Piaggio P.119

Piaggio P.119
Role	Fighter
Manufacturer	Piaggio
Designer	Giovanni Casiraghi
First flight	19 December 1942
Status	Prototype only
Number built	1

The Piaggio P.119 was an Italian experimental fighter of World War II. 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 the Allied armed forces, which ended the project.

Development

Among the many Italian aircraft manufacturers, during World War II, the majority (such as Savoia-Marchetti and Caproni) designed and built mixed-construction aircraft, or, in the case of CANT, completely made of wood. While Fiat and Macchi built 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 the innovative concepts. The Piaggio P.119 was one of the best examples of these projects. The '5' series fighters are well known, especially the Fiat G.55 and the Macchi C.205, but there were two other fighters on the same level, the Caproni-Vizzola F.6 and the Piaggio P.119, both of which did not enter production.

The P.119 was designed (in 1939), to minimise drag by fitting the engine in 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, which would also allow a heavy nose-mounted armament. ^[1] In 1940, Piaggio still had to solve three major issues: contra-rotating propellers, power transmission, and engine cooling.

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 by two Piaggio P.XI RC 40 engines, each connected to a propeller, but it was not built. The P.119 was built instead and first flew at the end of 1942. Three different configurations were studied before one was chosen.

Design

The P.119 was a cantilever monoplane, constructed completely of metal, with a conventional wide undercarriage. It had a forward-mounted cockpit, with the weapons mounted just behind the three-blade propeller. Air intakes for cooling were fitted under the nose. It had advanced construction for the time, with many removable panels for internal inspection. The number of components were reduced to a minimum, and also standardized, to make construction as easy as possible. No other Italian aircraft was so advanced in these details.^{[citation needed]}

Engine

The P.119 was powered by a 1,119 kW (1,500 hp) Piaggio P.XV RC 45 radial engine located behind the cockpit. The propeller was a Piaggio P.1002 of 3.3 m (10ft 10in) diameter, driven by an extended shaft running under the cockpit. A further development was planned with Piaggio P.XV RC 50, giving 1,230 kW (1,650 hp) at take-off and 1,099 kW (1,475 hp) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft), with a 630 km/h (390 mph) maximum speed, was planned but never implemented.

Fuel

The aircraft had a 330 L (90 US gal) fuel tank in each wing, and a 340 L (90 US gal) tank in the fuselage, giving a total of 1,000 L (260 US gal); 2½ times greater than that of a Bf 109 or a MC.205.

Flight Surfaces

Overall weight of the aircraft was quite high, but the wing was wide, with a 13 m (43 ft) wingspan. The surface was almost 28 m² (301 ft²), 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) and a semi-spar, semi-monocoque skin.

Armament

The weapons were built by BREDA and concentrated in the nose; a 20 mm cannon with 110 rounds and four 12.7 mm (.5 in) heavy machine guns with 2,000 rounds. It was similar to the P-38 Lightning in layout, except for the presence of the propeller and synchronizer. The Breda gun was more powerful than the 20 mm MG 151, but had a lower rate of fire. There was also provision to install another four 7.7 mm (.303 in) Bredas in the wings (with 1,200 total rounds). An anti-tank version was proposed with a Breda 37 mm (1.46 in) gun, but not built.

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. One month later, the armistice brought an end to the project.

All in all, the P.119 was an interesting and somewhat mysterious aircraft, for many years it was totally unknown to the public. It was not sent to Guidonia for official evaluation.

Performance could have been very good. The engine and the weapons were built under foreign license, but they could have been called 'authentic' in respect to the German DB 605 engine and 20 mm MG 151 guns mounted in the '5' series fighters. Performance was good enough to compete with other Italian fighters - endurance was much better. However, the aircraft was not ready until eight months after the other '5' fighters, and this was catastrophic for the program. Apparently, this machine was not rated officially by the 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 an operational aircraft, the only Axis mid-fuselage engined fighter was swiftly forgotten.

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 kn, 400 mph) at 6,795 m (22,300 ft)
• Range: 1,513 km (817 nmi, 940 mi)
• 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 × 20 mm Breda-SAFAT cannon
• 4 × 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• P-39 Airacobra
  

Related lists

• List of aircraft of Italy, World War II
• List of fighter aircraft
  

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Green, William (1961). Warplanes of the Second World War, Fighters Volume 2. London: Macdonald. pp. 170–171. 
2. ^ 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

External links

• Estimated performance data with planned engine
• Virtual Aircraft Museum