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 Cantiere Navale Triestino – abbreviated CNT, or in English Trieste Naval Shipyard – was a private shipbuilding company based at Monfalcone operating in the early 20th century. The yard still functions today, though under a different name. His ...

'', 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 ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

, 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 (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain ...

(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 Italian Air Force) using

CANT 7 __NOTOC__ The CANT 7 was a flying boat and training aircraft that was produced in Italy in the 1920s. It was a conventional biplane design with single-bay, unstaggered wings of equal span, with the single engine mounted below the upper wing. The ...

and

CANT 18 The CANT 18 was a flying boat trainer developed in Italy in the 1920s to prepare pilots for flying boat airliners. A development of the CANT 7, it incorporated various aerodynamic and hydrodynamic refinements. While remaining broadly similar i ...

biplanes; from 1926 it added airline services, using the

CANT 10 The CANT 10 was a flying boat airliner produced in Italy in the 1920s. It was a conventional biplane design with single-bay, unstaggered wings of equal span, having seating for four passengers within the hull, while the pilot sat in an open ...

and CANT 22 cabin seaplanes. The main designer was

Raffaele Conflenti Raffaele Conflenti (4 December 1889 – 16 July 1946) was an Italian aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer. During his career, he worked for some of the most important seaplane manufacturers in Italy and designed a large number of aircraft in ...

. 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 Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico ("United Shipbuilders of the Adriatic") was an Italian manufacturer in the sea and air industry which was active from 1930 to 1966. This shipyard is now owned by Fincantieri. History In 1930, Stabilimento Tecnic ...

'' - United Adriatic Shipbuilding), but aircraft continued to use the CANT designation. In 1933, C.R.D.A. was acquired by state conglomerate IRI, and

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Due to his young a ...

persuaded

Filippo Zappata Filippo Zappata (6 July 1894 – 30 August 1994) was an Italian engineer and aircraft designer. Zappata was born in Ancona. He worked for Gabardini, Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (CANT), Blériot, Breda, and Agusta, In the 1930s he designed ...

, 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 The CANT Z.501 ''Gabbiano'' (Italian language, Italian: ''Gull'') was a high-wing central-hull flying boat, with two outboard floats. It was powered by a single engine installed in the middle of the main-planeAngelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 18 ...

(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 Breda, 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. Not surprising, none of these types became operational before the

Italian armistice The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

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 22 * CANT 25 *

CANT 26 The CANT 26 was an Italian two-seat biplane trainer built by CANT. Design and development The CANT 26 was an unusual product of CANT as it was a landplane. It was a two-seat biplane with tailwheel landing gear and powered by a 60 kW (80&nb ...

CANT 36 The CANT 36 was a trainer developed in Italy in the 1930s. It was a conventional design with fixed tailskid undercarriage and accommodation for the pilot and instructor in tandem, open cockpits. Intended for advanced training, it was equipped ...

CANT 37 The CANT 37 was an Italian reconnaissance flying boat built by CANT in the early 1930s. Design and development The CANT 37 was a classic center-shaped seaplane; biplane, single-seater, and single-engine in pushing configuration. The hull was c ...

CANT Z.506 The CANT Z.506 ''Airone'' ( Italian: Heron) was a trimotor floatplane produced by CANT from 1935. It served as a transport and postal aircraft with the Italian airline "Ala Littoria". It established 10 world records in 1936 and another 10 in 19 ...

* CANT Z.508 * CANT Z.509 *

CANT Z.511 The CANT Z.511 was a four-engine long-range seaplane designed by Filippo Zappata of the "Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico" (CRDA) company. Originally designed for the Central and South Atlantic passenger routes, it was later adapted as a military ...

* CANT Z.515 * CANT Z.1007 * CANT Z.1010 * CANT Z.1011 * CANT Z.1012 *

CANT Z.1018 The CRDA CANT Z.1018 ''Leone'' (Lion) was an Italian medium bomber of the 1940s. Design and development In 1939, the ''Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Air Force) initiated its ''R Plan'', or ''3,000 airplanes'', a campaign to quickly increase its ...

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