Fiat CR 32/CR 42 in Action

Fiat CR 32/CR 42 in Action КНИГИ ;ВОЕННАЯ ИСТОРИЯ Fiat CR 32/CR 42 in Action (Aircraft Number 172). By George Punka; Publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc. 2000; 52 Pages; ISBN: 0897474112; PDF 13 MB. Italian Engineer Celesiino Rosatelli's first fighter prototype, designated CR was designed during the early 1920s. The CR was ordered into production in 1924 under the new designa­tion CR 1 (Caccia Rosatelli — Fighter/Hunter Rosatelli). This single design began an unbro­ken string of Italian FIAT (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) biplane fighters that lasted to the end of World War II in 1945. Three different firms produced almost 250 CR I fighters between 1924 and 1926.The CR 5 a further development of the CR 1, was developed in 1925. Two prototypes, one powered by a British-designed nine-cylinder Jupiter radial engine, and the other employing a 12- cylinder FIAT A.20 inline engine were completed, but by then, the level of aircraft and engine development had outpaced the original CR 1 design. Both the CR 1 and CR 5 fighters were unusual in employing a reverse sesquiplane wing design — the lower wing having a greater area than the upper wing. Development of the CR 5 was halted in favor of a more promising design — the FIAT CR 20.