Piaggio P.3

P.3
Role	Night bomber
Manufacturer	Piaggio
Designer	Giovanni Pegna
First flight	1923
Primary user	Regia Aeronautica

The Piaggio P.3 was an Italian night bomber prototype built by Piaggio in 1923.

Design and development

Designed by Ing Giovanni Pegna, the P.3 was a four-engine, two-bay biplane with wings of unequal span, the lower wing being greater in span than the upper. Its four 149-kilowatt (200-horsepower) S.P.A. 6A engines were mounted in tandem pairs on the lower wing, with each engine driving one of four propellers, two mounted in a tractor and two in a pusher configuration. The P.3's tail was of biplane configuration with three rudders mounted between the two planes. The crew of four consisted of a pilot, co-pilot, nose gunner, and rear gunner; the pilot and co-pilot sat side by side in a cockpit just ahead of the wings, the nose gunner manned a machine gun mounted in a cockpit in front of them, and the rear gunner manned two machine guns, one in an amidships cockpit behind the pilots and another mounted in a ventral tunnel for defense against attacks from below.

The P.3 made its first flight in 1923, and Piaggio later installed two 306-kilowatt (410-horsepower) Fiat A.20V engines on the aircraft. However, the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) did not place a production order for the P.3.

Operators

Kingdom of Italy

• Regia Aeronautica

Specifications (S.P.A. 6A engines)

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Wingspan: 24 m (78 ft 9 in)
• Powerplant: 4 × S.P.A. 6A piston , 149 kW (200 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 185 km/h (115 mph, 100 kn)

Armament

• 3 × machine guns