Breda A.3 & A.8

A.3 is a night bomber developed by the Italian firm Breda.

A.3 was the first military aircraft developed by the company. Its first flight took place in 1924.

Initially, four 220-strong SPA 6A engines were installed on the aircraft, then replaced with two 400-strong Lorraine-Dietrich 12 Db.

Tests of the aircraft revealed a number of defects and mediocre flight characteristics.

After that, it was decided to create a better aircraft, which led to the creation of the A.8.

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

A.8

Crew

Four

Capacity

1,800 kg (4,000 lb)

Length

16.7 m (54 ft 9 in)

Wingspan

23 m (75 ft 6 in)

Height

5.5 m (18 ft 1 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 V-12 water-cooled piston engines,

330 kW (440 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed

175 km/h (109 mph, 94 kn)

Endurance

6h

Service ceiling

3,500 m (11,500 ft)

Wing loading

39 kg/m2 (8.0 lb/sq ft)

Armament

Guns

3x 7.7 mm (0.30 in) Lewis machine-guns in nose,

dorsal and ventral positions

Bombs

800 kg (1,800 lb) of bombs.