, the first production orders for the CR.32 were received during March
1934. Within a short amount of time, the type soon equipped the 1°, 3° and 4°
Stormi of the Regia Aeronautica. The CR.32 was commonly well liked by its crews,
being very maneuverable and benefitting from a relatively strong fuselage
structure.

The Fiat CR.32 was used extensively in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the
Fascist military rebellion against the Spanish Republic. At least 380 examples
took part in the air battles fought over Spain, proving formidable adversaries
to the Soviet Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 monoplane that formed the backbone of the
Spanish Republican Air Force. During 1936, the type had its baptism of fire. On
18 August, the first 12 CR.32 Freccias arrived in Spain and formed the
Squadriglia Gamba di Ferro, Cucaracha, and Asso di Bastoni of 3° Stormo; three
days later Tenente Vittorino Ceccherelli, a Gold Medal of Military Valor winner,
shot down the first enemy aircraft, a Nieuport 52, over Cordoba. In total, the
Italian government dispatched between 365 and 405 C.R.32s to Spain while between
127 and 131 were delivered directly to Nationalist aviation units. During the
conflict, six aircraft were captured by Republican forces, according to Nico,
one of these was shipped to the Soviet Union, where it underwent a detailed
evaluation.

Thanks to the agile CR.32, the Italians managed to achieved air superiority over
their Fuerzas Aéreas de la República Española opponents, who flew a motley
collection of very different and often obsolete aircraft. The Fiat biplane
proved to be effective in the theatre, the Aviazione Legionaria claiming 60 (48
confirmed) modern Russian Tupolev SB bombers, which were once believed to be
impossible to intercept, as well as 242 Polikarpov I-15 biplane fighters, and
240 Polikarpov I-16 monoplane fighters, plus another hundred aircraft that were
not confirmed. In exchange, C.R.32 losses were reportedly only 73. According to
other sources, of the 376 Fiat shipped to Spain, 175 (43 Spanish operated and
132 Italian) were lost, including 99 (26 Spanish and 73 Italian) shot down,
while, by January 1939, the number of I-15s shot down was just 88.

The Fiats received their baptism of fire on 17 June, when CR. 32s of 411a
Squadriglia flown by Tenente Aldo Meoli and Maresciallo Bossi attacked three
South African Air Force Junkers Ju 86 bombers bound for Wavello, escorted by two
Hurricanes of 1 SAAF Squadron. The Fiats shot down one of the Ju 86s and then
pounced on the Hurricanes, shooting down the one flown by 2/Lt B.L. Griffiths,
who was killed in the crash. In the hands of a skillful pilot, the CR.32 could
capable of defeating the faster, more powerful, and better-armed monoplanes. On
23 February 1941, while in the process of attacking the airfield at Makale, Maj
Laurie Wilmot, who was flying a Hurricane, was bounced by Italian ace Alberto
Veronese in a Fiat biplane. Wilmot was forced to crash-land, becoming became a
prisoner of war (PoW). Soon after, Capt Andrew Duncan hit Veronese, who was
wounded and bailed out.

Fourteen CR.32s of 160° Gruppo and nine of 2° Gruppo from 6° Stormo saw action
against Greece in the first weeks after the attack of 28 October 1940. Eight
more from 163aa Squadriglia, based at Gadurrà airport on Rhodes, took part in
the invasion of Crete. CR.32s of 3° Gruppo operated in Sardinia, but in the
period of July–December 1940 their number fell from 28 to seven serviceable
aircraft. Cattaneo observed that ground crews lacked the fuel, ammunition, and
spare components to properly maintain their aircraft, often resulting to
improvisation due to the poor supply situation, which severely impacted the
fighter's operational effectiveness. The last front line CR.32 survived until
mid-April 1941 when the "Freccias" were sent to the Scuola Caccia (Schools for
fighter pilots). By 1942, the type was relegated to only night missions as newer
fighters were put into service.


Specifications (CR.32)

General characteristics
Crew: one
Length: 7.47 m (24 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 9.5 m (31 ft 2.25 in)
Height: 2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 22.1 m2 (237.88 ft2)
Empty weight: 1,455 kg (3,210 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,975 kg (4,350 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Fiat A30 RA-bis V12, 447 kW (600 hp)

Performance
Maximum speed: 360 km/h (224 mph)
Range: 781 km (485 mi)
Service ceiling: 8,800 m (28,870 ft)
Rate of climb: 9 m/s (1,822 ft/min)

Armament

Guns: 2 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) or 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns
Bombs: Up to 100 kg (220 lb)




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