Advertisements

Aviation / Aerospace

CANT Z.501 Gabbiano (Gull)

Reconnaissance Flying Boat Aircraft [ 1936 ]

The CANT Z.501 Gabbiano was a serviceable floatplane for Italian interests in World War 2, though hardly an offensive-minded weapon.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/31/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Advertisements

The CANT Z.501 Gabbiano (meaning "Gull") was a flying boat aircraft developed in Italy and shared a resemblance to the successful American Consolidated PBY Catalina series. By the time of the World War 2, the design should have been on its way out but was pressed into further service in the reconnaissance role. In the end, the system forged on through the global conflict eventually seeing the end of its operational life by 1950.

First flown in 1934 as a prototype, the Z.501 was a design of famous Italian aviation engineer Filippo Zappata in an attempt to replace the aged Savoia-Marchetti S.78 series. Design was of a traditional type, with a large wing assembly mounted on struts up high and away from the fuselage, which featured a boat-like hull. The engine was mounted in the wing structure and was of a single type - an Isotta Fraschini Asso XI R2C.15 12-cylinder liquid-cooled inline engine of 900 horsepower. A crew of four or five personnel were called upon to operate the various positions and systems of the aircraft which included a bow gun position, an engine nacelle gun position and a dorsal fuselage gun position. The machine guns were supplemented by the 1,411lb bombload.©MilitaryFactory.com

Advertisements

In combat, the Z.501 were pressed into service mainly for their reconnaissance capabilities but also served in search and rescue sorties. In either case, the aircraft performed superbly thanks to the type's long range capabilities and loitering times. Losses of the system were high as is expected with these slow flying boat types but the aircraft saw action against French and British forces nonetheless and also took part in the Spanish Civil War before that. Aircraft production in wartime necessitated the need for speed and as such many were sent off the production lines in less than stellar operating condition. If the Z.501 had a blotch on its otherwise adequate operating record it was in the wooden fuselage construction which had a tendency to break up in rough waters. As an aircraft, the Z.501 fared better than as an ocean-going craft. In terms of combat performance, the Z.501 was nothing to speak of - finishing the war without a single air-to-air kill.

The Z.501 did go on to break several distance endurance records during its production run.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1936

Origin

Kingdom of Italy

Crew

4 to 5

Production

200
UNITS

Cant - Italy

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Kingdom of Italy; Romania; Spain

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Maritime / Navy
Land-based or shipborne capability for operating over-water in various maritime-related roles while supported by allied naval surface elements.

✓ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Length

46.9 ft
(14.30 m)

Width/Span

73.8 ft
(22.50 m)

Height

14.4 ft
(4.40 m)

Empty Wgt

8,488 lb
(3,850 kg)

MTOW

15,543 lb
(7,050 kg)

Wgt Diff

+7,055 lb
(+3,200 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base CANT Z.501 Gabbiano (Gull) production variant)

Installed: 1 x Isotta Fraschini Asso XI R2C.15 12-cylinder liquid-cooled inline engine developing 900 horsepower.

Max Speed

171 mph
(275 kph | 148 kts)

Ceiling

22,966 ft
(7,000 m | 4 mi)

Range

1,491 mi
(2,400 km | 4,445 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

820 ft/min
(250 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base CANT Z.501 Gabbiano (Gull) production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

STANDARD:
1 x 7.7mm machine gun in bow position
1 x 7.7mm machine gun in engine nacelle position
1 x 7.7mm machine gun in dorsal position

OPTIONAL:
Up to 1,411 lb (640 kg) of bombs.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 2

Z.501 - Base Series Designation

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Advertisements

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)