The CANT Z.515 was a twin engine

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

designed and built for maritime reconnaissance in Italy at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It did not go into service.

Design and development

The Z.515 (Z denoting a Zappata design) was the result of a requirement for a reconnaissance

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

with light bombing capability. It was smaller and lighter than the established CANT Z.506 reconnaissance bomber, which was a three engine aircraft. The Z.515 was a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

low wing monoplane with straight tapered wings of noticeable dihedral and rounded tips. There were flaps inboard of the

ailerons 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 ...

. Twin 560 kW (750 hp) V-12

Isotta-Fraschini Delta The Delta was a 12-cylinder inverted-V aircraft engine built by Isotta Fraschini prior to and during World War II.Gunston 1989, p.82. Design and development The Delta is a fairly rare example of a large air-cooled inline engine, which normally ha ...

engines were mounted well forward of the

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

with their thrust line in the wing plane. The fairings behind engine mountings on the wing underside extended aft to near the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

; the rear engine mounting also supported the forward attachment points for the rearward sloping, N-form struts to the two long, single stepped floats. The floats were laterally braced by inverted-V struts to the bottom of the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

. The Z.515's

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

was mounted on top of the fuselage with greater dihedral than the wing and carrying endplate

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

s. The horizontal surfaces were straight tapered and the

elevators An elevator (American English) or lift (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive tracti ...

, like the

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

s had

trim tabs Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the boat or aircraft in a pa ...

. The vertical surfaces were almost elliptical, split roughly equally between fin and unbalanced rudder. The lower nose of the Z.515 was completely glazed, with the long cockpit largely forward of the wing leading edge. There was a low dorsal machine gun turret at mid-chord and three further lower calibre machine guns. Up to 600 kg (1,320 lb) of bombs could be carried. The CANT Z.515 first flew in 1939 but was not developed further. Some sources suggest a first flight date of 8 or 9 July 1940. 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 ...

approved the production of the Z.515 in 1941 with 64 aircraft ordered from CANT, and 50 from Aeronautica Sicula, a company in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. Only ten were completed.

Operators

; *

Specifications

References

{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation Z.0515 Floatplanes 1930s Italian bomber aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft