This Awful WW1 Airplane Was Somehow Supposed to Win WW2 - CANT Z.501 Gabbiano

As conflict within Europe began to foment and a second World War loomed on the horizon, the top brass at the Regia Aeronautica, the Italian Royal Air Force, recognized that their airfleet was outdated in contrast to aircraft available to the other European powers. But rather than develop an air force that could be truly reckoned with, it seemed as if Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was more concerned about keeping up appearances. Mussolini wanted world records in Italian colors.

Thus, the Italian Air Marshal contacted famous Italian engineer Filippo Zappata to return from his life and work in France and begin work on a new series of aircraft, with an emphasis on setting new endurance and distance records for the purpose of Italian propaganda.

One of Zappata’s first new models, the CANT Z.501 Gabbiano, was a single-engine-powered flying boat capable of going distances no aircraft of its time had seen before. Its first flight was completed on February 7, 1934, and it certainly checked Mussolini’s boxes. It was bizarre in appearance, but got the headlines he desired. But when it came to actual combat, it quickly became apparent that functionality was overlooked.

The CANT Z.501 should have probably been considered obsolete by the start of World War 2. No matter, though. Slow, lightly armed, and made of wood, the Italians had no choice but to ride the CANT Z.501 into naval combat. The results were predictable. Nicknamed the ‘Gabbiano,’ or seagull, the plane ended up being more of a “sitting duck” against allied fighters. Italian pilots themselves called the CANT Z.501 “Mammaiuto,” or "Mamma help me!"

The plane did surprisingly find a useful purpose, however, as a rescue and reconnaissance aircraft. It is even rumored that either thanks to its renowned endurance capabilities or its incredibly slow speed, it may have caused at least one Allied fighter to run out of fuel or stall and crash into the sea...
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