Early service When, near the end of 1936, the
13° Stormo Bombardamento Terrestre (in
Lonate Pozzolo) was equipped with the "Cicognas" it was probably the most modern bombing unit in the world at that time. Shortly after entering service with the
Regia Aeronautica, the aircraft became central to the
propaganda campaign lauding Italian engineering. During 1937, a pair of stripped-down BR.20s, designated as the
BR.20A, were custom-built for entry into the prestigious
Istres–
Damascus air race; these aircraft were able to obtain sixth and seventh place in the race while rivals S.M.79s achieved the first place, the Fiat-built bomber being obviously slower. The BR.20A featured a rounded nose, similar to civil aircraft, while all of the normal military hardware, such as defensive turrets, had been removed. In its place, the internal fuel capacity was increased to , bringing the maximum range to . During 1939, a modified long-range BR.20 version, designated as the
BR.20L, named
Santo Francesco under the command of
Maner Lualdi performed a highly publicised non-stop flight from
Rome to
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, during which an average speed of was recorded. The modified aircraft carried of fuel which increased its range from to . The BR.20L was also used to test a newly developed
autopilot built by
Microtecnica.
Spain blending in with the ground below During the mid- to late- 1930s, the
Spanish Civil War was waged between right-wing
nationalist and left-wing
Republican factions. However, the conflict quickly led to the
Great Powers of the era participating to various degrees in support of their favoured side. The civil war became a testing ground for the latest military equipment of the Italians,
Germans,
French,
British,
Americans, and
Soviets. As a by-product of this involvement, rapid advances in bomber development were achieved during this period. During June 1937, Italy deployed six of its newly delivered BR.20 bombers to
Tablada, outside
Seville,
Spain, for use by the
Aviazione Legionaria as a part of its contribution in support of
Francisco Franco's Nationalist forces in the
Spanish Civil War. On 15 November 1937, the newly operational squadron commenced daily missions against Republican targets, usually without the support of a fighter escort. During April 1938, the bomber force flew many missions during the
Battle of the Ebro. In July 1938, the BR.20's role was expanded to include photo reconnaissance missions due to the accuracy and high quality of its A.G.R.61 camera. During July 1938, a further seven aircraft were dispatched to Spain. During the civil war, the type had frequently participated in bombing raids across various areas of the nation, including the
Teruel and
Ebro; during these engagements, the BR.20 proved to be a sturdy and accurate bomber. When flown at an operational altitude of 13,000 ft, the BR.20s were fast enough to generally avoid interception by Republican-aligned aircraft such as the
Polikarpov I-15 and
Polikarpov I-16 fighters that were unable to challenge the BR.20. Losses were very low; nine of the 13 BR.20s sent to Spain survived to the end of the war when they were handed over to the
Spanish State to serve with the
Ejército del Aire (EdA). While the
Cicognas was successful in the theatre, just 13 examples were sent to Spain compared to at least 99 SM.79s, which meant that the
Sparviero was almost the Italian standard bomber, especially on day missions.
