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Piaggio P.16

Piaggio P.16
Role Heavy bomber
National origin Italy
Manufacturer Piaggio
First flight 1934
Status Canceled
Primary user Regia Aeronautica
Number built 1

The Piaggio P.16 was an Italian heavy bomber designed and built by Piaggio for the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force).

Design and development

The P.16 was a three-engine shoulder-wing monoplane of mostly metal construction, with inverted gull wings.[1] Its wing was thick and semi-elliptical, and its tail was mounted high on the fuselage. It had retractable main landing gear and a spatted, non-retractable tailwheel.[1] In addition to bombs, its armament consisted of four 7.62-millimeter (0.3-inch) machine guns, of which two were mounted in the leading edge of the wing, one in a retractable dorsal turret, and one in the rear of the fuselage beneath the tail.[1] The bombardier (bomb-aimer) manned a compartment set behind the nose engine on the underside of the fuselage.

Operational history

The P.16 first flew in November 1934,[1] and an order for 12 aircraft was placed and then cancelled,[1] with preference given to the Piaggio P.32, which was produced from 1936 to 1939.[1]

Operators

 Kingdom of Italy

Specifications

Data from Italian Civil and Military aircraft 1930–1945 [2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 4
  • Length: 13.35 m (43 ft 9.5 in)
  • Wingspan: 22.00 m (72 ft 2 in)
  • Height: 3.5 m (11 ft 5.75 in)
  • Wing area: 69.97 m2 (753.2 sq ft)
  • Gross weight: 8,432 kg (18,590 lb)
  • Powerplant: 3 × Piaggio Stella P.IX R.C.40 9-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, 520 kW (700 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 400 km/h (248 mph, 216 kn) at 3,170 m (10,400 ft)
  • Stall speed: 105 km/h (65 mph, 56 kn)
  • Range: 2,000 km (1,242 mi, 1,079 nmi) with 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of bombs, or 1,500 km (930 mi) with 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs
  • Time to altitude: 6,000 m (20,000 ft) in 17 minutes

Armament

  • Guns:
  • 2 x fixed 7.62 mm (0.300 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns in wing leading edge
  • 1 x flexible7.62 mm (0.300 in) machine gun in dorsal turret
  • 1 x flexible 7.62 mm (0.300 in) machine gun in rear underside of fuselage
  • Bombs: 1,000 kg (2,205 lb)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Pearce, William (29 November 2015). "Piaggio P.16 Bomber". oldmachinepress.com. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  2. ^ Thompson, Jonathan W. (1963). Italian Civil and Military aircraft 1930–1945 (1st ed.). New York: Aero Publishers Inc. pp. 219–220. ISBN 0-8168-6500-0.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio_P.16