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Fiat BR20 being waved off to attack Britain
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Fiat BR20 being waved off to attack Britain

Fiat BR20 being waved off to attack Britain from Belgium
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Source: wikipedia

History

The BR.20 was first flown at Turin in 1936, and shortly after this first flight the aircraft became central to the propaganda campaign showcasing Italian engineering achievements. In 1937 two stripped down BR.20s were built for entry into the prestigious Istres-Damascus air race, however they were only able to gain sixth and seventh place, respectively. In 1939, a modified long range version of the BR.20 under the command of Maner Lualdi made a highly publicised nonstop flight from Rome to Addis Ababa.
85 BR.20s were sold to Japan, and saw action in the Second Sino-Japanese War. However, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force was dissatisfied with their performance and soon replaced them with Mitsubishi Ki-21s. A single example was sold to Venezuela.
BR.20s fought briefly in the Spanish Civil War, and were used in bombing raids over Teruel and Ebro. Nine of them took part in the Nationalist air parade in Madrid at the war's close. The BR.20s that had served in Civil War were given to the Spanish government at the end of the conflict.
By the time Italy had entered World War II, a new variant of the BR.20, the BR.20M, had been produced. The BR.20M had a completely different nose section, with added glazed sections for the bombardier. The machine gun had also been removed. 264 BR.20Ms had been built when production ceased in 1942.
The aircraft fought in the brief campaign against France, and also served with the Corpo Aereo Italiano stationed in Belgium, which aided the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. BR.20s were involved in both day and night raids against Ipswich, Ramsgate and Harwich.
During the course of the war, BR.20s were used in North Africa, Albania, Greece and Malta. They were also used extensively in Yugoslavia against Tito's partisans. By 1943, when the Italian armistice was signed, many had been relegated to training work at bomber schools, though 81 were with first line operational units, mostly in the Balkans and Italy itself.
The final production variant was the BR.20bis, with a fully glazed nose, a retractable tail wheel, a more streamlined fuselage, pointed vertical tail surfaces, improved performance, and much heavier armament. 15 of these were built from March to July 1943.
Experimental versions included the BR.20C, with a 37mm cannon in the nose.

Fiat BR.20 Description ​
Role: Bomber and transportCrew
First Flight February 10, 1936
Entered Service1937
ManufacturerFiat
Dimensions ​
Length 16.1 m52 ft 9 in
Wingspan 21.56 m70 ft 8 in
Height 4.3 m14 ft 1 in
Wing area74 m796.5
Weights Empty 6400 kg14,110 lb
Powerplant Engine 2x Fiat A.80 RC.41
Power1,492 kW 2,000 hp
Performance Maximum speed 432 km/h268 mph
Combat range 3000 km 1,864 miles
Service ceiling 9000 m 23,530 ft
Armament Guns 1x 12.7mm machine gun 2x 7.7mm machine guns
Bombs 1,600 kg 3,527 lb
 

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