Fiat CR . 32 The Fiat CR . 32 was an Italian biplane fighter used in the Spanish Civil War and World War II . This nimble little Fiat was compact , robust and highly manoeuvrable and gave impressive displays all over Europe in the hands of the " Pattuglie Acrobatiche " . The CR . 32 fought in North and East Africa , in Albania and in the Mediterranean theatre . The CR . 32 saw service in the air forces of China , Austria , Hungary , Paraguay and Venezuela . Used extensively in Spanish Civil War , it gained a reputation as one of the outstanding fighter biplanes of all time . But then it was overtaken by more advanced monoplane designs and was obsolete by 1939 . Development . The Fiat CR . 32 was designed by Celestino Rosatelli . Derived from earlier Fiat CR . 30 designs , the CR . 32 was a more streamlined and smaller biplane fighter . The prototype MM . 201 first flew the 28 April 1933 from the Fiat company airstrip at Turin . Design . The fuselage had same structure as the CR . 30 , utilizing aluminium and steel tubes covered by duraluminium on the nose up to the cockpit , on the back , in lower section under the tail , and with fabric on the sides and " belly " . The wings and tail also had mixed structure , with aluminium frame covered by fabric . A notable feature was that the lower wing was shorter than the upper wing making it sesquiplane . Ailerons were only on the upper wings . Armament included initially two 7 . 7 mm ( . 030 in ) Breda - SAFAT machine - guns ( later two 12 . 7 mm ( . 5 in ) Breda - SAFAT ) , located on top of the engine cowling , with 350 rounds each . The engine was the water - cooled Fiat A . 30 R . A . . Designed in 1930 , it was a 60° V 12 , producing 447 kW ( 600 hp ) at 2 , 600 rpm , inspired by the American Curtiss D - 12 . It drove a 2 . 82 meter two - blade metal propeller with variable pitch ( " a passo variabile " ) but only adjustable on the ground , not in flight . The engine did not use the usual avio - petrol but a mixture of petrol ( 55 % ) , alcohol ( 23 % ) and benzole ( 22 % ) . The main fuel tank , located between the engine and cockpit , carried 325 liters . There was another small tank ( 25 liters ) in the " torpedo " fairing in the center of the upper wing . Although fully instrumented , the RA . 80 - 1 radio was optional . Operational history . The new biplane was an instant success . After a period of testing . The first production orders were received in March 1934 , and the type soon equipped the 1° , 3° and 4° " Stormi " of the " Regia Aeronautica " . The CR . 32 was well liked by its crews , being very maneuverable and having a strong fuselage structure . The Fiat biplanes were used for many aerobatic shows , in Italy and abroad . When foreign statesmen visited the Holy City , the 4° " Stormo " , " Regia Aeronautica " élite unit , based in Rome , put on impressive displays with formations of five or 10 aircraft . In 1936 , air shows were organized in other European capitals and major cities , and , during the following year , in South America . When the team returned a brilliant display was put on in Berlin . Spain . In 1938 Spain acquired a license to build the CR . 32 . Hispano Aviación built 100 examples under the designation HA - 132 - L Chirri , some of these remaining in service as C . 1 aerobatic trainers up to 1953 . The Fiat CR . 32 was used extensively in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the military rebellion against the Spanish Republic . At least 380 took part in the air battles fought over Spain , proving formidable adversaries to the Soviet Polikarpov I - 15 and Polikarpov I - 16 monoplanes that formed the backbone of the Spanish Republican Air Force . It had its baptism of fire in 1936 . On 18 August 1936 , 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 , Gold Medal of Military Valor , shot down the first enemy aircraft , a Nieuport 52 , over Cordoba . In total , the Italian government sent 365 – 405 C . R . 32s to Spain while 127 – 131 were delivered directly to the Nationalist Aviation units . Six aircraft were captured by Republican FARE , with one sent to the USSR for evaluation . Thanks to the agile CR . 32 , the Italians managed to obtain air superiority against its " Fuerzas Aéreas de la República Española " loyalist opponents , that flew a motley collection of very different , often obsolete aircraft . The Fiat biplane proved to be effective with " Aviación Legionaria " claiming 60 ( 48 confirmed ) modern Russian bombers Tupolev SB , once believed impossible to intercept , 242 Polikarpov I - 15 biplane fighters and 240 Polikarpov I - 16 monoplane fighters , plus another hundred not confirmed . Fiat C . R . 32 losses were 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 I - 15s shot down were just 88 . Fiat CR . 32 Spain aces . The top scoring Fiat CR . 32 ace was Spanish Joaquín García Morato y Castaño . He was the leading Nationalist fighter pilot of the Spanish Civil War . He achieved 36 of his 40 victories flying the Fiat biplane . He used , until his death , the same aircraft , which carried the number " 3 - 51 " on the fuselage . On April 1939 , the war over , while performing low aerobatics on his faithful " 3 - 51 " , Morato crashed to his death . Another Nationalist CR . 32 ace was " Capitán " Manuel Vasquez Sagaztizabal , who claimed 21 victories with " Grupo 2 - G - 3 " , before he was shot down and killed on 23 January 1939 . " Comandante " Angel Salas Larrazabal , after one kill flying a Nieuport - Delage 52 , flew CR . 32s , shooting down , on 29 October 1936 , the first of the fast Soviet monoplane Tupolev SB - 2 bombers to fall to Nationalist fighters . He shot down four more aircraft with the CR . 32 before moving to a Heinkel He 51 unit . But after two more victories , he joined the new " Grupo 2 - G - 3 " . With this unit , flying CR . 32 again , he raised his score to 16 , including three SB - 2s and an I - 16 in a single sortie on 2 September 1938 . " Capitán " Miguel Guerrero Garcia achieved nine of his 13 victories flying the Fiat biplane : four I - 15s , three “ Papagayos ” ( R - 5 s and Polikarpov - RZ s assault bombers ) and two I - 16 s . World War II . The aerobatic characteristics of the CR . 32 and its success in Spain misled the Italian air ministry , which formed the view that a fighter biplane still had potential as a weapon of war . Consequently , in May 1939 , prior to Italy entering World War II , the CR . 32 fighters in " bis " , " ter " and " quater " versions , represented two thirds of all fighters in the " Regia Aeronautica " . A total of 288 were based in Italy and North Africa , while 24 were stationed in East Africa . When Italy declared war on Britain and France on 10 June 1940 , 36 " Freccias " together with 51 Fiat CR . 42 s formed the operational fighter force of the Regia Aeronautica in Libya . The first combat of the CR . 32 with British aircraft came the following day ; six CR . 32s intercepted a formation of Bristol Blenheim bombers attacking the airfield at El Adem , claiming two Blenheims shot down and the remaining four damaged ( compared with actual British losses of two Blenheims lost and two damaged ) , for no losses . The greatest wartime successes achieved by CR . 32 were in Italian East Africa . Here , 410a and 411a " Squadriglia " CR . 32s ( that represented half of all the fighters operative in the Italian colony ) destroyed a number of British and South African aircraft . Their opponents included Bristol Blenheims and Hawker Hurricane s and 410a " Squadriglia " managed to shoot down 14 enemy aircraft before being disbanded . The Fiats had their baptism of fire on 17 June , when the Cr . 32s of 411a " Squadriglia " , flown by " Tenente " Aldo Meoli and " Maresciallo " Bossi , attacked three Junkers Ju 86 from 12 SAAF squadron ( bound to bomb 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 skilful pilot the CR . 32 could still defeat faster , more powerful , better armed monoplanes . On 23 February 1941 , while he was attacking Makale airfield , flying a Hurricane , Maj Laurie Wilmot was bounced by ace Alberto Veronese on a Fiat biplane . Wilmot was forced to crash land ( and became a PoW ) . Soon after , Capt Andrew Duncan hit Veronese , who bailed out wounded . 