The CANT Z.506 was an Italian passenger, bomber and reconnaissance seaplane, wooden structure, low wing structure with a fixed float undercarriage. The drive was provided by three motors Alfa-Romeo 128 RC.20 with 825 hp each. The flight of the prototype took place in 1935, and serial production continued in the period 1935-1943, ending with the production of about 360-390 machines of this type. The aircraft was armed with three 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns and a bomb load of up to 900 kg or a single torpedo weighing up to 850 kg.
Originally, the CANT Z.506 was created as a grassroots initiative of the shipyard's aviation department Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, which wanted to create a passenger seaplane with a range of 1500-2000 km, intended, of course, for the civil market. However The CANT Z.506 turned out to be so successful that the Italian Navy got interested in it, which already in 1936 received a redesigned machine for its purposes. After its flight, serial production was started. During it, three military versions of this aircraft were created. The first one was called CANT Z.506B and was a bomber and torpedo version. A search and rescue and reconnaissance version with the designation CANT Z.506 Bs was also created. The last version, produced in the smallest numbers, was the CANT Z.506 S version - a specialized version of sea rescue. They underwent their baptism of fire in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War. During World War II, they intensively participated in the activities in the Mediterranean in the period 1939-1943. The surviving machines served in the Italian Aviation until 1959! In 1938, Poland signed a contract for the purchase of 6 aircraft of this type, but until the outbreak of the war, only one CANT Z.506 aircraft was delivered.