Japan In July 1937, when Japan entered into full-scale war with China (the
Second Sino-Japanese War), the
Japanese Army Air Force found itself short of modern long-range bombers, pending the delivery of the
Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" which was undergoing prototype trials at the time, and thus required the interim purchase of aircraft from abroad. Italy was willing to give priority to any Japanese orders over its own requirements, and it offered both the
Caproni Ca.135 and the BR.20 bombers in order to meet their needs. Following an evaluation of both aircraft by the Japanese, it was determined that while the Caproni could not meet the Japanese requirements, the BR.20 closely matched the specification. In addition, the BR.20 had acquired a positive reputation as a relatively fast and durable aircraft in combat during the
Spanish Civil War. Accordingly, during late 1937, an initial order was placed by Japan for 72 BR.20s; this order was soon followed by another for a further 10 bombers. During early 1938, the first BR.20 were shipped to
Dalian,
Liaoning, in Japanese-controlled
Northeast China, after which they were transported on for assembly and flight testing purposes. In Japanese service, the BR.20 (designated the I-Type (
Yi-shiki)) was used to supplement and eventually replace the obsolete
Mitsubishi Ki-1, equipping a pair of bomber groups (the 12th and 98th
Sentai) located in
Manchuria. The I-Type was heavily deployed on long-range bombing missions against Chinese cities and supply centers during the winter of 1938–39. The BR.20s were operating with no fighter cover at the extremes of their range and consequently incurred heavy losses from Chinese fighters, as did the early Ki-21s that shared the long-range bombing tasks. The fabric-covered surfaces were viewed as vulnerable, even if the main structure of this aircraft was noticeably robust. Apostolo stated of the negative coverage: "This may not have in fact been true, as the BR.20s had a metal-skinned wing and not fabric covering as claimed in the Japanese Press at the time". Amongst Japanese pilots, the aircraft was considered to possess unsatisfactory range and defensive armament; however, the first Ki-21s that entered service were not much better, except for their all-metal construction and the potential for further development when better engines became available (both types initially used two 746 kW/1,000 hp engines). The 12th
Sentai was redeployed to the
Mongolian-Manchurian border to fight in the
Battle of Khalkhin Gol, but, when this conflict ended in September 1939, the BR.20s were progressively withdrawn and replaced by the Ki-21. Despite having been phased out from operational service, the BR.20 was allocated the
Allied reporting name Ruth.
Second World War France Following
Nazi Germany's invasion of France in May 1940, and with
German forces pushing deep into
France, Italy declared war upon both France and the
United Kingdom on 10 June 1940. At this time, only four wings operated BR.20s compared to the 14 wings equipped with SM.79s, with 172
Cicognas being in service with the
Regia Aeronautica including those not yet delivered to operational squadrons. The units equipped with the
Cicogna were the 7°, 13°, 18° and 43°
Stormo (Wing), all of which were based in Northern Italy; the decision to base the type in the north of the country was due to the general strength of the aircraft and its excellent flight performance upon encountering
turbulence. s in flight. The aircraft of the 7°, 13° and 43°
Stormo fought in the brief
campaign against France. On the night of 12 June 1940, eight bombers from 13° attacked
Toulon dockyard. The next day, 10 Fiat BR.20s dropped bombs on
Hyères and
Fayence airfields; two aircraft (commanded by Catalano and Sammartano) were shot down and one was badly damaged. The same day, 28 BR.20s from 43° and 7°
Stormo bombed Toulon again, with no losses. On 15 June, one BR.20M (
Matricola Militare MM. 21837) of the newly formed 172a
Squadriglia Ricognizione Strategica Terrestre based on Bresso airfield, was shot down over
Provence by
Dewoitine D.520s, the French air defenses in the south having not been defeated by the German attack in the north. Small-scale air raids continued until the
French surrender, with many BR.20s also used in support for the Army—bombing
Briançon, Traversette and Cap San Martin fortresses on the Alps—and as reconnaissance aircraft. At the end of the French campaign, five BR.20s had been lost and 19 airmen killed. In the immediate aftermath of the campaign, the type resumed normal training and base duties.
