Fiat CR.42 Falco

The Fiat CR.42 Falco (Falcon, plural: Falchi) is a single-seat sesquiplane fighter developed and produced by Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione. It served primarily in the Italian (Royal Italian Air Force) in the 1930s and during the Second World War.

The CR.42 was a development of Fiat’s earlier CR.32 fighter, powered by the more powerful supercharged Fiat A.74R1C.38 air-cooled radial engine and with improvements. It proved to be relatively agile in flight, attributed to its very low wing loading and a sometimes decisive tactical advantage. RAF Intelligence praised its exceptional manoeuvrability, further noting that "the plane was immensely strong", though it was technically outclassed by faster, more heavily armed monoplanes. While primarily used as a fighter, variants such as the CR.42CN night-fighter model, the CR.42AS ground-attack aircraft, and the CR.42B Biposto twin-seat trainer aircraft had other roles.

During May 1939, the CR.42 entered service with the ; it was the last of the Fiat biplane fighters to enter front line service. By 10 June 1940, when Italy entered the Second World War, roughly 300 had been delivered; these defended metropolitan areas and important military installations at first. By the end of 1940, the Falco had been involved in combat on various fronts, including the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain, Malta, North Africa, and Greece. By the end of the war, Italian CR.42s had been used on further fronts, including Iraq, the Eastern Front and the Italian mainland. Following the signing of the Italian armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943, the type was relegated to use as a trainer by the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, while some Italian CR.42s were seized by the Germans and used by the Luftwaffe for ground-attack operations.

The CR.42 was produced and entered service in smaller numbers with the air forces of other nations, including Belgium, Sweden and Hungary. By the end of production, in excess of 1,800 CR.42s had been constructed, making it the most numerous Italian aircraft to be used during the Second World War. It has been claimed that the fighter had performed at its best during its service with the Hungarian Air Force, specifically during its deployment against Soviet forces on the Eastern Front of the war, where it reportedly achieved a kill to loss ratio of 12 to 1.

Design and development

Origins

During the late 1930s, while a new generation of monoplane fighter aircraft was being introduced by the various air services of Europe, there was still a considerable time before they would be developed and available enough to assume total responsibility for strategic air power operations. By the outbreak of the Second World War during September 1939, many powers still fielded biplanes, such as the British Gloster Gladiator and the Italian CR.42. As such, even as the first flights of the latter were being conducted during 1939, despite an acknowledgement of its effective obsolescence, it was also recognised that such biplanes would find a use in plentiful second-line roles. This pragmatic observation turned out to be correct as not only would the CR.42 be built in greater numbers than any other Italian fighter of the war, it would also see action on every front in which the Regia Aeronautica fought upon.

The CR.42 was basically a development of the design of the earlier Fiat CR.32, which in turn had been derived from the CR.30 series created in 1932. During the Spanish Civil War of the mid-1930s, the Regia Aeronautica had employed the CR.32 and had reportedly accomplished significant successes using the fighter. The positive combat experience gave sufficient encouragement to the type's principal manufacturer, Fiat Aviazione, for the company to produce a proposal for the development of a more advanced derivative of the design, incorporating the newly finalised supercharged Fiat A.74R1C.38 air-cooled radial engine and several other enhancements.

thumb|Fiat CR.42

In addition, various experimental configurations of the CR.42 was both studied and constructed for trial purposes. These included the I.CR.42 (Idrovolante= seaplane) and the re-engined CR.42DB. Beginning in 1938, Fiat had worked on the I.CR.42, then gave the task to complete the project to CMASA factory in Marina di Pisa on the Tirreno sea coast. The only prototype was built in 1940. Tests started at the beginning of 1941, at the Vigna di Valle base, on Lake Bracciano, north of Rome. Top speed was 423 km/h, range was 950 km while ceiling was reduced to 9,000 m. Empty weight went from , full weight from .

