Fiat C.R.42 Falco

The Fiat C.R.42 Falco was a famous Italian sesquiplane-type, single-seat, single-engine fighter and night fighter biplane with a fixed undercarriage and mixed (part metal and part canvas) metal structure, made by the famous Turin-based manufacturer in the late 1930s. It was used in World War II mainly by the Regia Aeronautica, but was also purchased by countries such as Belgium, Hungary, Finland and Sweden. The 'Falco', as the Italian aircraft was nicknamed, was the last biplane fighter in history to be built in series. Together with the British Gloster Gladiator and the Soviet Polikarpov I-15, (to which it was superior) it was also the last biplane fighter to fight in the Second World War and the last biplane in history to shoot down an enemy aircraft in 1945.