Britain It was during the
Battle of Britain, in which Axis aircraft flew over the
English Channel to directly challenge the British mainland itself, that the BR.20 showed its limitations for the first time. On 10 September 1940, the
Corpo Aereo Italiano was formed, with 13° and 43°
Stormi equipped with 80 brand-new BR.20Ms, to fight in the
Battle of Britain. During the ferry operation from Italy to their bases in
Belgium, five aircraft crash-landed because of technical failures and a lack of navigational training, while a further 17 BR.20s were forced to land en route due to poor visibility. On the night of 24 October, the 13° and 43° took off for their first bombing mission, over
Harwich, deploying eight BR.20s each. One bomber crashed on takeoff, as a result of engine failure, while two more got lost on their return, failing to find their airfield and their crews bailing out. On 29 October, 15 aircraft of 43°
Stormo bombed
Ramsgate, in daylight, with no loss. During a famous battle on 11 November, a formation of 10 BR.20s from 43°
Stormo, escorted by
Fiat CR.42 biplane fighters – but not by the
Fiat G.50s – on a daylight raid on
Harwich, was intercepted by
Royal Air Force (RAF)
Hawker Hurricane fighters. Despite the escort, three bombers were downed (together with three CR.42s) and three more damaged, with no loss to the Hurricanes. British
Prime Minister Winston Churchill commented on this raid, which occurred on the same day as the
Fleet Air Arm's attack on
Taranto: "They might have found better employment defending their Fleet at
Taranto." The BR.20s of the
Corpo Aereo Italiano nevertheless bombed both
Ipswich and Harwich on the nights of 5, 17, 20, 29 November, three times in December and twice at the beginning of January, with no losses suffered. On 10 January 1941, the 43°
Stormo flew back to Italy, followed by the 13° before the end of the month as the Axis bombing campaign dwindled. During 12 days of bombing missions, the "Cicognas" dropped 54,320 kg (119,755 lbs); three aircraft were lost to enemy fire, 17 more for other reasons and 15 airmen were killed. Almost 200 modern aircraft were engaged in the campaign, which involved an
opportunity cost in the form of weakening the
Regia Aeronauticas presence in the
Mediterranean.
North Africa On 27 February 1941, 14
Cicogne of 98°
Gruppo, 43°
Stormo, that had been in service with
Corpo Aereo Italiano in Belgium, led by commander De Wittembeschi, left Italy bound for
Tripolitania, in Libya. On 11 March, they landed on Castel Benito airfield; subsequently, they were allocated to Bir Dufan base, where they replaced the
Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 in the night-bomber role. In this theatre, the BR.20 was tasked with bombing the British forces, in particular the key port of
Tobruk and the vital
supply lines, in preparation for a major joint offensive by Italian and Germany forces. While North Africa was never considered to have been a
primary theater for the
Cicogna, 13
Stormo (Wing) was deployed there to continue the night attacks against the British between July 1941 and April 1942. However, due to Italian industry struggling to produce aircraft to meet demands, the strategic capabilities of the
Regia Aeronautica was increasingly restricted from mid-1941 onwards. One of the last sorties occurred on 7 March 1942, when two BR.20s strafed
Arab troops serving with the British forces near Oberdan village; subsequently, 11° and 43°
Gruppi started their withdrawal to the Italian mainland. By 12 April, the whole
Stormo was back to Reggio Emilia base: during the African campaign, with the type suffering many mechanical troubles because of the desert sand, losses amounted to 15
Cicogne. The last use over Africa was when 55°
Gruppo aircraft contested
Operation Torch.
Malta BR.20s were used in the
Malta campaign in 1941, 1942 and 1943. On 7 May 1941, 19°
Gruppo from 43°
Stormo, left Lonate Pozzolo with eight aircraft and arrived in Gerbini, Sicily. On 22 May, the BR.20s started to carry out raids against the besieged island almost nightly. While British fighter defences were initially weakened, operational effectiveness was regained via the adoption of improved anti-bomber combat techniques, which involved pursuing the bombers but only engaging them directly at critical phases of the flight. Consequently, the first BR.20 loss occurred on 8 of June. On 9 June, the 31°
Gruppo arrived from Aviano, equipped with a total of 18 bombers, but, in less than three months, the units had lost 12 BR.20s. In addition to bombing missions, the BR.20s also performed anti-submarine patrols in the theatre. During October, the 37°
Stormo arrived in Sicily with the 116°
Gruppo, based on Fontanarossa airfield, and the 55°
Gruppo, in Gerbini. But within the first month those units too lost nine aircraft as a result of accidents or to enemy fire. The attrition rate of the bombers remained relatively high; as such, BR.20-equipped units continued to be rotated to bases on
Sicily to continue the offensive against Malta though 1941 and 1942. On 1 May 1942, the 88°
Gruppo landed in Castelvetrano with 17 new machines (one crash landed on the Appennini Mountains); the units started operational service on 8 May, dropping 4AR mines. Before the end of August, five aircraft were lost and that same month the BR.20s departed Sicily. In the 16 months of their Malta campaign, 41 "Cicognas" were shot down or lost through accidents. The Fiat bombers returned for a short time in 1943 with attacks on Malta.
