The
Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini (CANT)
Z.1007 Alcione (Kingfisher) medium bomber based on the
Z.506 Airone (Heron) seaplane were amongst the largest wooden aircraft to see combat during the 20th Century. Both designed by
Filippo Zappata (1894-1994) they flew well though Z.1007 airframes suffered badly from adverse climatic conditions in North Africa and Russia. Regarded by some aero historians as the best Italian bomber of WWII Alciones flew with the Regia Aeronautica Italia (RAI), Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, Aviazione Cobelligerante Italiana, Luftwaffe, Croatian Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske and Free French.
In 1935 Zappa designed the three-engine
Monoderiva (single-tail) Z.1007 and twin-engine
Bideriva (twin-tail)
Z.1011 powered by
Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI inlines first flying in March 1937 (MM.337) one year after the Z.1011, twenty-nine months after the
Z.506 Airliner (MM.291). The Z.1007’s design & performance was clearly superior to the Z.1011 leading to the RAI ordering 18 aircraft on January 9, 1936 and a further 16 on February 23, 1937 deliveries taking place February-October 1939. Before they were constructed Zappata initiated a major redesign of the Z.1007 to resolve problems with Asso-powered aircraft as the
Z.1007bis, e.g. longer wings of greater span & area, Piaggio P.XI radial engines, heavier offensive & defensive armament though empty weight increased by 1,280lb maximum takeoff 1,960lb.
The mid-wing Z.1007 Asso & Z.1007bis, latter with fully retractable three-point landing gear, was aerodynamically cleaner than its contemporary the mixed steel tube & sheet, wood & fabric
Savoia-Marchetti S.79 with semi-retractable & exposed landing geared though its wooden construction entailed having to employ specialized woodworking labor. The improved Z.1007bis first flew in July 1939 as part of an 8 aircraft pre-production order (MM.21221-21228) testing proving successful the RAI subsequently ordering large scale production; 466 aircraft in 11 Serie between January 1940 and December 1942.
The BroPlan Z.1007 Asso Model KitScalemates.com currently lists six 1/48th & 1/72 scale model kits of the Z.1007bis
BroPlan of Poland alone offering the 1/72nd Z.1007 Asso vacuform styrene plastic kit with injected plastic detail parts, total no-brainer I'd
have to build one despite only having built one vacuform model previously of the
Vac Wings 72 Flugtechnische Fertigungs Gemeinshaft 227 (Czech Flugtechnische Fertigungsgemeinschaft Prag actually built it), quarter scale
Blohm und Voss BV 238 research aircraft in 1982:
Kit was terrible; thick plastic & wide mold corners made cutting out parts difficult, propellers had to putty backfilled, thin transparent canopy hard to glue on though this decades before using ethyl cyanoacetate glues, did complete it but thought
"Never Again!" on vacuforms till did the BroPlan Z.1007 Asso kit which despite being a challenging build came out better than had expected. A detailed article regarding the model build is being composed for the
STORMO Magazine website photos of it already having been posted there, appreciating that this was the first vacuform model kit build of mine in 38 years thought it be of interest to folks here on Beyond The Sprues.