Breda Ba.27

History

Bredaba. The 27 was the Italian proposal and final modification of the original American Touring Aviation "Type R" racing car of the late 1920s (interwar period).

The first three of the five Type Rs were built in secret, so much so that local media in Wichita, Kansas called them "mystery ships." Capable of reaching speeds of 235 mph, in an era when military design almost dominated racing, high-performance monoplane design was the undisputed record holder for speed and range.

After the Type R toured Europe, the Italian government directly commissioned the fifth lot. The completed form was taken down in Wichita, shipped across the Atlantic, reassembled in Italy, and used as the basis for the ba. 27 to follow.

bar. The 27 retains the original open-air single-seat cockpit and low-supported monoplane wings. Tubular steel construction forms the internal structure, while lightweight corrugated alloy metal is used for aircraft skins. Both the wing main aircraft and tail fins were designed using wood, resulting in a hybrid-manufactured aircraft appropriate for the era. Fixed wheeled main landing gear struts provide a "smearing" appearance when walking on the ground.

Alfa Romeo's local "Mercurius" air-cooled radial piston engine was chosen to drive the nose of the twin-blade propeller unit, with the engine pumping out 540 hp at full throttle.

The Italians built a total of fourteen bars. 27 airframes, starting with two Ba. 27 aircraft representing prototypes. Another twelve formed the Ba. 27 "Metallico" and was slightly improved to win criticism, as the first prototypes failed to impress Regia Aeronautica authorities.

This led to an overhaul of the aircraft, which included improvements to the overall aerodynamic quality, a repositioned (further) cockpit and a smooth sheet metal fairing. Nevertheless, this form of aircraft was not used in serial production and use at the operational level of the local armed forces.

In testing, the revised Metallico managed a speed of 236 mph, a range of up to 466 miles, and a service ceiling of 29,530 feet. The climb rate is 2,180 feet per minute. Structurally, it measures 25.1 feet in length, with a wingspan of 35.4 feet and a height of 11.1 feet.

Curb weight is 2,910 pounds, while total weight is 4,078 pounds.

As a fighter, the aircraft was set up to carry 2 x 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT air-cooled heavy machine guns (HMG) mounted on fixed forward brackets.

After being rejected by Royal Air, the design was adopted by the Republic of China (Chinese Kuomintang Air Force) during the Anti-Japanese War. 18 airframes were eventually ordered, of which only 11 were delivered to the customer.

Specification

Basics

Years of Service

1933

Origins

The Kingdom of Italy

Status

Cancel

Development ended.

Crew

1

Production

14

Manufacturer

Breda (Societa Italiana Ernesto Breda) Kingdom of Italy

Operator

Kingdom of Italy; Republic of China (Taiwan)

scrolling

air-to-air combat, fighter

The general ability to actively attack other aircraft of similar form and function, usually using guns, missiles and/or airborne missiles.

X-Plane (development, prototype, tech demo)

Aircraft designed for prototyping, technology demonstration, or research/data collection.

Notable Features

High-speed performance

Can accelerate to higher speeds than the average aircraft at the time.

Extended range performance

Ability to travel long distances using on-board fuel supplies.

Rescue process

A manual process to allow the pilot and/or crew to exit in the event of an onboard emergency.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

25. 2 feet

(7.67m)

Width/span

35.4 feet

(10.80m)

Height

11. 2 feet

(3.40m)

Cured weight

2,910 lbs

(1,320 kg)

MTOW

4,079 lbs

(1,850 kg)

Wgt Difference

+1,168 lbs

(+530 kg)

MAINPLANE STRUCTURE

wing/low/straight

Monoplane

Designed to use a single main wing main aircraft; this is the most popular arrangement of main aircraft.

install low

The main aircraft is mounted low on the side of the fuselage.

Straight

Floor plans involve the use of simple, straight main plan elements.

(For structure description refer to production variant Breda Ba.27 (Metallico))

Performance

Installed:

1 x Alfa Romeo Mercurius 540hp air-cooled radial piston engine driving a twin-bladed propeller in the nose.

Maximum speed

236 km/h

(380 km/h | 205 knots)

Maximum

29,528 feet

(9,000 m | 6 km)

Area

466 km

(750 km | 1,389 nautical miles)

rate of climb

2,180 ft/min

(664 m/min)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

Weapons

2 x 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT air-cooled heavy machine guns (HMG) mounted on fixed forward mounts.