Monday, 9 October 2017

Breda Ba.27

The Breda Ba.27 was an Italian fighter of the 1930s that was used by the Chinese Nationalist Air Force during the second Sino-Japanese War.
It was a low-wing braced monoplane with a fixed undercarriage. The original design had a steel tube fuselage construction that was skinned with light corrugated alloy metal with wooden wings and tailplane. Two prototypes were made and tested by the Regia Aeronautica in 1933 but it received strongly negative reviews which leaded to a redesign of the aircraft. The fuselage was shaped more rounded and the open cockpit was moved higher and forward in order to improve stability and the corrugated skin was replaced with smooth sheet metal.
One prototype of this revised version was also tested by the Regia Aeronautica, but the review was just a little more positive than the previous version.
In spite of the lack of interest of the Regia Aeronautica, the aircraft was sold to the Republic of China where it was used by the Chinese Nationalist Air Force against the Empire of Japan in the second Sino-Japanese war. Out of eighteen aircraft ordered, only eleven of them were actually delivered in 1935 where they served until 1938 in the 3rd Fighter Squadron.










Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breda_Ba.27
2. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breda_Ba.27 (translated)
3. Salamander Books - The Complete book of Fighters

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