Early Development Efforts
In the mid-1920s, designers at the Fiat company made a series of efforts to improve the flight characteristics of the CR.1 fighter. The main measures involved the installation of new, more powerful engines.
The CR.10 Prototype
The CR.10 represented an attempt to fit a Fiat A 20 twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled engine, rated at 410 hp, onto the CR.1 fuselage. Despite minor changes, the overall fuselage design remained unaltered. The first (and only) prototype took to the air for the first time in 1925.
Testing and Ultimate Failure
Immediately after the comparative tests, it became clear that the CR.10’s performance was inferior to that of the all-metal CR.20. There was an attempt to convert it into a float fighter, the CR.10 Idro, but this also ended unsuccessfully.
Technical Specifications
| Modification | CR.10 |
| Wingspan, m | 8.95 |
| Length, m | 6.16 |
| Height, m | 2.40 |
| Wing area, m2 | 23.00 |
| Empty weight | 870 |
| Normal takeoff weight | 1185 |
| Engine type | 1 Piston engine Fiat A 20 |
| Power, hp | 1 x 410 |
| Maximum speed, km/h | 300 |
| Cruising speed, km/h | 275 |
| Flight endurance, h.min | 2.25 |
| Rate of climb, m/min | 351 |
| Crew, crew members | 1 |
| Armament: | 2 forward-firing synchronized 7.7-mm Vickers machine guns |
Image gallery of the Fiat CR.10
