Piaggio P.111

Piaggio P.111
General information
TypeHigh-altitude research aircraft
National origin
Italy
ManufacturerPiaggio
Primary userRegia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force)
Number built1
History
Introduction date
1941
First flight9 April 1941
RetiredEarly 1943

The Piaggio P.111 was an Italian high-altitude research aircraft designed and built by Piaggio for the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force).

Design and development

The genesis of the P.111 was in 1938, when the Regia Aeronautica awarded a contract to Piaggio to construct the prototype of a three-seat, twin-engine, high-speed, high-altitude bomber with a pressurized cabin. Piaggio constructed a new radial engine especially for the P.111, the 745 kW (999 hp) 18-cylinder double-row air-cooled Piaggio P.XII R.C.100/2v, which was fitted with a two-stage supercharger.

While the P.111 prototype was under construction, the Regia Aeronatica decided to use it as a high-altitude research aircraft rather than a bomber prototype.

Operational history

The P.111 first flew on 9 April 1941. Employed in research related to pressurization of the cabin of the Piaggio P.108 heavy bomber, it made 110 test and research flights before being retired and scrapped early in 1943.

Operators

Kingdom of Italy

Specifications

A Piaggio company photograph of the P.111 at Villanova d'Albenga, Savona, Italy, in 1941

Data from Italian Civil & Military Aircraft 1930–1945

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related lists

References

  1. 1 2 3 Johan Visschedijk Collection No. 3993. Piaggio P.111
  2. ↑ Thompson, Jonathan (1963). Italian Civil & Military Aircraft 1930–1945 (1st ed.). New York: Aero Publishers Inc. p. 232. ISBN 0-8168-6500-0. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)