CRDA Cant Z.506
| CANT Z.506C | |
|---|---|
|
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| Type: | Passenger aircraft , multi-purpose aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini (CANT) |
| First flight: |
August 19, 1935 |
| Commissioning: |
1936 |
| Production time: |
1935-1942 |
| Number of pieces: |
363 |
The Cant Z.506 Airone was an Italian three-engine floatplane manufactured by Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini (CANT). It was used both in the role of a reconnaissance and sea rescue aircraft and as a passenger aircraft (a total of 363 including 1 prototype built).
history
The prototype was manufactured with the registration number I-CANT and three Pratt & Whitney R-1690s with 700 hp each. The first flight of the prototype took place on August 19, 1935. The engines of the Z.506 C (C stands for Cyclone or Civile) were initially three Wright R-1820 Cyclone with 750 hp, later three Alfa Romeo engines 126 RC.34 with same performance. The four-man crew consisted of two pilots, an on-board mechanic and a radio operator. It could carry 12 to 16 passengers. The Ala Littoria flew the aircraft with 14 passenger seats and a toilet. The Ala Littoria took over five aircraft in 1936, two aircraft in 1937 and another twelve Z.506 from 1938 to 1940. Of these, three were lost due to accidents before the Italian entry into the war. Another aircraft was delivered to Italo Balbo as a personal aircraft in 1938 . The aircraft were used on the Ala Littoria routes in the Mediterranean. The bomber version was manufactured as the Z.506 B (Bombardamento) and was first used in the Spanish Civil War.
When Italy entered the war, Squadrilia 612a and 614a of the Regia Aeronautica were equipped with a total of eleven Ala Littoria aircraft. She kept four aircraft herself for civil traffic. In 1941 three, in 1942 another 13 Z.506 Cs were delivered to Ala Littoria. At least seven aircraft were lost to enemy action by 1943. On July 24, 1943, the I-DIGO was shot down near Sardinia by Allied aircraft, killing the four-man crew and all 16 passengers. Other aircraft fell victim to accidents.
On July 31, 1943, twelve Z.506 Cs were left. Until the Italian armistice on September 3, 1943 one of them was probably destroyed. In October 1943, Deutsche Lufthansa confiscated ten aircraft of this type. At the request of the sea commander Adria, the aircraft were used by Lufthansa with German civil registrations on the Venice - Trieste - Fiume - Zara route. One of the aircraft was bombed in early 1944, the remaining nine were handed over to the Air Force in April 1944. After September 1943, one aircraft flew with Aeronautica Co-Belligerente on the side of the Allies. This was the only civil aircraft to survive the end of the war and was not scrapped until the 1950s. The last surviving machine is in the Vigna di Valle Aviation Museum .
Technical specifications
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| Parameter | Z.506B |
|---|---|
| length | 19.24 m |
| span | 26.50 m |
| height | 7.45 m |
| Wing area | 86.26 m² |
| Wing extension | 8.1 |
| Empty mass | 8,750 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 12,705 kg |
| Top speed | 350 km / h |
| Summit height | 7,000 m |
| Range | 2,000 km |
| Engines | 3 × Alfa Romeo 126 RC.34 |
| Armament | 1 × 12.7 mm machine gun, 3 × 7.7 mm machine gun, up to 1,200 kg bomb load |
