Breda A.8

A.8
Role	Night bomber
National origin	Italy
Manufacturer	Società Italiana Ernesto Breda
First flight	1927
Number built	1
Developed from	Breda A.3

The Breda A.8 was a prototype twin-engined biplane, designed by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda, as a night bomber in 1927.

Design & development

The A.8, designed as an improvement to the Breda A.3, was modified to rectify problems experienced with the A.3. When the aircraft was tested using two 330 kW (440 hp) Lorraine-Dietrich 12Db engines, the results were quite modest. In response, the designers changed to 370 kW (500 hp) Isotta Fraschini Asso 500 engines, but the performance was still disappointing and the design was abandoned.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: four
• Capacity: 1800kg
• Length: 16.7 m (54 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 23 m (75 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 143 m² (1,540 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 3,800 kg (8,378 lb)
• Gross weight: 5,600 kg (12,346 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Lorraine-Dietrich 12Db , 330 kW (440 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 175 km/h (109 mph; 94 kn)
• Endurance: 6h
• Service ceiling: 3,500 m (11,483 ft)
• Wing loading: 39 kg/m² (8.0 lb/sq ft)

Armament

• Bombs: 800kg

References

• da Badia Polesine, Jotti (1930). Annuario dell'Aeronautica Italiana 1929-1930 (in Italian). Milan: Libreria Aeronautica. 
• Robinson, Anthony (1979). The illustrated encyclopedia of aviation, Volume 4. Cavendish. p. 405. ISBN 978-0-85685-577-1. 
• All the world's aircraft. S. Low, Marston & company, ltd. 1927.