Breda Ba.88
| Breda Ba.88 Lince | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A Breda Ba.88 entering a shallow dive. | |
| Role | Ground-attack aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Ernesto Breda |
| Designer | Giuseppe Panzeri and Antonio Parano |
| First flight | October 1936 |
| Introduction | 1939 |
| Retired | 1941 |
| Primary user | Regia Aeronautica |
| Produced | 1936–1940 |
| Number built | 149 |
The Breda Ba.88 Lince (Italian: Lynx) was a ground-attack aircraft used by the Italian Regia Aeronautica during World War II. Its streamlined design and retractable undercarriage were advanced for the time, and after its debut in 1937 the aircraft established several world speed records. However, when military equipment was installed on production examples, problems of instability developed and the aeroplane's general performance deteriorated. Eventually its operational career was cut short, and the remaining Ba.88 airframes were used as fixed installations on airfields to mislead enemy reconnaissance. It represented, perhaps, the most remarkable failure of any operational aircraft to see service in World War II.
The Breda Ba.88 was designed to fulfill a 1936 requirement by the Regia Aeronautica for a heavy fighter bomber capable of a maximum speed of 530 km/h (329 mph) (more than that of any other aircraft existing or being planned at the time), armament of 20 mm cannons and range of 2,000 km (1,240 mi). It first flew in October 1936. The project was derived from the aborted Ba.75 also designed by Giuseppe Panzeri and Antonio Parano.
The Ba.88 was an all-metal, twin-engine, two-crew monoplane, with a high-mounted wing. It employed a "concentric" fuselage design, with a framework of steel tubes and a metallic skin covering which was both streamlined (having a very small fuselage cross-section) and strong. However, this internal load-bearing structure was very complex and of outdated design, as monocoque designs were starting to be developed elsewhere. The internal struts resulted in excessive weight compounded by manufacturing delays. The narrow confines of the fuselage would require the Ba.88 to carry bombs in a semi-external structure, much to the detriment of the aircraft's aerodynamics. The all-metal wings had two longerons, and housed the engine nacelles, undercarriage main elements, and the majority of the 12 self-sealing fuel tanks (the only protective armour in the aircraft), providing 1,586 L (419 US gal) total capacity. All three undercarriage units were retractable, which was unusual for the time.
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