Ansaldo A.300

The Ansaldo A.300 was an Italian general purpose biplane aircraft built by the Ansaldo company of Turin from 1920 to 1929.

It also served as a light bomber, transport, fighter and reconnaissance aircraft, and finally as an advanced trainer,

Examples were in service as late as 1940.

50 examples were also license built in Poland at ZM E Plage & T Laśkiewicz, but were not a success due to poor quality.

Variants

A.300/2

Initial production version

A.300/3

Three seat version, also exported to Spain, Belgium, and Poland

A.300/4

Definitive production version with improved cooling

A.300/5

Prototype with Lorraine engine

A.300/6

Improved A.300/4, also in service

Specifications

Crew

Two

Length

8.75 m (28 ft 9 in)

Wingspan

11.24 m (36 ft 11 in)

Height

2.97 m (9 ft 9 in)

Wing area

39.5 m2 (425 sq ft)

Empty weight

1,200 kg (2,650 lb)

Gross weight

1,700 kg (3,750 lb)

Powerplant

1 × Fiat A.12bis piston engine,

170 kW (230 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed

200 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn)

Endurance

3 hours 30 minutes

Service ceiling

5,500 m (18,000 ft)

Rate of climb

2.5 m/s (490 ft/min)

Armament

2 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Vickers machine guns

1 × flexible .303 Vickers machine gun for observer.