In 1933, the aircraft manufacturer Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini (CANT) came under state control. The Royal Italian Navy ordered her to build a flying boat to replace the outdated Savoia-Marchetti S. 78. Work on the Z. 501 Gabbiano seaplane was led by designer Filippo Zappata.
The Z. 501 was an all-wood monoplane with a parasol wing and two floats. The crew consisted of 5 man (and the mechanic had his own cabin in the rear of the engine nacelle). Powered with Isotta Fraschini Asso XI engine, it could reach speeds of up to 275 km / h. The flight range was 999 km. Armament — 3 × 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun + 640 kg of bombs.
454 samples of Z. 501 Gabbiano were produced. This flying boat in the fall of 1934 set a range record for seaplanes — 4130.88 km. Z. 501 was in service with Italy, Spain and Romania. The last samples were written off in 1950.
