CR.30

The Fiat CR.30 was an Italian biplane fighter that first flew in 1928. Designed by Celestino Rosatelli for the Regia Aeronautica, it represented the shift from World War I‑era machines to more modern, higher‑performance types. Powered by a 490 hp Fiat A.20 V‑12 engine, the CR.30 reached about 300 km/h (186 mph) and featured a sleek angular fuselage, staggered wings with slight sweep, and a nose‑mounted radiator. Its armament consisted of two 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns synchronized to fire through the propeller arc.

Only a batch of sixty‑seven airframes was built, but the type served as a trainer and aerobatic platform for Italian pilots throughout the early 1930s. It equipped several squadrons of the Regia Aeronautica's training schools, where pilots honed combat maneuvers and familiarized themselves with emerging high‑speed flight characteristics. The CR.30’s agility in tight turns earned it a reputation as an excellent aerobatic aircraft, and it was often displayed at air shows in Italy and abroad. Though rapidly superseded by monoplanes such as the CR.32, the CR.30 marked an important step in Fiat’s fighter development, showing the firm’s ability to evolve engine and airframe technology during a pivotal era of aviation.