The CR.42DB was an attempt to improve performance by installing a Daimler-Benz DB 601 V12 engine of . This prototype, MM 469), was flown by test pilot Valentino Cus in March 1941, over Guidonia Montecelio, near Rome. During test flights it attained a top speed of , ceiling of and a range of . The project was cancelled as the biplane configuration did not offer any advantages over contemporary monoplane fighter designs. Although this variant never went into production, to the present day, the CR.42DB has continued to hold the distinction of being the fastest biplane to have ever flown.

Historians are still not certain exactly how many CR.42s were manufactured. The most likely estimate is thought to be 1,819 aircraft in total, including the 63 CR.42LWs (51 according to some sources) produced under Luftwaffe control, and a further 140 fighters that were produced for the various export customers for the type.

Design

thumb|A preserved Fiat CR.42

The Fiat CR.42 was a robust and relatively clean single-seat biplane fighter aircraft; in spite of the biplane configuration of the aircraft, it was a modern, "sleek-looking" design, based around a strong steel and alloy structure. The CR.42 was furnished with fixed main landing gear, the legs of which were attached to the underside of the lower wing stubs; both the legs wheels were enclosed within streamlined fairings for aerodynamic reasons. The upper wing was larger than its lower wing, a configuration known as a sesquiplane. The aircraft proved to be exceptionally agile in flight, a characteristic which had been attributed to be a result of the fighter's very low wing loading. The very strong structure of the fighter enabled pilots to perform virtually all manoeuvres. Shortcomings of the CR.42 included its slower speed in comparison to monoplanes, and a lack of armour, firepower and radio equipment.

The CR.42 was typically powered by a single supercharged Fiat A.74R1C.38 geared air-cooled radial engine driving a metal three-blade Fiat-Hamilton Standard 3D.41-1 propeller of diameter. Subsequently, Fiats attacked the airfields of Le Cannet-des-Maures and Puert Pierrefin, close to the border. This time the French fighter units reacted and the Fiats were attacked by Dewoitine 520s from G.C.III/6. Regia Aeronautica aviators claimed 8–10 air victories and many aircraft destroyed on the ground. Fiat pilots were credited with the downing of three Bloch and five Dewoitine fighters, in exchange for the loss of five Falchi.

Following the Fall of France, an Italian air group of CR.42s and BR.20 bombers operated from Belgium during October and November 1940. This task force flew some offensive operations during the later stages of the Battle of Britain, but incurred a high loss rate. Cattaneo speculated that the light losses experienced during the Battle of France had persuaded the Regia Aeronautica that the type was considerably more effective than it was against the modern frontline fighter aircraft that it would be coming up against, and thus had encouraged this brief deployment. In the present day, the RAF Museum at Hendon, London has a CR.42 on static display from this time; this aircraft had reportedly force-landed in Suffolk with a broken oil pipe, with the pilot surviving.

Malta

Over the skies of Malta, the CR.42 encountered British Hurricanes for the first time on 3 July 1940. That day, Flying Officer Waters (P2614) shot down an SM.79 bomber five miles (eight kilometers) off Kalafrana, but he was soon attacked in turn by the escorting Falchi, who badly shot up his aircraft. Waters crashed on landing and his Hurricane was written off. The Hurricane pilots soon discovered that the Italian biplanes could often outmaneuver their aircraft and that this was a crucial factor in any dogfight against them.

<blockquote>Pilot Officer Jock Barber remembered: "On my first combat, the 9 of July, I attacked the leader of a Squadriglia of Falcos, while [Flight Lieutenant] George Burges attacked an SM.79 bomber. When I shot the CR.42 at a range of , he did a flick-roll and went spinning down. I found myself engaged in dogfighting with the remaining CR.42s. This went down to about ; by then I had used up all my ammunition without much success, although I am convinced I got quite a few strikes on the leader in the initial combat. I realized pretty quickly that dogfighting with biplanes was just not on. They were so manoeuvrable that it was very difficult to get in a shot, and I had to keep diving and turning to keep myself from being shot down. George had by this time disappeared so I stuck my nose down and, with full throttle, was very thankful to get out of the way."</blockquote>

A week later, a dozen CR.42s from 23° Gruppo appeared in the sky over Malta for a reconnaissance. Flight Lieutenants Peter Keeble and Burges scrambled to intercept them, and the resulting action greatly impressed the Malta defenders with the CR.42s maneuvering capability. Keeble attacked one CR.42 – probably the aircraft (MM4368) flown by Sottotenente Mario Benedetti of 74^a Squadriglia that crashed, killing its pilot, but then came under attack himself by the Falchi of Tenente Mario Pinna and Tenente Oscar Abello. Keeble tried to dogfight with the Italians, but his engine was hit and his Hurricane dived into the ground at Wied-il-Ghajn, near Fort Rinella, and blew up; he was the first pilot to be killed in action at Malta. This was the first recorded air victory in the Second World War of the CR.42 against the Hurricane. Shortly after Keebles loss, a meeting of all the pilots and senior staff was called to discuss the best ways of countering the agile CR.42. A suggestion was made that the Hurricane should put down a bit of flaps as this might enable it to turn with the CR.42, but the only realistic proposal was to climb above these aircraft to be in an advantageous position.

Nevertheless, Cattaneo noted that the Hurricane gradually proved itself to be superior to the CR.42.

Night fighter operations

As the war went on, the CR.42 had been superseded in the day fighter role by more advanced aircraft, but found a renewed niche performing the night fighter mission. The Falco served as the main night fighter of the Regia Aeronautica, even though it was not equipped with radar and often lacked radio equipment. Some Falco night fighters were equipped with extended exhaust pipes to hide the exhaust flame. Additionally, 2 spotlights were fitted under the wings of some of the night fighters. The first night interception was performed on the night of 13–14 August 1940 by Capitano Giorgio Graffer, when he located and opened fire on a British Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber that had been sent to attack Turin. When his guns jammed, Graffer rammed the bomber before bailing out. The bomber had been badly damaged and subsequently crashed into the English Channel whilst attempting to return to its base.

One of the most successful night interceptions took place on the night of 25 August 1942. That day, in an attempt to oppose RAF night intruder missions that were hammering Italian airfields, the 4° Stormo borrowed four radio-equipped CR.42s, by 208^a and 238^a Squadriglie of the 101° Gruppo Bombardamento a Tuffo, based at Abar Nimeir, to use them as night interceptors. According to Cattaneo, the CR.42 achieved a degree of success as a night fighter, proving itself to be effective against RAF bombers that were bombing industrial targets throughout northern Italy during 1942.

Corpo Aereo Italiano

thumb|CR.42 fighter of 18° Gruppo, 56° Stormo after crash-landing near Lowestoft, Suffolk on 11 November 1940. The pilot successfully evaded three British [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricanes, but was forced down by a malfunction of his aircraft's variable-pitch propeller]]

In autumn 1940, Regia Aeronautica sent 18° Gruppo (of 56° Stormo) in Belgium with 83^a, 85^a and 95^a Squadriglia equipped with CR.42s as part of the Corpo Aereo Italiano, an independent air corps for operations against Great Britain.

On 11 and 23 November 1940, multiple CR.42s flew two raids against England. Luftwaffe aircraft frequently experienced difficulties in maintaining formation flight with the slower biplanes. Even though slower, with an open cockpit, many units lacking radio, and armed with only a pair of machine guns (a pair of 12.7&nbsp;mm/.5&nbsp;in or a combination of former and a 7.7&nbsp;mm/.303&nbsp;in Breda-SAFAT), the Falchi could easily outturn the Hurricanes and the Spitfires opposing it and usually proved difficult to hit. "The CR 42 turned to fight using all the aeroplane's manoeuvrability. The pilot could get on my tail in a single turn, so tightly was he able to pull round." As the RAF intelligence report stated, the Falchi were hard targets. "As I fired he half rolled very tightly and I was completely unable to hold him, so rapid were his manoeuvres. I attacked two or three more and fired short bursts, in each case the enemy aircraft half-rolled very tightly and easily and completely out-turned me. In two cases as they came out of their rolls, they were able to turn in almost on my tail and opened fire on me."

Against British monoplanes, the CR.42s were not always outclassed; one Italian pilot's account is as follows: "I engaged one of the British fighters from a range of between . Then I saw a Spitfire, which was chasing another CR.42, and I got in a shot at a range of . I realised that in a manoeuvered flight, the CR.42 could win or survive against Hurricanes and Spitfires, though we had to be careful of a sweep from behind. In my opinion, the English .303 bullet was not very effective. Italian aircraft received many hits which did no material damage and one pilot even found that his parachute pack had stopped a bullet." During the winter of 1940/1941, the CR.42s were transferred back to the Mediterranean theatre.

East Africa

thumb|left|A CR.42, 82a Squadriglia 13° Gruppo 2° Stormo. C. T., [[RAF Gambut|Gambut airfield, September 1940]]

While flying the Falco in Africa Orientale Italiana (A.O.I), Mario Visintini became the top biplane fighter ace of the Second World War (having achieved 16 kills) and Luigi Baron and Aroldo Soffritti became the second and third Fiat CR. 42 top scoring aces, having made 12 and 8 air victories respectively. Moreover, during that short and difficult campaign, the Fiat fighters were responsible for the destruction of a large number of RAF and South African Air Force (SAAF) aircraft, both in the air and on the ground, including a number of Hurricanes.

During 1940, three squadriglie stationed in Italian East Africa — Ethiopia, Italian Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland — were equipped with CR.42s. The 412^a – the most experienced Squadriglia – was based in Gura (with the 414^a Squadriglia) and in Massawa. The 413^a Squadriglia was in Assab. Fighting there began in June 1940 and lasted until the autumn of 1941. The Italians met mostly British bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, destroying many of them. On 12 June 1940, 412^a Squadriglia attacked nine Vickers Wellesley bombers from 47 Squadron above Asmara, and Tenente Carlo Canella claimed the first CR.42 victory in East Africa, a Wellesley that was heavily damaged and forced to crash-land. Two days later, the 412^a Squadriglia again intercepted a pair of Wellesleys, this time from 14 Squadron, that were trying to bomb Massawa. Tenente Mario Visintini, for the first of his 16 air victories in East Africa, shot down the Wellesley flown by Pilot Officer Plunkett.

Dogfights usually occurred when enemy airfields were being attacked. But fierce air battles took place at the beginning of November 1940, during the British offensive against the Italian forts of Gallabat and Metemma, along the Sudan border. The Regia Aeronautica was dominant in these fights, sometimes even against more powerful opponents. The most successful day was on 6 November when the CR.42s achieved seven confirmed victories against the Gladiators, for no losses. In the air duels fought during 1940, losses however were also suffered: at least six Fiats were destroyed and about a dozen damaged. Operations involving the CR.42 were typically hampered by wider logistical issues; the Royal Navy had prevented Italian supplies reaching East Africa and aerial transportation alone proved to be insufficient.

North Africa

It was on the North African front that the CR.42 was most extensively used. At the beginning of the war in Italian North Africa, there were 127 CR.42s from the 13° Gruppo (2° Stormo) at Castel Benito and from the 10° and 9° Gruppo of 4° Stormo in Benina, including reserve aircraft. According to some historians, it was in the North African theatre that the CR.42 performed at its best.

