The Fiat CR.42 is an Italian all-metal biplane fighter from the Second World War. The flight of the prototype took place in 1936, and from 1939 the plane entered the line units. The plane was to be the successor of the CR.32 machine, which proved to be so great during the Spanish Civil War. The CR.42 was characterized by great flight characteristics and high maneuverability. It was powered by a Fiat A.74 RIC38 engine with 840HP. However, the CR.42 was too slow and too weakly armed to be able to fight the modern British machines of that period. For this reason, it was used in combat in North Africa, primarily as a close support aircraft and to attack ground targets, which, given the low load capacity of the machine, was not the best solution. As a result of significant losses, the CR.42 airplanes were transferred to training tasks. 1781 units of this aircraft were produced. Technical data: Maximum speed: 441 km / h, speed of climb: 11.8 m / s, maximum ceiling 10 210 m, maximum range: 780 km, armament: fixed - 2 Breda-SAFAT machine guns, caliber 7.7 mm or 12, 7mm, suspended - up to 200kg bombs.