Italian Forces

Ala Littoria Communications Unit

One of the CRDA Cant-Z-506 “Airone” (Heron) civil floatplanes of Ala Littoria S.A., the most important airline of Italy of the last Thirties of XX Century, embedded on Italian Regia Aeronautica’s Nucleo Comunicazioni Ala Littoria (Ala Littoria Communications Unit) just after the Italian declaration of the war (10 June 1940). The aircraft is I-DOTE, by the Italian Civil Register Aircraft indicated as Cant Z-506C Airone III, owner Ala Littoria S.A. construction number 3550, certificate of registration Number 2262 released on 21 July 1938, owner Ala Littoria, Lido di Roma. The I-DOTE, in this photo perhaps took on first months of 1940, has still the pre-war livery, all upper sufaces wine-red, of the Ala Littoria’s CZ-506, with the tricolor on the fuselage of the Non-belligerent Italy, Italian flag on the fin and under (but without the Casa Savoia’s insignia) and black letter I (Italy) on the rudder. Many former commercial Cant-Z-506 was employed by the Italian Air Force as search-and-rescue aircraft. Victor Sierra