Piaggio P.32

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The Piaggio P.32 was an Italian medium bomber of the late 1930s, produced by Piaggio, and designed by Giovanni Pegna. It was a modern design for its time, but was a failure due to lack of powerplants commensurate with its high wing loading.

Design

The P.32 was a twin-engine monoplane with a crew of five or six. The main structure was of wood, with a glazed nose, low cockpit, twin tail-fins, and a distinct 'banana' shape in the fuselage. It was armed with a dorsal turret with two 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine guns, a ventral turret and a single machine gun in the nose, and it could carry a 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) bombload.

Utilizing their experience of designing experimental and record-breaking aircraft like the Piaggio P.16, Piaggio P.23M, and Piaggio P.23R, Piaggio designed the P.32 with very small wings for its size. This meant a high wing loading, which required Handley-Page leading edge slats and double trailing-edge flaps to provide enough lift at takeoff and landing.

Development

The development of this aircraft began with the contest announced by the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) in 1934. The P.32 was one of many contenders, and the most modern.

The prototype first flew in 1936, and was tested at Guidonia, leading to an order for 12 aircraft, followed by a second order for five. These aircraft were fitted with the 615 kW (825 hp) Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI.RC inline V12 engine, and were designated the P.32 I.

In early 1937, the P.32 Is were assigned to XXXVII Gruppo BT, 18 Stormo. The advanced wing design meant that they could only be flown by specially-trained crews, but the aircraft was found to be fatally underpowered, with a maximum speed of only 386 km/h (240 mph), and then only with no bombs or defensive weapons carried. They were unable to fly on only one engine, and their handling qualities were inferior to the SM.79 and BR.20.

The P.32 II, fitted with more powerful 750 kW (1,000 hp) Piaggio P.XI RC 40 radial engines was tested, and 12 were delivered in early 1938. The more powerful engines gave a better rate of climb, but the increased weight meant there was no improvement in maximum speed, while the range dropped from 1,950 km (1,200 mi) to 1,700 km (1,100 mi) because of higher fuel consumption.

The P.32 Bis was a redesign that brought the empty weight of the aircraft down from 6,355 kg (14,010 lb) to 5,700 kg (12,600 lb) by reducing its overall size slightly. This gave it a top speed of 378 km/h (235 mph) and a ceiling of 6,300 m (21,000 ft) with the Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI engines, and 420 km/h (260 mph) and a ceiling of 8,000 m (26,200 ft) with the Piaggio P.XI RC 40 engines. However, the prototype crashed on 25 February 1938, killing the test pilot, leading to the cancellation of further development.

The P.32 Is and IIs were taken out of service in April 1938 and were used as training aircraft. In 1939, a P.32 crashed, killing the entire crew. There is no further information about the fate of the remaining aircraft, and most likely they were scrapped soon afterwards.

Variants

P.32 I: With 615 kW (825 hp) Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI.RC inline V12 engines.
P. 32 II: With 750 kW (1,000 hp) Piaggio P.XI RC 40 radial engines.
Caproni Ca.405 Procellaria: A version built by Caproni specifically for the Istres-Damascus-Paris Air Race of 1937, but not completed in time.
P.32 Bis: A redesign built by Caproni-Reggiane (as the Ca.400). Tested with both types of engine. One prototype built.

Operators

Italy

Regia Aeronautica

Specifications (P.32 I)

General characteristics

Crew: 5/6
Length: 16.3 m (53 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 18 m (59 ft)
Height: 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 60 m² (645.6 ft²)
Empty weight: 6,355 kg (13,981 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 9,355 kg (20,581 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI.RC40 V12 inline engines, 615 kW (825 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 386 km/h (208 kn, 240 mph)
Range: 1,950 km (1,053 nmi, 1,212 mi)
Service ceiling: 7,250 m (23,780 ft)
Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft) : 19 min 54 sec.

Armament

5 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns
1,600 kg (3,500 lb) of bombs

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Piaggio P.32.

Vigna, Achille, il Piaggio P.32, Storia Militare magazine n.100 November 1997 (Italian)

v t e Piaggio aircraft

Piaggio	Fn.350 P.2 P.3 P.6 P.7 P.8 P.9 P.10 P.11 P.12 P.16 P.23M P.23R P.32 P.50 P.108 P.111 P.119 P.133 P.136 P.148 P.149 P.150 P.166 P.180 P1XX (under development)

Piaggio-Douglas	PD.808

Piaggio-Pegna	P.c.7

Piaggio-Selex	P.1HH

v t e Aircraft produced by Aeronautica Caproni

Establishments Taliedo	Ca.1 (1910) Ca.1 (1914) Ca.2 Ca.3 Ca.4 Ca.5 Ca.6 Ca.7 Ca.8 Ca.9 Ca.10 Ca.11 Ca.12 Ca.13 Ca.14 Ca.15 Ca.16 Ca.18 Ca.19 Ca.20 Ca.24 Ca.25 Ca.30 Ca.31 Ca.32 Ca.33 Ca.34 Ca.35 Ca.36 Ca.37 Ca.39 Ca.40 Ca.41 Ca.42 Ca.43 Ca.44 Ca.45 Ca.46 Ca.47 Ca.48 Ca.49 Ca.50 Ca.51 Ca.52 Ca.53 Ca.56 Ca.57 Ca.58 Ca.59 Ca.60 Ca.61 Ca.64 Ca.66 Ca.67 Ca.70 Ca.71 Ca.73 Ca.74 Ca.79 Ca.80 Ca.82 Ca.87 Ca.88 Ca.89 Ca.90 Ca.95 Ca.97 Ca.100 Ca.101 Ca.102 Ca.103 Ca.105 Ca.111 Ca.113 Ca.114 Ca.120 Ca.122 Ca.123 Ca.124 Ca.125 Ca.127 Ca.132 Ca.133 Ca.134 Ca.135 Ca.142 Ca.148 Ca.150 Ca.161 Ca.162 Ca.163 Ca.164 Ca.165 Ca.183bis Ca.193

Cantieri Aeronautici Bergamaschi (CAB)	PL.3 PS.1 A.P.1 Ca.135 Ca.301 Ca.305 Ca.306 Ca.307 Ca.308 Ca.308 Borea Ca.309 Ca.310 Ca.311 Ca.312 Ca.313 Ca.314 Ca.316 Ca.331 Ca.335 Ca.355 Ca.380

Caproni Reggiane	Ca.400 Ca.401 Ca.405

Caproni Vizzola	MF 2 F.4 F.5 F.6 F.7 A-10 A-12 A-14 A-15 A-20 A-21 C22 Ventura

Caproni Trento	Trento F-5

Other nominations	Sauro-1 Stipa CH.1 Campini N.1

See also: Giovanni Battista Caproni · Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics · Agusta

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