thumb|left|A wrecked CR.42 at Bardia, 1940

On 8 August 1940, in an aerial duel between comparable rivals, a flight of 16 CR.42s from 9° and 10° Gruppi of 4° Stormo were "bounced" by 14 Gladiators of No.80 Squadron RAF over Gabr Sàleh (about 65 kilometres southeast of El Adem and 35 kilometres east of Bir El Gubi). Four of the CR.42s were shot down while four more were force-landed and later recovered. In return, the Italian pilots claimed to have downed five Gladiators in the dogfight (three shared amongst the pilots of 10° Gruppo and two shared by the 73^a Squadriglia pilots) along with two probables (the 90^a Squadriglia’s Diary reported six victories), with two Gladiators actually lost (one pilot for each side was killed in action), but the combat was a nasty day for the best unit fielded in North Africa. 4° Stormo was the mainstay of Italian fighter force in Africa, and its 73^a Squadriglia was the best unit, yet that day lost five CR.42s (included the ones eventually recovered). That air combat highlighted the advantages of the Gladiator over the CR.42, especially radio equipment that could permit coordinated attacks, and the Gladiator's superior low altitude overall performance, with a markedly superior horizontal manoeuvrability over the Falchi. The overall exchange ratio between CR.42 and Gladiator is difficult to assess, but Håkan Gustavsson and Slongo rated the Gladiator with an advantage about 1.2–1.9:1.

thumb|Wrecked fighters in a destroyed hangar at [[RAF Castel Benito|Tripoli-Castel Benito Airport, Tripoli, Libya, early 1943]]

Eventually, on 31 October 1940, the Falchi scored their first confirmed air victories in North Africa against the Hawker Hurricane. During the air battle over Mersa Matruh Sergente Maggiore Davide Colauzzi and Sergente Mario Turchi from 368^a Squadriglia, while escorting SM.79 bombers, shot down the Hurricanes of 33 Squadron that were flown by 26-year-old Canadian Flying Officer Edmond Kidder Leveille (RAF no. 40837) – who was forced to bail out but was killed when his parachute failed to deploy completely – and Flying Officer Perry St Quintin (Hurricane P3724), who made a forced landing at Qasaba with a holed fuel tank. Two days after the start of the war, on 30 October, there was the first air battle. Some Henschel Hs126s of 3/2 Flight of 3 Observation Mira took off to locate Italian Army columns. But they were intercepted and attacked by Fiat CR.42s of 393^a Squadriglia. A first Henschel was hit and crashed, killing its observer, Pilot Officer Evanghelos Giannaris, the first Greek aviator to die in the war. A second Hs 126 was downed over Mount Smolikas, killing Pilot Officer Lazaros Papamichail and Sergeant Constantine Yemenetzis. The first CR.42 victories were credited to Fernando Zanni and Walter Ratticchieri. On 4 November 1940, three CR.42s jumped three RHAF Breguet from 2 Mira, sent to attack the 3rd Julia Alpine Division retreating from a mountain pass near Metsovo. A Breguet was shot down, one crash-landed and the third returned to base, though badly shot up.

At the beginning of November, the Greeks received support by the Royal Air Force and on 4 November six Vickers Wellingtons from 70 Squadron attacked Valona. CR.42s pilots shot down two British bombers and damaged two more. Fortunes started to reverse, on 18 November, the first day of Greek army counter-attack. While a CR.42 shot down a Greek Bristol Blenheim, during a dogfight with Greek fighters, 393^a Squadriglia damaged four PZL P.24s but lost three Fiats. On the same day, a flight of 20 Gladiators from RAF 80 Squadron landed in Athens. While deployed in North Africa, the CR.42 pilots had been able to achieve a clear superiority over the Gladiators but in Greece, they suffered more heavy losses. The superiority of the Gloster was achieved in part as a result of its enclosed cockpit, which was an advantage when operating in the cold winter sky, while the R/T radio allowed for the adoption of more effective tactics that made it possible to ambush the Italian CR.42 formations, as well as the superior quality of the British aces of 80 Squadron, commanded by Marmaduke Pattle. The majority of the Italian pilots shot down and killed in Greece were new arrivals, fresh from flying schools; these pilots frequently insisted on direct engagements against the more manoeuvrable British biplanes, leading to unfavourable dogfights. In the Greco-Italian War, CR.42 pilots claimed 162 kills, for the loss of 29 aircraft. By July 1943, CR.42s were still equipped by 383^a Squadriglia Assalto (Ground Attack Squadron) based in Zara and in September 1943, by 392^a (in Tirana) and 385^a Squadriglie Autonome.

Iraq

During April 1941, Rashid Ali led a pro-Axis coup in Iraq. In response, British Army units began moving into the area to quell the rebellion, many of which made landfall near Basra. Germany and Italy dispatched support to Ali's forces in the form of Messerschmitt Bf 110s, Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s and CR.42s, which were quickly put into action against the British. The Regia Aeronautica sent 155^a Squadriglia (named Squadriglia speciale Irak) equipped with the improved CR.42 Egeo version, which was furnished with a radio set and a 100-litre auxiliary tank, the latter of which increased the fighter's operational range (typically 800&nbsp;km at 380&nbsp;km/h) up to 1,100&nbsp;km at economical speed. In Iraq, the Regia Aeronautica was only operational for four days (28–31 May 1941), during which their aircraft were reportedly painted in Iraqi colours.

Royal Hungarian Air Force

The first foreign purchaser of the CR.42 was the Royal Hungarian Air Force (MKHL), which placed orders for 52 aircraft during mid-1938. The Hungarians, while aware that the CR.42 was conceptually outdated in comparison to the newer generation of monoplanes, had considered the rapid re-equipment of their fighter component to be of vital importance. Additionally, the Italian government had expressed its willingness to forgo CR.42 delivery positions in order to expedite the re-equipment of the Hungarian units. By the end of 1939, a total of 17 CR.42s had been delivered to Hungary, where they were promptly issued to 1. Vadász Ezred (1st Fighter Wing), which began conversion from the earlier CR.32. Its two groups of two squadrons, 1./I Vadász Osztály (Fighter Group) at Szolnok and the 1./II Vadász Osztály at Mátyásföld, Budapest, received their full complement of fighters during mid-1940.

thumb|left|A Hungarian CR.42 in 1943

Some of the CR.42s in Hungarian service were armed with a single Gebauer GKM Machine Gun 1940.M (Gebauer Kenyszermeghajtasu Motorgeppuska, or "Gebauer Positive-Driven Motor-Machine Gun"); these were fixed twin-barrel guns that were driven via the crankshaft of the aircraft's engine. In total, the MKHL ordered 70 CR.42s but, through a barter which included the exchange of a captured Yugoslavian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, they received an additional two CR.42s during 1941. The Hungarian CR.42s were first used in combat against neighbouring Yugoslavia during April 1941. During the short conflict in the Balkans, the MKHL reportedly lost two of their CR.42s.

In mid-June, CR.42 fighters equipped several MKHL units: 1/3.'Kör ász'F.S. and 1/4.

'Szent György' F.S. both based in Budapest-Mátyásföld; 2/3. 'Ricsi' F.S. (in Bustyaháza) and 2/4. 'Repülö tör' F.S. (in Miskolc).

On 27 June 1941, Hungary declared war on the Soviet Union and, on that same day, Hungarian CR.42s received their baptism of fire when 2/3. Squadron escorted bomber formations against Stanislau, today Ivano-Frankivsk, in Ukraine. losing two planes to Soviet fighters. For a time, the surviving CR.42s were relegated to training roles. During spring 1944, a night assault CR.42 Squadron was formed. These aircraft were equipped with flame dampers and bomb racks for the carriage of four 50&nbsp;kg bombs; however, these planes were reportedly not used operationally. The majority of Hungary's CR.42s were lost in training accidents and strafing attacks by U.S. aircraft during 1944. It is believed that a single Hungarian Falco survived the war.

