CANT Z.508, the swift giant.

ImportantSimone5 · April 6, 2024, 5:50pm

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CANT Z.508

History.

The CANT Z.508 was a high-wing, three-engined mid-hull seaplane developed by Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico (CRDA) in the 1930s. The aircraft was built to meet the specifications issued in 1934 by the Royal Navy, which had really liked the previous CANT Z.501, in order to be able to equip itself with a fast hydro-bomber and also a reconnaissance one. The aircraft was designed by the same designer as the Z.501, engineer Filippo Zappata, who decided to take up the idea and increase it in size. So on 17 November 1936 the first example (MM.322) of the aircraft made its first flight. The following year the aircraft achieved aeronautical records, even towing ten tons of useful load and reaching a maximum speed of 248 km/h with this weight. The first example was tested for a long time with the civilian serial number I-VECC, but with the outbreak of the civil war in Spain all three examples built up to then were assigned to the 171st Squadron with reconnaissance roles. One of the examples was lost in one of these operations and the other two examples remained in service until 1941, when they were both retired due to age.

Armaments and propulsion.

As for armament, the aircraft appears to have been armed with three machine guns, but not at the same time. Probably more solutions were tested, but in total the aircraft was armed with two 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns placed in two turrets (one placed behind and one above the wing) and one 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun placed in the front. The armament thus making it similar to the CANT Z.501. Furthermore, the Z.508 could load up to 1,000 kg of bombs as it was designed as a bomber aircraft.
As for engines, the aircraft was equipped with three Isotta Fraschini Asso XI RC.40 engines with 860 HP of power each. With these powerful engines the plane could reach a maximum speed of 315 km/h.

Specifications.

Spoiler

Crew: 5-6
Wingspan: 30 m
Wing area: 62 m²
Length: 21.82 m
Height: 4.43 m
Engines: 3x Isotta Fraschini Asso XI RC.40 (860 HP each one)
Maximum weight: 10,400 kg
Maximum speed: 315 km/h
Service range: 3,000 km
Service ceiling: 7,200 m
Armaments: 2x Breda-SAFAT 7.7 mm, 1x Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm and 1,000 kg of bombs

Pictures and drawnings.

Spoiler