Aviation of World War II
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Aviation of World War II |
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Br.20 "Cicogna"Medium BomberFiat
Fiat BR.20 from 230-th squadron of 35-th mixed airgroup of the Italian forwarding corps in Spain, 1938.
When Italy entered World War II, it the was armed with four type B.R. 20. At the end of 1939, the prototype B.R. 20M was assembled: this variant (M - modified) embodied some of the external improvements resulting from the experience of the Spanish Civil War. With the same Fiat A.80 RC41 engines, the M variant had an elongated fuselage with an aerodynamically clean nose and a new defensive point. The un-sized wing has been reinforced to withstand strong vibration from the propulsion system. When the M variant entered service, the early vehicles were gradually modified to the B.R.20M standard or transferred to secondary tasks as training. In 1940, including export vehicles, about 240 standard B.R. 20s were produced, and on 1/11/39, the RA had 148 vehicles in service. By 10.6.40, the B.R.20 fleet was equal to 162 aircraft (slightly more than a third of them were B.R.20M), serving in four storms. The latest modification was the BR-20bis (15 vehicles) with two 1250-horsepower A-82 RC.42S radial engines, a modified nose compartment, two 7.7-mm machine guns in the side windows and a remotely controlled upper turret. In 1943, Fiat began producing the B.R.20bis at Aeritalia factories. The first prototype B.R.20bis was tested in late 1940. The second prototype took off in 1942 with Fiat A.82 RC32 engines with more streamlined bonnets. The B.R.20bis had the same features as its predecessor, featuring greatly improved aerodynamics of the elongated fuselage and a nose similar to that of the He 111. The main difference was in the armament: it increased to five machine guns. Three 12.7 mm SAFAT machine guns, one of which was located on the upper fuselage turret, which had a hydraulic drive, supplemented by a pair of 7.7 mm machine guns in two side blisters. In the bomb compartment, 1000 kg of bombs were suspended. Although the aircraft represented a major improvement over the earlier B.R.20, with improved crew protection and aerodynamic performance superior to the B.R.20M, production was hampered by a number of technical and indirect problems. In the summer of 1943, the Aeritalia plant was bombed. Apparently 12 or 15 vehicles of this type managed to enter the squadrons, which in the second half of 1943 were still armed with the old Fiat aircraft. |
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