CANSA F.C.20

In 1943 Italian Air Force searched desperately for a heavy fighter able to intercept allied bombers over South Italy. Being F.C.20 not very outstanding as a recon aircraft, FIAT /CANSA managed to convert two of them in prototypes for the new version.
The first had glazed nose with a handed operated 37 mm. gun; the other, solid nose with the same but automatic gun.
It seems true that their performances avoided them to intercept anything flying over Naples at the ceiling usually reached by American B-17 and B-24; even if a pilot, I casually knew more or less thirty years ago, sweared he shot down one.
And yes: this picture (and that inserted for the CANSA 12) is a FIAT C.R.25...

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The plane shown here is a CR-25.The F.C.20 had a glazed nose with a big gun sticking out of it.

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Is this picture not from a Fiat CR.25 !!!
The CANSA FC.20 is a total differend aircraft,stil with two engines but stil completele diferent ...

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Cansa FC.20 was created by engineer Mosso. Originally conceived for terrestrial reconnaissance became subsequently a reconnaissance /attack aircraft. It was equipped with a quite powerful armament: a 37 mm gun in the nose, 3 machine-guns (2 on the wings and one in a dorsal turret) and 250 kg of bombs (tipically incendiary). It had a metallic structure and 2 engines FIAT A74 RC38 with 14 cylinders air cooled of 840 HP each that made it reach a speed of 420 kmh. It had a very long set-up so that the first aircraft was operative only in March 1943 followed by few others planes (8 or 10) before armistice arrived.
Here are some data of CANSA FC.20:

WEIGHTS
Take-off weight 6820 kg
Operating empty weight 4770 kg

DIMENSIONS
Wingspan 16 m
Length 12.18 m
Height 4.03 m
Wing area 40 m2
PERFORMANCE
Max. speed 420 km /h
Ceiling 7350 m
Range 1150 km

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this is not a picture of the cansa fc 20 but of the fiat cr 25

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