Breda Ba.27

The Breda Ba.27 was a fighter produced in Italy in the 1930s and used by the Chinese Nationalist Air Force in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The Ba.27 was a low-wing braced monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage. As originally designed, the Ba.27 had a fuselage of steel tube construction skinned with light, corrugated alloy metal and wooden wings and tailplane. Evaluation of the two prototypes by the Regia Aeronautica in 1933 was strongly negative, resulting in an extensive redesign of the aircraft. 

The fuselage shape was made more rounded and the pilot's open cockpit was moved higher and forward to improve visibility. The corrugated skinning was also replaced with smooth sheet metal.

A prototype of this revised version, known as the Metallico, was first flown in June 1934, but Regia Aeronautica's appraisal was only a little more positive.

Despite the lack of domestic interest, the type was ordered by the Republic of China to use against Japan. Out of eighteen machines ordered, only eleven were actually delivered.

Operators
Chinese Nationalist Air Force received eleven aircraft.
Crew: One pilot
Length: 7.67 m (25 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 10.80 m (35 ft 5 in)
Height: 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 18.9 m2 (203 ft2)
Empty weight: 1,320 kg (2,910 lb)
Gross weight: 1,850 kg (4,078 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Alfa Romeo Mercurius radial engine, 403 kW (540 hp
Maximum speed: 380 km/h (236 mph)
Range: 750 km (466 miles)
Service ceiling: 9,000 m (29,530 ft)
Rate of climb: 11.1 m/s (2,180 ft/min)
Армамент: 2 × fixed, forward-firing 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns