Piaggio P.108B, part three

The Piaggio P.108B was an all-metal four-engined bomber with a very robust modern structure and a six G tolerance. It was designed by Giovanni Casiraghi and built almost entirely out of duraluminium.
It had a crew of eight, a pilot and a co-pilot with six of the crew members located in mid-fuselage and nose, like the early models of the B-17 which was the main influence for this one. It had no tail turret, and one of the most noticeable features was in the nose as it had separate structures both for the gunner and the bomb aimer. As the aircraft was generally heavier than the B-17, its tail was larger as it needed to stabilize the heavy, powerful aircraft.
As Piaggio was one of the few Italian companies that could develop both aircraft and engines, their Piaggio P.XII engines were chosen thanks to their power, in spite of their unreliability.
It was powered by four air-cooled 18-cylinder P.XII radial engines which yielded 1350hp of power (1010Kw) at 3000m (9800ft) with three bladed propellers. The P.XII was P.X engines in tandem which, in turn, were Italian copies of the French Gnome-Rhône 9K Mistral and these were license-built Bristol Jupiter engines.
It had 12 self-sealing fuel tanks with a total capacity of 12000L (3100 US gal.) and eight oil tanks, two for each engine. A heavy airframe, combined with powerful engines, resulted in a high fuel consumption, and the P.108B performance at high altittude was mediocre, with a practical ceiling located at 6000m (19700ft) and a theoretical one of 8000m (26300ft) which was approximately at par with the same contemporary bombers.
It could achieve speeds of 420km/h (260mph) which was slightly inferior to the contemporary strategic bombers and had a range of 2500km (1600mi) which was also inferior to the contemporary ones and other Italian transport-aircrafts reconverted as bombers like the SM.82, with half of the fuel, could achieve longer distances.
The P.108 had a large bomb-bay which could hold a total of 3500kg (7700lb) of bombs and was located centrally in the fuselage. It was divided longitudinally into three sections, which prevented the type from carrying the heavier bombs of 800Kg (1800lb). This was a serious limitation as the SM.82 could carry those type of bombs. If it was used in the anti-shipping role, it could carry three torpedoes.
It carried three Breda-SAFAT machine guns in a defensive configuration. the initial series had one 12,7mm fitted in a small turret in the nose. It had another defensive 12,7mm retractable ventral turret. Additionally it had another two lighter 7,7mm machine guns in the flanks. The most noticeable feature was the one placed on the wings, as it had two remote-controlled Breda Z turrets in the outer-engine wing nacelles, linked to one of the two cupolas in the fuselage, where the operator sat.
Although the remote-controlled turrerts were considered a very advanced design, their operational suitability was questionable.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio_P.108
2. La Bancarella Aeronautica - Ali d'Italia 15 - Piaggio P.108