Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini

CANT (Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini)
Company type	Division of CNT (initially), later part of C.R.D.A. and IRI
Industry	Aerospace, Shipbuilding
Predecessor	CNT (Cantiere Navale Triestino)
Founded	1923
Founder	Cosulich family
Defunct	1944
Fate	Manufacturing halted due to WWII; postwar focus shifted to shipyard reconstruction
Successor	None
Headquarters	Monfalcone, near Trieste, Italy
Area served	Italy
Key people	Raffaele Conflenti, Filippo Zappata
Products	Naval aircraft, seaplanes, landplanes, flying boats, bombers, airliners
Owner	Cosulich family; later under IRI state conglomerate
Number of employees	5,000 (peak) (circa 1940)
Parent	CNT initially; later C.R.D.A.

File:CantiereNavaleTriestino.jpg

CANT (Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini, meaning Trieste Shipbuilding and Naval Aeronautics; occasionally referred to as C.R.D.A. CANT) was an Italian aerospace firm initially focused on naval aircraft manufacturing. It was established in 1923 as a division of CNT (Cantiere Navale Triestino, or Trieste Naval Shipyard in English). The company developed several aircraft models for Italy's armed forces before halting operations in 1944.

History

The Cosulich family from Trieste, proprietors of CNT, decided to expand into aviation in 1921. Already experienced in maritime transport and shipbuilding, they adopted a similar approach by launching an air taxi service named SISA in 1921, followed by setting up a seaplane production facility at Monfalcone within their existing shipyard by 1923. Their initial notable success was the CANT 6, a trimotor biplane flying boat bomber introduced in 1925. SISA provided pilot training for the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) using the CANT 7 and CANT 18 biplanes; from 1926 onward, it also operated airline routes employing the cabin seaplanes CANT 10 and CANT 22. The principal aircraft designer was Raffaele Conflenti. The workshops sustained themselves through licensed manufacturing and prototype development.

In 1930, CNT merged with other shipbuilding companies to create C.R.D.A. (Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, or United Adriatic Shipbuilding), yet aircraft maintained the CANT brand. In 1933, C.R.D.A. became part of the state-run conglomerate IRI. At the urging of Italo Balbo, Filippo Zappata, then collaborating with Blériot, was appointed chief designer. Over the next nine years, CANT introduced 18 new aircraft types that set 40 world records; during this period, it expanded to include a landplane manufacturing plant, testing facilities, and an airfield, with employee numbers increasing from 350 to approximately 5,000. Models such as the CANT Z.501 (1934) and Z.506 (1935) seaplanes, along with the Z.1007 land-based bomber (1937), became standard Italian aircraft in their respective categories. Zappata regarded wooden aircraft as a temporary measure and designed subsequent models with all-metal construction, including the twin-engine bomber Z.1018, the four-engine floatplane airliner Z.511, and the twin-float seaplane Z.515.

By around 1939, Zappata grew dissatisfied with CANT and began discussions with Breda, joining them in 1942; meanwhile, military demands were inconsistent. The Z.1018 initially appeared as a wooden "flying mockup," evolved into a substantially different wooden pre-production version, and ultimately transitioned to metal for series production featuring bomber, torpedo-bomber, and night-fighter variants. None of these models entered service prior to the Italian armistice in 1943. Subsequent German occupation and USAAF bombing raids during March–April 1944 halted all manufacturing activities; postwar reconstruction efforts focused solely on restoring the shipyard.

Aircraft

References

Sources

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), Orbis Publishing, 1985

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