Design and Development
Regia Aeronautica requested two prototype aircraft of Fiat in the early 1920s. The results were designated MM.1 and MM.2, identical except for rudder (one had a rounded, counterbalanced rudder) and engines (they had differing marks of Hispano-Suiza piston engine).
The airplane was a biplane of conventional layout, with fixed tailskid landing gear and open cockpit, with the pilot's head aligned with the trailing edge of the upper wing. The V8 engine powered a fixed-pitch two-blade wooden propeller. The landing gear had a fixed axle between the wheels. It carried two synchronized 7.7 mm (.303 in) Vickers machine guns firing through the propeller arc.
The two prototypes were evaluated against another biplane fighter, the SIAI S.52, and proved superior in maneuverability and top speed. Accordingly, contracts were issued to three Italian companies for three batches of production aircraft, to be designated CR.1:
- 109 units to be built by Fiat;
- 40 units to be built by OFM of Napoli;
- 100 units to be built by SIAI.
After two pre-production prototypes were again flight-tested, a total of 240 units were placed in Italian military service, beginning in 1925.
Read more about this topic: Fiat CR.1
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