Piaggio P.119
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| Piaggio P.119 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Piaggio |
| Designed by | Giovanni Casiraghi |
| Maiden flight | 19 December 1942 |
| Status | Prototype only |
| Number built | 1 |
The Piaggio P.119 was an Italian experimental fighter of the Second World War. It had a relatively novel layout, with a "buried" radial engine mounted mid-fuselage. Only a single prototype was built before the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces, which ended the project.
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[edit] Development
Among the many aircraft manufacturers of Italy, during World War II, the majority (Savioa-Marchetti, Caproni) designed and built mixed construction aircraft, or even (CANT) aircraft completely made of wood. While Fiat and Macchi made more advanced aircraft, they still tended to have conventional, often obsolete structures, even if of all-metal construction. Only Reggiane and Piaggio mastered advanced, all metal structures. Of them, Piaggio tended to explore more innovative concepts. The Piaggio P.119 was one of the best examples of these innovative projects. The '5' series fighters are well known, especially Fiat G.55 and Macchi C.205, but there was another two fighters, the Caproni-Vizzola F.6 and Piaggio P.119 on the same level, but which never went in production.
The P.119 was designed in 1939, to minimise drag by fitting the engine mid-fuselage in a similar layout to the P-39 Airacobra. It was hoped to improve maneuverability by positioning the engine near the aircraft's centre of gravity, while also allowing a heavy nose-mounted armament. [1] In 1940 Piaggio still had to solve three major issues: contra-rotating propellers, power transmission, and cooling of the engine.
Giovanni Casiraghi, chief designer of Piaggio tried to solve the first issue with the P.118 fighter, but without success. It was intended to be powered with two Piaggio P.XI RC 40 engines, each powering one of the propellers, but was not built. The P.119 was built instead and flew at the end of 1942. It was studied with three different configurations before one was chosen.
[edit] Design
The P.119 was a monoplane, constructed completely of metal, with a conventional wide undercarriage. It had a forward cockpit, with the propeller and weapons mounted just behind the three-blade propeller. Air intakes for cooling were fitted under the nose. The airframe was substantially bigger than the P-39. It had an advanced construction, with many removable panels for internal inspection. The number of components was reduced to the minimum, and also standardized, to make construction as easy as possible. No other Italian aircraft was so advanced on those details.
The engine, a Piaggio P.XV RC 45, 1,500 hp at take-off and 4,500 m (2,250 rpm), was set behind the cockpit. The maximum speed was 620 km/h at 5,500 m and the ceiling was 12,000 m. The propeller was a Piaggio P.1002 of 3.3 m diameter, driven by an extended shaft running under the cockpit. There were 330 litre fuel tanks in each wing, and a 340 litre tank in the fuselage, for a total of 1,000 litres internal fuel; 2.5 times greater than a Bf 109 or a MC.205. The endurance was 1,900 km at 500 km/h, with a peak of 2,100 km with maximum fuel. A 4 kg CO2 fire extinguisher was also fitted in the engine.
A further development, with a Piaggio P.XV RC 50, 1,650 hp and 1,475 at 5,000 m, with a 630 km/h maximum speed, was planned but never implemented.
The cockpit had a 360 degree visibility, and a Bellocchio AB 30 radio, and 24 V batteries.
The overall weight of the aircraft was quite high, but the wing was wide, with a 13 m wingspan. The surface was almost 28 m², enough to reduce the wingload to around 150 kg/m². The structure was similar to the Supermarine Spitfire: one spar (that also supported the engine), a semi-spar, semi-working skin.
The weaponry was impressive, all concentrated in the nose, all built by Breda; a 20 mm gun with 110 rounds and four 12.7 mm heavy machine guns with 2,000 rounds. Similar to the P-38 Lightning in layout, except for the presence of the propeller and the synchronizer. The Breda gun was more powerful than the MG 151, but with a lower rate of fire. There was also provision to install another four 7.7 mm Bredas in the wings (with 1,200 total rounds). Over that, there will been an anti-tank with a Breda 37 mm gun. There was a S.Giorgio reflex gun sight for aiming.
[edit] Operational history
The machine was flight tested, but it was found that firing all the weapons produced excessive vibration. A landing accident slightly damaged one wing on 2 August 1943, and just one month later the armistice brought the end to this interesting project.
All in all, the P.119 was an interesting and somewhat mysterious aircraft, for many years totally unknown to the public. It was never sent to Guidonia for official evaluation.
The performance could have been very good. The engine and the weapons were made under foreign license, but they could been called 'authentic' in respect to the German DB 605 engine and MG 151 guns mounted in the '5' series fighters. The performance was good enough to compete with other Italian fighters, and the endurance was much better. However the aircraft was ready eight months later than the other '5' fighters, and this, in the circumstances was catastrophic for the program. Apparently this machine was not rated officially by Regia Aeronautica, and MM.496 was the only one built. Apart from this, the range, endurance and overall visibility were superior, and the performance and weaponry were not so different. But the P.119, with its technical problems, would never have been in a condition to show any capability as operational aircraft, and the only mid-fuselage engine fighter was swiftly forgotten.
[edit] Specifications (P.119)
Data from The Complete Book of Fighters[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 9.70 m (31 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 13.00 m (42 ft 8 in)
- Height: 2.9 m (9 ft ⅛ in)
- Wing area: 27.8 m² (299 ft²)
- Empty weight: 2,438 kg (5,374 lb)
- Loaded weight: 4,091 kg (9,020 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× Piaggio P.XV RC.45 18 cylinder radial engine, 1,120 kW (1,500 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 644 km/h (348 knot, 400 mph) at 6,795 m (22,300 ft)
- Range: 1,513 km (817 nm, 940 miles)
- Service ceiling 12,603 m (41,340 ft [1])
- Wing loading: 147 kg/m² (30.2 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.27 kW/kg (0.17hp/lb)
- Climb to 3,050 m (10,000 ft): 3.25 min
Armament
- 1 x 20 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns
- 4 x 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns
[edit] References
- ^ a b Green, William (1961). Warplanes of the Second World War, Fighters Volume 2. London: Macdonald, p. 170-171.
- ^ Green, W; Swanborough, G (1994). The Complete Book of Fighters. Smithmark, p. 471. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
- Gigli-Cervi, Alessandro I caccia con motore centrale Aerei nella Storia magazine, Westward editions, Parma, n. Feb 2000
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft P-39 Airacobra
Related lists
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