Breda Ba.27

The Breda Ba.27 Metallico ( = The metal ) was a single-engine Italian fighter aircraft from 1934.

History

The aircraft design was influenced by the American machine Travel Air Model R Mystery S of 1929. The Breda Ba.27 had a metal frame, but was covered with wood. The chassis was rigid and the cockpit open. It could easily be confused with the later Ba.27 Boeing P -26. She was also the first Italian low-wing monoplane.

The first prototype flew in 1934 and still had a Bristol Jupiter IV engine. On June 21, 1934, the aircraft reached 351 km / h However, the prototypes have been revised and added to the cockpit position forward. The new machine was a radial engine Bristol Mercury VI A, which was built by Alfa Romeo under license.

A machine was handed over for testing purposes in 1936 the 86th Squadrilia d' Assault. It, however, never came to a Italian Serie order. Instead, Breda sold 18 copies to the Chinese government, which, however, only eleven machines were delivered up to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937.

The Italians had previously founded the Sinaw ( Sino - Italian National Aircraft Works) in Nanchang. This was a merger of the Italian aircraft manufacturer ( Breda, Caproni, Fiat and Savoia ). The aircraft factory in Nanchang had to be closed on December 9, 1937 because of the Japanese attacks.

The eleven Breda Ba.27 machines belonged to the 7th Pursuit Squadron of the Chinese Air Force. About their stakes in the war against Japan, however, is not known.

Military use

Specifications