Breda Ba.88 (Lince)

Heavy Fighter / Light Bomber / Ground Attack Aircraft

Kingdom of Italy | 1938

"The Breda Ba.88 Lince arrived in pre-war Italy during 1938 and was quickly retired in 1941 once the fighting started."

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Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/12/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Following the failure of the proposed Breda Ba.75 product (just one example was completed), intended to fulfill a reconnaissance / ground attack role for the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force), the service passed along a new requirement in 1936 calling for a heavy fighter aircraft with a maximum speed of 329 miles per hour, a range out to 1,240 miles and standardized armament consisting of 20mm automatic cannons. This was to become a powerful, high-speed, heavy gun platform to outmatch all others of its kind and provide a true "bomber killer" for the Italian air service. To fall in line with heavy fighters of the day, a two-seat, twin-engined monoplane wing arrangement with all-metal skinning was envisioned.

The resultant design became the Breda Ba.88 which was debuted in 1937 and proved a promising venture in the early going. The aircraft was well-streamlined and carried its engines in nacelles along the wing leading edges. The cockpit was situated along the fuselage and aft of a nose cone assembly. The fuselage then tapered towards the tail to which a pair of rounded vertical fins was fitted. A conventional tail-dragger undercarriage arrangement was used with all legs wholly retractable into the design. Internally the aircraft was given a load-bearing structure which dated its otherwise advanced form. Self-sealing fuel tanks were standard within though internal space was such that a modest bombload was forced to be carried externally. Standard armament was 3 x 12.7mm heavy machine guns in the nose while the second crewmember managed a trainable 7.7mm installation at the rear cockpit. Provision was made to install a 20mm automatic cannon in place of one of the nose-mounted 12.7mm fits.

Power for the prototype was served from 2 x Isotta-Fraschini K14 series engines but production forms carried 2 x Piaggio P.XI RC.40 "Stella" 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines of 1,000 horsepower each. These drove three-bladed propelled units. Maximum speed for the mark reached 304 miles per hour with a range out to 1,019 miles and a service ceiling of 26,250 feet. 10,000 feet could be reached in about 7.5 minutes.

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In testing, the stripped, baseline aircraft proved a speedy mount and went on to set several international speed records for its class. However, its fortunes changed when the airframe was saddled with the requisite military equipment as performance began to suffer notably. Despite this, serial manufacture of the design went ahead and service entry came in 1938 with the first Italian units equipped with the type in June of 1940. Production ran from 1936 until 1940 and 149 units were completed.

In practical service, the Ba.88 was not viewed fondly by Italian aviators for it was underpowered and overweight, leading to reduced handling and agility - and combat exposure showcased these weaknesses through mounting losses. By mid-1940, the aircraft was already being replaced in frontline service which forced the Regia Aeronautica to rely on more antiquated mounts for the fighter-bomber role. The Ba.88 was retired in full by 1941 - a rather short service record for such a highly-touted aeroplane.

Original production forms, known as "Lince" ("Lynx") were designated simply as "Ba.88" and adopted for both ground attack and reconnaissance roles. The "Ba 88M" designation was given to three aircraft appearing in late-1942 and modified with Fiat A.74 RC.38 series engines as well as 4 x 127mm heavy machine guns for the ground attack role. These also included increased wing surface areas and dive brakes for the stressed involved in diving attacks. The trio arrived too late in the war to fulfill any need for the Italian surrender came in September of 1943.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Breda Ba.88 (Lince) Heavy Fighter / Light Bomber / Ground Attack Aircraft.

2 x Piaggio P.XI RC.40 Stella 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines developing 1,000 horsepower each.
Propulsion

304 mph
490 kph | 265 kts
Max Speed

26,247 ft
8,000 m | 5 miles
Service Ceiling

1,019 miles
1,640 km | 886 nm
Operational Range

1,315 ft/min
401 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Breda Ba.88 (Lince) Heavy Fighter / Light Bomber / Ground Attack Aircraft.

2
(MANNED)
Crew

35.4 ft
10.80 m
O/A Length

51.2 ft
(15.60 m)
O/A Width

10.2 ft
(3.10 m)
O/A Height

10,251 lb
(4,650 kg)
Empty Weight

14,881 lb
(6,750 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Breda Ba.88 (Lince) Heavy Fighter / Light Bomber / Ground Attack Aircraft .

STANDARD:
3 x 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT heavy machine guns in nose
1 x 7.7mm Breda-SAFAT medium machine gun in rear cockpit.

OPTIONAL:
Up to 2,205 lb of conventional drop stores as well as 440 lb under the fuselage in a semi-recessed position.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Breda Ba.88 (Lince) family line.

Ba.88 "Lince" - Base Series Designation

Ba.88M - Dedicated ground attack model; three examples.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Breda Ba.88 (Lince). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 149 Units
Contractor(s): Ernesto Breda - Italy

[ Kingdom of Italy ]

1 / 1

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Going Further...
The Breda Ba.88 (Lince) Heavy Fighter / Light Bomber / Ground Attack Aircraft appears in the following collections:

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