Belgian Air Force

During 1939, a mission from the Belgian Air Force purchased a batch of 40 CR.42s for a total price of 40 million francs. On 6 March 1940, the first of these arrived in Belgium but was destroyed in a landing accident. The CR.42s were mainly delivered to the Evere Établissements Généraux de l'Aéronautique Militaire, which were responsible for their assembly. The first operational squadron, IIème Group de Chasse (Fighter Group) based at Nivelles, received its full complement of 15 while other units still awaited further deliveries. The exact quantity of CR.42s delivered to Belgium prior to the German attack on 10 May 1940 has been estimated by historians to fall between 24 and 27 aircraft, the last of which having been transported to France and lost in the railway station at Amiens. However, photographic evidence suggests that the total number of CR.42s delivered was 30. On 9 May, squadrons operating the Falchi were the 3rd "Cocotte rouge", with 14, and the 4th, "Cocotte Blanche", with 11 aircraft. In addition to those, the planes of Major Lamarche and two others (R.21 and R.27) in a hangar at Nivelles were not serviceable, while another was at Airfield Number 41 with mechanical trouble.

The Fiat CR.42s were first to be blooded in Belgium; after their initial encounters with the vastly superior Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters of the Luftwaffe, the entire contingent of Fiats was quickly overwhelmed, although the Belgian pilots fought with great skill. The Belgian CR.42s fought from the first day of the invasion, when they attacked a formation of attacking Ju 52s (from 17/KGzbV 5) in the Tongeren area, forcing one to crash-land near Maastricht. After capitulation, the five surviving Fiat CR.42s were brought into a French Air Force depot in Fréjorques, where they were later found by the Germans. Their final fate is not known.

The J 11s were initially assigned to the F 9 wing, responsible for the air defence of Gothenburg, but were transferred to the newly established Bråvalla Wing (F 13) in Norrköping in 1943 when F 9 received more advanced J 22 fighters. The J 11s operating from Kiruna, in the north of Sweden, were equipped with a ski undercarriage. During the spring of 1942, the J 11s of 1. Division were transferred to Luleå airfield. The J 11s scrambled several times to intercept German aircraft that violated Sweden's borders, but usually failed to make contact with intruders.

One of the German units to use the CR.42 was Nachtschlachtgruppe (NSGr.) 9, based in Udine. It was tasked with fighting against partisans in the region of the Alps, Istria and Croatia. During November 1943, the 1. Staffel received its Falchi and, in January 1944, the unit was transferred to the airfield at Caselle, near Turin, to operate against partisan units in the vicinity of the Southern Alps. On 28 January, the 2. Staffel was also equipped with the CR.42. The training of German pilots took place at a school in Venaria Reale.

During February 1944, after news of the Allies' landing at Anzio, 1.Staffel and 2.Staffel, based at Centocelle Airport in Rome, attacked Allied units in southern Latium, which were conducted mostly during moonlit night raids. NSGr9 attacked enemy troops in the Monte Cassino area. The CR.42 proved to be useful as a light bomber at night, but subsequently NSGr9 began to be equipped with the Ju 87D. 2.Staffel kept using the Fiat biplanes until mid-1944. On 31 May, the unit still had 18 Falchi, 15 of which were operational.

As a consequence of Allied raids that damaged the Fiat factory in Turin, only 150 CR.42LWs were ultimately completed, of which 112 would reach operational condition. Another German unit that used the type, both in Southern Italy and the Balkans, was Jagdgeschwader JG 107, which flew them as night fighters, fighter-bombers and fighter-trainers.