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 163a " Squadriglia " , based in " Gadurrà " airport , on Rhodes island , took part in the occupation of Crete . CR . 32s of 3° " Gruppo " operated in Sardinia but in the period July – December 1940 , their number had fallen from 28 to seven serviceable aircraft . 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 . International use . China . The first international operator of the CR . 32 was Chiang Kai - shek for China that already in 1933 ordered 16 ( according to other sources 24 ) CR . 32s of the first series . The aircraft had Vickers 7 . 7 mm machine guns instead of the Breda - SAFAT , electric headlights , the little cooling fins on the oil tank in the nose were removed and some were equipped with radios . They were based at Nangahang airport , near Shanghai . Some officers of the Chinese high command disliked the Fiat , but Chinese pilots appreciated that the Italian biplanes in comparative tests proved superior to American Curtiss Hawk and Boeing P - 26 . The Chinese Government did not order more Fiats as it was difficult to import alcohol and benzole to mix with petrol for the engines . In May 1936 , only six " Freccias " were still operational . In August 1937 , the remaining CR . 32s were used with some initial success in Shanghai against the invading Japanese . By late 1937 when the Chinese capital at Nanjing fell , all Fiats had been lost . Austria . In spring 1936 45 CR . 32s were ordered by Austria to equip Jagdgeschwader II at Wiener Neustadt . But in March 1938 the Austrian units were absorbed into the Luftwaffe . After a brief period the 36 remaining aircraft were handed over to Hungary . Hungary . The Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő , the Royal Hungarian Air Force , acquired a total of 76 CR . 32s in 1935 and 1936 . MKHL Fiat biplanes had their baptisme of fire in 1939 , during the short conflict with the new state of Slovakia . The CR . 32s , with the red / white / green chevrons insignia , easily gained air superiority over the new Slovak Air Force that lost a few Avia B . 534 s and Letov S - 328 s . During the short conflict against Yugoslavia , in April 1941 , the MKHL lost three CR . 32s and , on 6 May 1941 , the Hungarian Air Force had still 69 Fiat CR . 32 on line . When , in June 1941 , the kingdom of Hungary declared war to Soviet Union , the CR . 32s equipped two of the units that supported the Hungarian Army on the Eastern Front : 1 . / I Group of 1st Fighter Wing , based in Szolnok , and 2 . / I Group , of 2nd Fighter Wing , based at Nyíregyháza . On 29 June , the first aerial combat over Hungary took place , when seven Tupolev SB - 2 bombers attacked the railway station of Csap and where intercepted by the Fiat CR . 32s from 2 / 3 Fighter squadron . The Fiat biplanes shot down three of the raiders , for no loss to themselves . South America . In 1938 , Venezuela acquired nine ( according to other sources , 10 aircraft ) CR . 32 " quater " s . Modifications included a larger radiator to assist engine cooling in tropical climate conditions . The aircraft were delivered to Maracay in the second half of 1938 and equipped the 1° " Regimiento de Aviación Militar del Venezuela " . With five CR . 32s still servicable , the aircraft were struck off charge in 1943 . A small number , estimated at four , went to Paraguay in 1938 . Five CR . 32 " quater " fighters ( registered 1 - 1 , 1 - 3 , 1 - 5 , 1 - 7 and 1 - 9 ) were assigned to 1 . a " Escuadrilla de Caza " of the Fuerzas Aéreas del Ejército Nacional del Paraguay . They did not arrive in time for military operations against Bolivia , but were in service for several years . Variants . The " Regia Aeronautica " ordered 1 , 080 CR . 32s ( including the two prototypes and 23 aircraft rebuilt by SCA factory in Guidonia , near Rome , plus 52 without military registry numbers for Hungary ) . With 100 more CR . 32quaters licence - built in Spain ( as the Hispano Ha . 132L " Chirri " ) , the total CR . 32 production numbers range from 1 , 306 to 1 , 332 examples . Survivor . The only remaining CR . 32 is preserved at the Italian Air Force Museum , Vigna di Valle .