CANT (''Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini'', the Trieste Shipbuilding and Naval Aeronautics; also sometimes labelled C.R.D.A. CANT) was an Italian aviation company which originally specialised in building naval aircraft, formed in 1923 as part of the CNT ('' Cantiere Navale Triestino'', or in English Trieste Naval Shipyard). The company produced a number of designs for the Italian military, but ceased operations in 1944.

History

In 1921, the Cosulich family of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, owners of CNT decided to enter the aviation business. Already active in shipping and shipbuilding, they followed the same pattern by establishing first an air taxi service (SISA, 1921) and then a seaplane workshop at

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Venetian language#Regional variants, Bisiacco: ; ; ; archaic ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia, Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Tr ...

(within the existing shipyard) in 1923. The first successful design was the CANT 6 a three-engine biplane flying-boat bomber built in 1925. SISA trained pilots for the

Regia Aeronautica The Royal Italian Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') (RAI) was the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Regio Esercito, Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was ...

(the Italian Air Force) using CANT 7 and CANT 18 biplanes; from 1926 it added airline services, using the CANT 10 and CANT 22 cabin seaplanes. The main designer was Raffaele Conflenti. The workshops survived on license production and prototypes. In 1930, CNT merged with other shipyards to form the C.R.D.A. ('' Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico'' - United Adriatic Shipbuilding), but aircraft continued to use the CANT designation. In 1933, C.R.D.A. was acquired by state conglomerate

IRI IRI or I.R.I. refers to: Businesses and organizations * Iringa Airport, an airport in Tanzania serving Iringa and the surrounding Iringa Region by IATA airport code * India Rejuvenation Initiative, an Indian anti-corruption organization form ...

, and

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian ...

persuaded Filippo Zappata, then working with Blériot, to become chief designer. In the following nine years, CANT flew 18 new types that garnered 40 world records; it also added a landplane factory, test department, and airfield as the workforce grew from 350 to 5,000. The CANT Z.501 (1934) and Z.506 (1935) seaplanes, and the Z.1007 landplane bomber (1937) became the standard Italian types in their categories. Zappata saw wooden airplanes as a temporary necessity, and his new designs were conceived with all-metal construction, including the Z.1018 bomber twin, Z.511 four-engine floatplane airliner, and Z.515 twin floatplane. Around 1939 Zappata became disillusioned with CANT and started negotiating with

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, which he joined in 1942; in addition, military requirements fluctuated. The Z.1018 started in wood as "flying mockup", developed as a very different wooden preseries, and metamorphosed into metal for production with bomber, torpedo-bomber, and night-fighter variants. None of these types became operational before the

Italian armistice The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

in 1943. The ensuing German occupation and

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

raids in March–April 1944 stopped all production, and only the shipyard was rebuilt after the war.

Aircraft

* CANT 6 * CANT 7 * CANT 10 * CANT 18 * CANT 22 * CANT 25 *

CANT 26 The CANT 26 was an Italian two-seat biplane Trainer (aircraft), trainer built by Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini, CANT. Design and development The CANT 26 was an unusual product of CANT as it was a landplane. It was a two-seat biplane wi ...

* CANT 36 * CANT 37 * CANT Z.501 * CANT Z.506 * CANT Z.508 * CANT Z.509 * CANT Z.511 * CANT Z.515 * CANT Z.1007 * CANT Z.1010 * CANT Z.1011 * CANT Z.1012 * CANT Z.1018

References

Sources

*''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)'', 1985, Orbis Publishing
{{CANT aircraft Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Italy