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Ba.44

Breda 201

Ba.28

BZ.308

Founded in 1886 by Ernesto Breda this company, based in Milan, originally manufactured railway machinery. It started aircraft production in 1921 with the Breda A.2. In 1935 it took control of the Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali company and its aircraft division soon after. Post war the company returned to the railway industry and is now part of Hitachi Rail Italy.

Breda Ba.19. This 1932 biplane had aerobatic qualities that made it a popular display aircraft on the airshow circuit as demonstrated by the 'Squadriglia da Alta Acrobazia Aerea'. The sole surviving Breda 19 is currently preserved at the Caproni Museum in Trento and is displayed inverted. Choroszy has produced a neat 1/72 resin kit of this aircraft.

Breda Ba.25. This 1930s biplane was widely used by the Regia Aeronautica. Powered by an Alfa Romeo radial engine, numerous versions were built. Choroszy have produced three 1/72 resin kits: a biposto, idrovolante & in-line Asso engined variant. It has finer detail when compared to the OOP Aerodim 1/72 resin kit.

Breda Ba.27. An early example of a braced low-winged monoplane, this 1934 fighter was destined for export after rejection by the Regia Aeronautica. Only China ever placed an order. The Choroszy 1/72 resin kit is one of their first products but is still worth a look. The  AZ Models 1/72 injection moulded kit, which covered the prototype and Chinese variants, is OOP. Their prototype 'Metallico' kit had massively undersized undercarriage parts and did not match the quality of the Choroszy kit.

Breda Ba.28. This 1936 aircraft was a varaint of the Breda 25 powered by a Piaggio Stella radial engine. It was not a great success as a trainer for the Regia Aeronautica but many export orders were placed, including 18 for China. Choroszy has a single & two seat 1/72 resin kit of this aircraft in their catalogue.

Breda Ba.33. A very popular braced monoplane light sport/touring design of the 1930’s. The Serie I had a Gypsy engine and the Serie II was powered by either a Gypsy or Colombo engine. A third single seater type was built with an uprated Colombo engine. Dujin covered all types in 1/72 scale.

Breda Ba.39. A variant of the Ba.33 sport/tourer aircraft with increased performance and dimensions. They were used for liaison purposes by the Regia Aeronautica. Choroszy produced 2 decent 1/72 resin kits of this aircraft (2 & 3 seat variants). Dujins 1/72 kit is OOP.

Breda Ba.44. Breda purchased a license to build the Dragon Rapide but tweaked the design which gave it a slightly different appearance. 4 were built for commercial use and the prototype was used as a VIP transport by the Regia Aeronautica. Its excellent flight qualities were much appreciated, so the rest were commandeered. The Planet Models 1/72 resin kit could be made into a nice model despite lacking good internal detail.

Breda Ba.64. The Ba.64 was designed by A.Parano and G.Panzeri in response to a requirement for a multi-role aircraft. Its cockpit location allowed the pilot the best possible view. 42 aircraft were built but it was under-powered with heavy flight controls and proved dangerous for inexperienced pilots due to high-speed stall tendencies. It was withdrawn from frontline service by 1939. Choroszy's fascination with Breda aircraft continues as they have released two 1/72 versions of the Ba.64. They are very detailed but some parts need careful preparation.

Breda Ba.65. This aircraft was an evolutionary development of the Ba.64. First flown in 1935, its licensed built Gnome-Rhone K14 engine proved unsatisfactory so the more powerful FIAT A80 engine was fitted from the 82nd airframe onwards. Production ceased in 1939 with 218 built, out of which 55  were exported to Iraq, Chile and Portugal. The Breda Ba.65 first saw action in Spain where it proved to be an effective ground strafer and dive bomber. The 11 surviving aircraft were then handed over to the Spanish Air Force. The Ba.65 faced early retirement but with the Ba.88 and Ca.310 proving to be totally ineffective, they were put back into service and sent to North Africa. Despite the hot dusty conditions it excelled in the ground attack role. It saw the heaviest action in the second half of 1940 and by 1942 all were either lost in action or rendered unserviceable.

Probably due to its distinctive appearance, this aircraft has been a popular modelling subject.  In 1/72 scale there were the Azur & RCR/Sign kits and in 1/48 scale the RCR & Warrior resin kits. These are all OOP. Still available though are the 1/48 Special Hobby boxings, which covered the biposto, monoposto and export variants, plus AZ Models 1/72 kit which has been re-issued with new moulds.

Breda Ba.88 Lince. Another Panzeri & Parano creation, this heavy fighter design was first flown in 1936. With a combination of advanced sleek looks and several speed records, the Regia Aeronautica showed a lot of interest. However its extremely rugged over-engineered construction proved to be its downfall where its performance was severely compromised once fitted out with military equipment. Most of the 149 aircraft built were stripped out for its armament & spare parts and used as airfield decoys or sent straight to the scrapyard. 3 B88M tipo definitivo's, with extended wings and Fiat A74 engines, were delivered just before the Armistice but were never used. OOP kits includes the 1/72 KPL vacuform, Planet Models resin kit and the sole 1/48 Ba.88 kit from Warrior Models, although Choroszy Modelbud have since added this kit to their catalogue. Special Hobby reissued the MPM 1/72 injection moulded kit and is still current. Fortunately it is an accurate kit but it does require care during assembly and a steady hand to airbrush the dense mottle scheme.

Breda 201. This 1941 prototype was a last ditch attempt to provide the Regia Aeronautica with a worthy dive bomber, having repeatedly failed to do so in the years leading up to WWII.The project was abandoned when its performance was found to be no better than the Ju.87 Stuka it was designed to replace. The Cunarmodels 1/72 resin kit is worth tracking down being a faithful model that can be further improved with some modifications.

Breda Zappata BZ.308. This elegant aircraft gets a mention because its design was started by ing. Fillipo Zappata not long after he joined them from CANT in 1942. Having already designed a 4-engined commercial aircraft for CANT (the Z.511) this was to be another four-engined civilian airliner, affectionally known as the 'Connie Italiano'. However, due to ongoing war conditions, its first flight did not take place until 1947. The sole prototype was used for a while by the Aeronautica Militare from 1950 until 1954, flying between Rome and Mogadishu until it was written off and abandoned in Somalia. A sad end to a fine looking aircraft.


Model images are links to a build article