Fiat CR.1

The Fiat CR.1 was an Italian biplane fighter of the 1920s, designed by Celestino Rosatelli, from whom the CR designation comes. Built of wood and fabric, its most distinctive feature was a lower wing longer than the upper one. Two prototypes, the MM.1 and MM.2, were built for the Regia Aeronautica with different Hispano-Suiza piston engines, and they proved more manoeuvrable and faster than the competing SIAI S.52. Production was shared between Fiat, OFM of Naples and SIAI, and 240 aircraft entered Italian service from 1925. Latvia bought nine for its naval aviation, and Italian examples based on Rhodes were withdrawn from active service in 1937.