Known affectionately as Flying Tadpole, and the flying suitcase, the Hampden was one of the mainstays of RAF Bomber Command in the early years of World War II.

The CR.42 was designed by Celestino Rosatelli and was a development of the CR.32 fighter, and the experimental CR.41 of 1936, and was the last single-seat biplane fighter built by any of the combatants for World War II.