Soviet Union Several BR.20s were sent to the Soviet Union in August 1942, to perform long-range reconnaissance and bombing sortie in support of CSIR, Italian Army on Eastern Front. On 3 August 1941, two BR-20s arrived in Ukraine and were assigned to 38a
Squadriglia osservazione aerea (reconnaissance squadron) of 71°
Gruppo. Three days later they had their baptism of fire, bombing enemy troops at Werch Mamor, along
Don river. More BR.20s arrived on 5 September from 43°
Stormo. Three of them were assigned to 116a
Squadriglia. They usually flew lone bombing sorties, carrying 36 small-baskets of incendiary bombs to drop on enemy troops in urban areas. On 5 October, three
Mikoyan Mig-1s and a
Yakovlev Yak-1 attacked the BR.20 flown by
Capitano Emilio d'Emilei. The Fiat crew claimed two Soviet fighters and the bomber managed to land back to airfield, in
Kantemirovka, in
Voronezh Oblast, but the pilot was wounded. The BR.20s were withdrawn from eastern Front in spring 1943, at first to
Odessa and, subsequently, to Italy, on 13 April.
Other fronts During the course of the war, BR.20s were used in
Albania and
Greece as well. They were also used extensively in
Yugoslavia against
Josip Broz Tito's
partisans. Other BR.20s were used to drop food and other material to the Italian Army, often trapped in the Balkans, faced with Yugoslavian resistance. After the first year of war, the limitations of this type were evident. It was highly vulnerable to enemy attacks, as Japanese experience had shown in 1938, and the aircraft was replaced by the
Cant Z.1007 and
Savoia-Marchetti SM.84 in almost all operational units that had employed the BR.20. By 1943, when the
Italian armistice was signed, many had been relegated to
training, although 81 were with operational units, mostly in the
Balkans and Italy; also later serving on the
Eastern Front.
Italy invaded Greece in October 1940, and deployed increasing numbers of BR.20s in attacks on Greece from bases in Italy and Albania in support of the Italian Army while it was being driven back into Albania. They were involved in heavy battles with the
Greeks and British, often facing fierce RAF opposition, as happened on 27 February 1941, when four BR.20s were lost or heavily damaged. This force was redeployed against Yugoslavia during the more successful
German and Italian invasion in April 1941, using a strong detachment (131 aircraft) in four groups. While the main frontline task remained that of night bombing, especially against Malta, other roles included reconnaissance and the escort of convoys in the Mediterranean. For escort duties, aircraft were fitted with bombs and possibly depth charges, but with no other special equipment. They were used in this role from 1941, with 37° Wing (Lecce), 13° Wing (end of 1942), 116°, 32 Group (Iesi, from 1943), and 98° (based in Libya) from 1941. One of the 55° aircraft was lost in August 1941 against British
torpedo bombers, while between 9 August–11 September 1941, 98° escorted 172 ships from Italy to Libya. In almost all these units, the
Cicogna was operated together with other aircraft, such as the
Caproni Ca.314. This escort task was quite effective, at least psychologically, although the
Cicogna was hampered by the lack of special equipment and, consequently, no submarines were sunk. At the time of the September 1943
Armistice between Italy and the Allies, 67 BR.20s were operational with frontline operational units, mainly being used on anti-partisan operations, although most aircraft had been relegated to the training role. During the final years of the war, some surviving aircraft remained in use as
trainers and transports. A small number were used by the
RSI after the Armistice, with only one retained by the
Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, which used it for communications duties. The last BR.20 was retired on 7 June 1946 and none survive today. ==Variants==