Breda Ba.27

Breda Ba.27

Company type	Fighter aircraft
Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1933
Headquarters	Italy
Products	Military aircraft

Template:No footnotes Template:Infobox aircraft

The Breda Ba.27 was a 1930s Italian fighter aircraft, operated notably by the Chinese Nationalist Air Force during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Design and development

The Ba.27 featured a low-wing monoplane layout with bracing and fixed conventional tailwheel landing gear. Initially, its fuselage was constructed from steel tubing covered with lightweight corrugated aluminum alloy, while the wings and tail surfaces were wooden. When the two prototypes underwent evaluation by the Regia Aeronautica in 1933, feedback was predominantly unfavorable, prompting a thorough redesign. Modifications included reshaping the fuselage to a more rounded form and repositioning the open cockpit forward and upward to enhance pilot visibility. Additionally, the corrugated metal skin was replaced by smooth sheet metal.

This updated model, referred to as the Metallico, had its maiden flight in June 1934. However, the Regia Aeronautica’s assessment remained only marginally improved.

Operational history

Although it failed to attract interest domestically, the aircraft was purchased by the Republic of China for combat operations against Japanese forces. Of the eighteen units ordered, only eleven were delivered.

Variants

Ba.27

Original prototype version, with two units produced.

Ba.27 Metallico

Enhanced version following redesign, with twelve units manufactured.

Operators

Template:China as ROC

• Chinese Nationalist Air Force operated eleven aircraft.

External links

• (in Russian) Breda Ba.27
• (in Italian) Breda Ba.27