One of the first Piaggio P.108 with a Savoia-Marchetti S.79 on an Italian airport, probably Guidonia, Rome, base of Italian Air Force’s flight test center. The Piaggio’s four engines bomber was a very expensive aircraft for Italian standards of Forties when the average Italian bomber cost were around 2.1 million lire (but the three engines S.79 were cheap, around 1.7 million lire). On the other hand the P.108’s cost were 5.2 million lire. According some sources a single squadron of nine P.108s capable of flying 1,100 km (580 nm) with load of 3,500 kg (7,700 lbs), had an estimated efficiency comparable to a group of 26 S.79s covering 1,000 km (500 nm) with 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs). The total cost of the aircraft was 46.8 and 45.6 million lire respectively, but only 54 crewmen were required to handling the P.108s compared to 130 required from the SM.79s. Beyond a shadow of a doubt the P.108 was a plane most advanced and up to date of the twin and three engines bomber aircraft with mixed or all wood structure employed at this time by Regia Aeronautica. Regrettably the continuous engine troubles prevented the promising career of this airplane. Victor Sierra

An expensive aircraft

Another view of Bruno Mussolini’s Piaggio P.108B MM22003 after the accident. This photo is technically interesting because show one of the two turrets Breda Z2, each with two 12,7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns mounted over the wing and remotely controlled, one of principal features of P.108. Victor Sierra

The Bruno’s plane: another view

When the Italy entered in the war, 10 June 1940, the Air Force’s personnel were of 105.430 men off which 6,340 pilots (the personnel’s number include also the crewmember non pilots). In the same time the Regia Aeronautica the number of combat aircraft were 3,296: 1,332 bombers, 1,160 fighter/assault aircraft, 497 reconnaissance land planes, 307 reconnaissance maritime planes, plus about a thousand of other aircrafts for other duties as training, transport, liaison etc. But only the 54 percent of the active duty’s force were really combat ready with flight lines not standardized (for examples, four models of bombers and four models of fighters) and not of standards of German and enemies air forces (at the time of fighters monoplane with retractable landing gear, in line engine of over 1,000 HP of power, 20mm cannons or/and four/six machine guns, as Bf.109, Dewoitine D-520, Hurricane and Spitfire, the bulk of Italian fighter line was the biplane Fiat CR.42 and the absence of the radio were common). The situation of aeronautical industry was nothing much better. Total absence of engineering and of on advanced method of production, plus shortage of raw material, but also type of design obsolete: only 10.388 aircraft of all types produced from June 1940 to September 1943, when, for example, of the Hawker Hurricane was built more than units. In any case was impossible for the industry balance the loss which was heavy: a total of 9.423 aircraft lost for war actions, accidents or phasing out from 10 June 1940 until 8 September 1943. The same for the human life’s toll: more than 12,000 men killed (in combat and in accident), missed, died for other reasons (ex. diseases contracted on the front) and wounded. In the photo the wreck of a S.79 bomber completely burned and surrounded by Indian soldiers. Victor Sierra