The twin-engined CANT Z.1011 was one of two bombers of about the same size and powered by the same engines, designed by Filippo Zappata in the mid-1930s. The other was the three-engined

CANT Z.1007 The CANT Z.1007 ''Alcione'' (''Kingfisher'') was an Italian three-engined medium bomber, with wooden structure. Designed by Filippo Zappata, who also designed the CANT Z.506De Marchi and Tonizzo 1994, p. 27. it had "excellent flying characteri ...

, which in the end was the type preferred by the

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

Design and development

The CANT Z.1011 was a low wing cantilever monoplane with a wooden structure. The wings had three wooden

spars The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve, also known as the SPARS (SPARS was the acronym for "Semper Paratus—Always Ready"), was the women's branch of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. It was established by the United States ...

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

and

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

ribs and plywood covering. The whole trailing edge was occupied by

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

s and inboard flaps. The fuselage was flat sided with plywood covering. The tailplane, placed on top of the fuselage, was braced to it with pairs of parallel struts and carried twin fins and rudders. The fins were braced to the tailplane by further pairs of struts on their inner sides. The fixed tail surfaces were again plywood covered but the control surfaces were covered in fabric. The engines were conventionally wing mounted and the main legs and wheels of the tailwheel undercarriage retracted rearwards into cowling extensions behind them. Mainwheels were fitted with brakes. The enclosed pilots' compartment was over the leading edge of the wing, with a

bomb-aimer A bombardier or bomb aimer is the crew member of a bomber aircraft responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs. "Bomb aimer" was the preferred term in the military forces of the Commonwealth, while "bombardier" (from the French word for "bom ...

's position in the nose. There were dorsal and ventral gunner's positions respectively over and aft of the wing, each equipped with twin

machine guns A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

. The Z.1011 made its first flight on 2 March 1936 powered by 710 kW (950 hp)

Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major The Gnome-Rhône 14K ''Mistral Major'' was a 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial engine. It was Gnome-Rhône's major aircraft engine prior to World War II, and matured into a highly sought-after design that would see licensed production ...

RC radial engines, but these were soon replaced with 610 kW (820 hp) V-12 Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI.RCs. Five Z.1011 prototypes were built before the Regia Aeronautica chose to order the three-engined Z.1007. After that decision the Z.1011 was used as a transport.

Gallery

Cant Z.1011 3.jpg, Rear viCockpit2 Cant Z.1011.JPG, Side view

Operators

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Specifications

References

{{CANT aircraft 1930s Italian bomber aircraft Z.1011 Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1936 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft