Piaggio P.119

History

Several WWII-era aircraft (1939-1945) experimented with the concept of having the engine mounted behind the cockpit and using an extended shaft to drive the nose propeller. The Bell P-39 "Airacobra" is probably the most famous (and most successful) of them all, although one of the rare designs of this type during this period came from Italy, via the experimental Piaggio P.119.

Only one prototype of the project was produced before the Italian surrender.

The P. 119 is made even more unique by the choice of an air-cooled radial piston engine - the Piaggio P. XV RC. 45 18-cylinder twin, 1,500 hp. This forced the addition of a large air intake under the nose, near the main wing element, to suck in the air cooling.

The advantage of having the engine mounted aft of the pilot's position is that it allows the cockpit to be moved further forward (thereby improving the pilot's visibility), while also opening the nose assembly to concentrate the weapons load. The wing main aircraft can then carry weight loads or fuel as needed.

P. 119 was originally a private enterprise, the design of which is attributed to Giovanni Casiraghi. It is essentially a single-seat fighter with a proposed 1 x 20mm Breda SAFAT automatic cannon, firing through the propeller hub (as in the P-39 design), supported by 4 12.7mm Breda SAFAT automatic cannons. All weapons are concentrated in the hollowed out nose section.

If other aspects of its design can be grasped - namely, its uniquely placed center of gravity, this makes the entry P. 119 a well-equipped fighting machine.

In March 1940, as the war progressed, Italian authorities took an interest in the design. The P. 119 had a metal-cased monocoque fuselage and became one of the more modern Italian war victims (many still rely on hybrid wood/metal construction). The first flight as a prototype took place on December 19, 1942, and the results were encouraging enough to justify flight testing, which continued until August 1943. The focused nature of the weapon was found to cause excessive vibration of the aircraft when fully fired, but this problem appears to be fixable.

A landing accident also damaged a wing, grounding the plane for repairs.

With the anticipated mass production, engineers plan to install a more powerful Piaggio P. XV RC on the aircraft. 1,700 hp 60/2V radial piston engine - hoping to push the performance figures even further.

In fact, the P. 119 has a top speed of 400 mph, a range of up to 940 miles, and a service ceiling of nearly 41,348 feet. 10,000 feet can be reached in 3.25 minutes.

Despite all this work and optimism, the P. 119 was derailed when Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943. The truce almost destroyed the promising product, and only completed prototypes were completed.

Specification

Basic

Production

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Performance

Performance

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Changes