Fiat CR 42 Restoration

At the recent Flying Legends Airshow at Duxford, UK one particularly attractive Warbird, a Fiat CR.42, was on show even though it didn’t participate in the flying program. The Fiat CR.42, actually a Swedish J 11, formerly Fv2542 (J 11 was the Swedish designation for C.R. 42) Serial No. FV 2542, A/c markings F9-10, now civil registered G-CBLS has been painstakingly restored over the past 23 years by Duxford’s “The Fighter Collection”.

While this aircraft was one of 72 of the type delivered to Sweden it has been restored as an Italian Reggia Aeronautica example, serial MM6976, with code 85-16. These are in fact the markings of an aircraft that flew against the British during the Battle of Britain. This is an extremely rare aircraft with just 4 of the type known to exist from the 1,820 aircraft constructed. The aircraft had crashed in Sweden on 13 April 1942 and the pilot Bertil Klintman sadly perished, his remains were recovered however the aircraft remained in situ in a remote area until it was recovered in 1983 and the aircraft moved to the Fighter collection in 1995.

In order to accurately restore the aircraft it was dispatched to the well-known Italian restoration groups AREA (Associazione Restauro Aeronautico) and GAVS (Gruppo Amici Velivoli Storici) who then spent considerable time restoring the fuselage of the Fiat to airworthy condition as well as a second static example for the Italian Air Force Museum. Once the work in Italy was completed in 2010 the fuselage returned to the UK where work continued with the engine, a Fiat A.74 rebuilt from 3 donor power plants by Vintage Engine Technology Ltd (Vintech) at Little Gransden UK.

Wings were then completed and the aircraft was structurally complete. At this stage of the restoration the Fiat was transported to Vintage Fabrics at Audley End in Suffolk for the fitting out of the airframe systems and fabric. This work was recently completed and the aircraft once again returned to Duxford where it was completed, assembled and placed on display at Flying Legends 2018.

At the time of writing the aircraft is still in the detailed process of being made ready for its first flight which should not be too far off. This is a beautiful restoration of the highest quality and will be a magnificent addition to the TFC display schedule in the future. We can hardly wait to see this rare and exotic warbird in action.

Fiat CR.42

The Fiat CR.42 Falco (“Falcon”, plural: Falchi) was a single-seat sesquiplane fighter developed and produced by Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione. It served primarily in Italy’s Regia Aeronautica both before and during the Second World War as a sturdy fighter bi-plane used for ground attack night fighter roles.

The CR.42 was a design based upon  Fiat’s earlier CR.32 fighter, featuring supercharged Fiat A.74R1C.38 air-cooled radial engine of 627 kW (840 hp at 2,400 r.p.m). The fiat design was both strong and agile in flight and was a good gun platform. The aircraft was sadly outclassed by later allied monoplane fighters but still acquitted itself well in dogfights and in fact claimed the last biplane air victory when one of the type shot down an American P38 – quite a feat for an obsolescent bi-plane!

Fiat CR.42s also served with other countries including Belgium, Sweden and Hungary some C.R.42’s also served as ground attack aircraft with the German Luftwaffe. The type was the most numerous and arguably the most outstanding Italian biplane fighter of all time.

Specifications & General Characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan:
• Top wing: 9.70 m (31 ft 10 in)
• Bottom wing: 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in))
• Height: 3.585 m (10 ft)
• Wing area: 22.4 m² (241.0 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1,782 kg (3,929 lb)
• Loaded weight: 2,295 kg (5,060 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Fiat A.74 RC38 radial air-cooled, fourteen cylinders radial engine, 627 kW (840 hp at 2,400 r.p.m./12,500 ft)
• Performance
• Maximum speed: 441 km/h (238 kn, 274 mph) at 20,000 ft
• Cruise speed: 399 km/h (215 kn, 248 mph)
• Range: 780 km (420 nmi, 485 mi)
• Service ceiling: 10,210 m (33,500 ft)
• Rate of climb: 11.8 m/s (2,340 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 102 kg/m² (21 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 270 W/kg (0.17 hp/lb)
• Armament
• Guns: First series : Breda SAFAT 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Later 2 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Breda SAFAT machine guns, 400 rpg.
• 2 × 12.7 mm (.5 in) machine-guns in underwing fairing on some.
• Bombs: 200 kg (440 lb) on 2 × wing hardpoints

Other survivors

• Italian Air Force Museum, Vigna di Valle CR.42 in Italian colors  “MM4653”, a composite built up with the help of parts recovered in Sweden, Italy and France.
• The Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon Regia Aeronautica machine (a genuine Battle of Britain veteran) captured on 11 November 1940 forced to land on the shingle beach at Orfordness, Suffolk. During the summer of 1941, it was flown by the Air Fighting Development Unit in mock combat against a variety of British fighters. At the end of 1943 all testing was complete and the aircraft was marked for preservation in a future museum as a result of an earlier request of the Air Historical Branch. It was subsequently stored at several RAF facilities until 1978, when it was moved to its present home, the RAF Museum.
• At the Swedish Air Force Museum near Linköping is a J 11, Fv2543

© John Parker 2018