Italian Forces

A fighter’s transport

IMC Archives

An Italian fighter Fiat CR.42 disassembled and boarded in the fuselage of a transport aircraft Savoia-Marchetti S.82 “Marsupiale” (Marsupial) for the long and difficult ferry flight from Italy to Ethiopia. The goal of this missions was the delivery of CR.42s and spare engines to Italian fighter units fighting in AOI, Africa Orientale Italiana (Italian East Africa). The large three engine plane, equipped for the long range missions with a 1,300 L (340 US gal) auxiliary tank, was able to transport a CR.42 complete plus a spare engine. The first delivery flight of a CR.42 was made on 23 August 1940 with takeoff from Guidonia (Rome) to Gura, via Benghazi. By April 1941, 51 CR.42s and 51 spare engines had been delivered without losses. Victor Sierra