CONTROLS:

AG 1: Drag Chute
AG 2: Drop Torpedo
Flaps: Flaps Up/Down (Inverted). Use also for trimming.

Aviation saw rapid development during the interwar period. Nevertheless, in the early to mid 30's, the biplane was still king, though its reign was coming to an end. An attempt at designing an advanced biplane with modern semi-monocoque construction methods, the S.Ca. 21 Canarinho (Little Canary) is one of Socrux's most ubiquitous designs from that era.

With a strong fuselage and one of the most powerful engines available at the time, it is armed quite heavily for a biplane, with four 20mm cannons. Despite its main role as a fighter, it was designed from the outset to have ground attack capability, where this volume of fire was deemed necessary. It performed well, managing to hold its own against early monoplanes, but as it was soon surpassed, it was relegated to purely ground attack roles, finding its main use as a torpedo bomber.

The gull wings located on the sides of the canopy were notably visibility-restricting laterally, but offered great visibility upwards compared with other biplanes, a welcome feature when tracking a target. It was a very agile craft when flying clean, and offered a platform stable enough for low-altitude torpedo launches.

A float-equipped variant was developed for use in coastlines and archipelagos where constructing airfields would be difficult, and a new variant was later fitted with an inverted V engine and named S.Ca. 22 Canarinho-Bis. The floatplane variant is fitted with an enlarged vertical stabilizer to compensate for the lateral instability generated by the draggy floats.

Floatplane variant:

Also check out its younger brother, fitted with a water-cooled engine