Piaggio P.23M
The Piaggio P.23, also referred to as P.23M, was a transport aircraft of the Italian manufacturer Piaggio Aero Industries.
History and construction
Piaggio designed the P.23 specifically for flights across the North Atlantic, with the intent to develop it into a commercial transport aircraft on. The four-engine aircraft was designed as a high-wing monoplane with articulated wings and had a double tail. In order to set up safe in the event of an emergency landing at sea, was the hull - although the aircraft was not a flying boat - like a boat hull constructed. The main landing gear was retractable and designed as a spur wheel chassis. The aircraft was equipped with four Isotta Fraschini Asso - XI R. engines each with 671 kW that were in pairs arranged in an engine nacelle behind the other, and so each drives a train or a pusher propeller. The P.23 first flew in 1935. Piaggio gave a top speed of 400 km / h and a maximum range at a cruising speed of 300 km / h by more than 5100 km for the P.23 to. An Atlantic crossing, however, never took place and its calculated maximum range has never been tested. The aircraft was soon dismantled and never flew again.