Introduced in 1936, the Fiat BR.20 Cicogna (Stork) was a very advanced bomber and served with distinction in the Spanish Civil War after 1937 as well as in China thanks to Japanese acquisition of a substantial number of these aircraft. Among its notable features included a stressed skin construction and retractable undercarriage which made it one of the few truly modern designs available to the Regia Aeronautica despite the fact its performance was somewhat lackluster. When Italy entered World War II, units flying BR.20s fought against France and later against Britain but suffered heavy casualties in that campaign proving the deficiencies of the design in the face of modern fighter opposition. They later fought over the Mediterranean, North Africa and Russia demonstrating the same weaknesses and thus were relegated to secondary duties such as training and maritime patrol. Besides Japan, export customers included Franco's Nationalist forces in Spain (which used it in combat) and Venezuela.

The baseline BR.20 flew on 10 February 1936 and saw action in the Spanish Civil War as well as in the Sino-Japanese conflicts. A major upgrade was put in place just after the European war started in 1939 which resulted in the BR.20M which featured a cleaned up nose and strengthened wing. In 1943, the BR.20bis was introduced, which had uprated A.82 RC 32 engines but was too late to have any meaningful impact in the war. Other versions included the civilian BR.20A and BR.20L for flight record breaking purposes.