Last claimed biplane kill of history

The CR.42LWs equipped to the newly formed 3./NSGr 7 in Zagreb, Croatia, in April 1944. By September 1944, 2. Staffel was transferred in Croatia too (at Pleso) and the Fiats later equipped 1. Staffel also, in Graz, Austria. On 8 February 1945, ten Luftwaffe CR.42LWs of Stab and 2. Staffel of Nachtschlachtgruppe 7, took off from their base in Agram-Gorica, Croatia, to strafe the airfield at Grabovica, used by partisan forces. At the last moment, they were diverted to attack partisans northwest of Sisak, during which they were attacked by a flight of American P-38 Lightnings of the 14th Fighter Group. The American fighters shot down three Fiat biplanes, but two of the P-38s did not return to base. One of them was claimed by a German pilot, but this kill was not confirmed. According to authors Håkan Gustavsson and Ludovico Slongo, the unidentified German pilot's claim is the last known claimed victory of a biplane to occur. There is doubt regarding the claim. The 14th Fighter Group's unit history does not record any losses on this date by the 37th Fighter Squadron, which reported the engagement with the biplanes. The two aircraft which failed to return to base were reported as lost to ground fire during a ground sweep near Vienna, and were in the 48th Fighter Squadron.

Variants

;CR.42: Early CR.42s were armed with one machine gun and one machine gun. The CR.42bis replaced the 7.7&nbsp;mm with a second 12.7&nbsp;mm.

;CR.42 Egeo:Equipped for service within the Aegean theater, outfitted with an extra 100&nbsp;L (26.4&nbsp;US gal) fuel tank in the fuselage.

;CR.42AS: A close air-support version. The two standard 12.7&nbsp;mm machine guns could be supplemented with two more. There were underwing racks for two bombs. AS stands for 'Africa Settentrionale.' There was an additional engine filter to prevent damage from sand which caused a loss in power, a common occurrence in North Africa, since filter-less engines could be damaged after only a few hours use.

;CR.42B:Dedicated 2 seat trainer variant with a lengthened fuselage to accommodate the 2nd cockpit.

;CR.42bis: Standard armament of two 12.7&nbsp;mm machine guns mounted.

;CR.42CN: Night fighter version sometimes equipped with spotlights mounted under the wings and/or extended engine exhausts.

;CR.42ter: 2 × machine guns with two additional guns mounted in blisters under the wings.

;ICR.42: Experimental floatplane version designed by CMASA, top speed decreased by only in spite of the increase in weight.

;CR.42LW: Night harassment, anti-partisan aircraft for the German Luftwaffe. The aircraft were equipped with exhaust flame dampers, a pair of 12.7&nbsp;mm machine guns and underwing racks for four 50&nbsp;kg bombs. 150 were built, of which 112 were accepted into service by the Luftwaffe.

;CR.42 "Bombe Alari": (unofficial but widely used name) Modification carried out at SRAMs (repair centers), to allow outdated fighters to be used in the ground attack role. Underwing pylons for 2 × bombs were added; often these pylons were loaded with bombs. The same modification was carried out on Fiat G.50s and Macchi C.200s.

;CR.42 two-seaters: Several Italian CR.42s were converted into two-seat communications aircraft.

;CR.42DB: One CR.42 was fitted with an early DB 601A inline engine. A speed of was attained.

Operators

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• Belgian Air Force

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• Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia

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• Luftwaffe

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• Royal Hungarian Air Force

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• Regia Aeronautica
• Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force

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• Spanish Air Force (two CR.42bis delivered in 1939)

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• Swedish Air Force

Surviving aircraft

thumb|Fiat CR.42 MM5701 at the RAF Museum, London (November 2011)

thumb|Fv2542 (G-CBLS), owned by [[The Fighter Collection, 2018]]

• MM5701 – CR.42 on static display at the Royal Air Force Museum London in London. This was captured on 11 November 1940 when it suffered an overheated engine and was forced to land on the shingle beach at Orford Ness, 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.
• 2543 – J 11 on static display at the Swedish Air Force Museum near Linköping, Östergötland.
• Reconstruction – CR.42 on static display at the Italian Air Force Museum in Bracciano, Lazio. It is made up of 60% original parts. It is in Italian colours as "MM4653", and is in fact is a composite built up with the help of parts recovered in Sweden, Italy and France.