Piaggio P.108

Piaggio p. 108 History

Piaggio P. 108 is a polyhedral fuselage designed to fill various roles for Italians during World War II. It was conceived in four different forms, of which only three were ever produced.

The type was the only four-engine heavy bomber of the Italian war and featured several innovations that set it apart from the well-known package. Despite her promising stature, the bomber was plagued by technical problems and engine reliability for most of her career, resulting in limited combat action as a bomber and further service as a troop carrier at the end of the war .

p. 108 Origins

Giovanni Casiraghi designed the all-metal Piaggio P. 108 based on the all-wood P. 108. 50. Casiraghi gained valuable experience as an engineer during the "Golden Age of Flight" while living in the United States for nearly a decade (1927-1936). The original P. 50 model was a similarly sized heavy bomber design with four engines arranged along the wings in a tandem "push/pull" arrangement. It appeared in 1937 and was built including two prototypes.

The aircraft was not put into production by the Italian government. The P. 50-II appeared in 1938 with four radial gun engines in a more traditional "puller" layout. A prototype was built, but the Italian powers also did not order the type.

However, the design and development of these larger aircraft played a vital role in the realization of the upcoming P.108. The design of the P.108 has won out a competitor in a government-sponsored competition for Regia Aeronautica's new modern bomber.

From the outset, four different versions of the P. 108 were planned, which required a flexible airframe. The P.108A "Artiglieri" became a dedicated anti-ship platform for the protection of Italian interests in the Mediterranean region - this model was equipped with 90/53 mm Ansaldo 1941 guns and torpedoes.

The P.108B "Bombardier" will be Regia Aeronautica's dedicated workhorse and heavy bomber platform. The P.108C "Civile" is intended to be a 32-seat civilian airliner, while the P.108T "Transporto" will be its militarized form of transport - carrying up to 56 combat-ready troops.

Due to Italian priorities, only one promising (and tested) P. 108A was eventually produced. However, quantitative production was observed in the P.108B, P.108C and P.108T types, but Bombardier remains a noteworthy production model in the P.108 series.

The P. 108M "Modificato" was originally intended to be a modified P. 108B with improved weapons, but was never built. The P. 133 was another proposed advanced version of the P. 108, with better engines and an improved bomb load, but this was never completed.

One of the more unique design elements of the P. 108 bomber version was the use of remote-controlled machine gun mounts mounted on the rear end of each outboard engine nacelle to protect the aircraft from rear attackan unproven novel concept at best.

The P. 108 prototype completed its maiden flight on November 24, 1939. However, the operational form of the P. 108 was not delivered to Regia Aeronautica until May 1941. Technical difficulties with the advanced design also delayed the P 108B by a year before deployment to the 274th Long Range Bomber Squadron. In addition, the general lack of support from government and industry, especially the P. 108B models, helped reduce their potential wartime success.

By the time production ceased in 1943, only 163 of all variants of the P. 108 had been completed. The P. 108C and P. 108T models eventually became more reliable aircraft.

Page 108 in action

The P. 108 proved to be an innovative bomber for its time, rivaling the strongest qualities of its generational Allies. Of particular note are her advanced wings and integrated turret - innovative but too complex and questionable to implement in the final design. Unfortunately for Regia Aeronautica, there are no more than seven or eight P.108s available at any one time. To make matters worse, the P. 108 proved to be a clumsy bomber design in practice, and the reliability of the engine quickly paid off.

Airworthy models were used over the Mediterranean, although they were mainly concentrated in the period 1942-43 before the Italian surrender. The Piaggio P.108 was used for night raids on Allied ports in Algeria and Gibraltar during the Operation Torch landings. Launched in November 1942, Operation Torch was the first major Allied engagement with U.S. forcesit began the Allied campaign in French North Africa to seize Italian and German strongholds on the continent.

P. 108B conducted a total of 55 bombings, the last over Sicily.

End of the street

As the war progressed, many of the existing airliner models were eventually converted to the military P. 108T transport variant. By the time Italy surrendered in September 1943, only about 5% of the total P.108 bomber force was intact, and many were bombarded by Allied forces in the air or on the ground.

Some were destroyed to prevent Axis forces from moving north. Any systems retained by the Axis powers were in service with the fascist Italian army routed under Mussolini in northern Italy, and at least nine of them were in service with the Luftwaffe as emergency transports until the German final in May 1945.

Piaggio p. 108 Walking

The design of the Piaggio P. 108 was traditional for bombers of the time. She has a smooth long hull with a stepped forward section. The nose is glass, showing part of her defensive weapons. The cockpit was on the third highest "level", and her crew consisted of six or seven people, including the pilot, co-pilot, bombardier and gunner.

Bubbles are easily visible along the top of the fuselage in the cabin, which houses the crew responsible for operating the remote-controlled wing machine gun turrets. The wings are mounted forward amidships as low mounted components. The fuselage is gradually retracted into the empennage, which is attached with a conventional fin. There is a large vertical stabilizer and low-mounted stabilizers.

All wing surfaces are rounded, in line with many other Italian aircraft designs. The leading edge of each wing has a pair of thrusters. Each wing has a slight dihedron with a pronounced upward angle from root to tip.

The landing gear has two retractable single-wheel main landing gear legs and a fixed tail wheel. The main legs are retracted forward into and under the innermost engine nacelle.

Power on page 108

Power comes from four Piaggio PXII RCs. 35 radial piston engines of approximately 1,500 horsepower each. This provides a top speed of 267 mph with a service ceiling of about 28,300 feet and a range of up to 2,185 miles.

These engines were never proven to be completely reliable and limited the P. 108B in every area. She maintained a curb weight of 38,161 pounds, but was able to take off nearly 66,000 pounds.

p. 108B Weapons

As a bomber, the P.108's armament is both defensive and offensive in nature. Her defensive armament consisted of heavy 12.7mm machine guns and 7.7mm rifle caliber machine guns in various positions on the fuselage and wings. Unique to the P.108 was the use of a 12.7mm Breda SAFAT remote-controlled heavy machine gun mounted to the rear of its outermost engine nacelles - systems thought to protect the rear of the aircraft from enemy attack.

In theory, this proved to be a sensible move, and other types of bombers have tried such positions. In practice, however, its usefulness remains to be seen, and it will not be used effectively by any fighter until the end of the war.

Beyond the wing weapons are a 1 x 12.7mm machine gun positioned in the nose, 1 x 7.7mm along the waist of each beam and 1 x 12.7mm in the retractable ventral turret at the base of the tail.

Despite its size, the P.108's attack power was limited to a maximum internal bomb load of up to 7,709 pounds on three separate bays. This could include seven heavy bombs and as many as thirty-eight light bombs.

Torpedoes can only be carried by the anti-ship version (page 108A), two under the wings and one under the fuselage.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes