Breda Ba.25

Template:Infobox Aircraft The Breda Ba.25 was an Italian two-seat trainer biplane designed and built by the Breda company. It was the most widely used Italian basic trainer of the 1930's.

Design and development

The first flight took place near Milan in 1931. Initially design was one seater but it was decided to convert it into double. Tests of two-seat variant were successful and in late 1931 Regia Aeronautica ordered a series of 100 Ba.25 a training aircraft. The student and instructor sat in open tandem cockpits, though some versions had a single-bay cockpit.

Initial order was finished by 1935 but demand for this aircraft has increased and production for the Regia Aeronautica totalled 719 byt the end of 1938. Many others were produced for export or for private use with different radial engines like Alfa Romeo Lynx or Walter Castor.

Operational history

Ba.25 remained in service of the Regia Aeronautica as training aircraft during World War II. Some of the aircraft were seized and handed over to the Allies.^[1]

Variants

There were many minor variants, dependant on the powerplant, in addition to:

Ba.25: Main production version.

Ba.25 Ridotto': Reduced-span aerobatic version.
Ba.25-I (I for Idro): Floatplane version (42 built)
Ba.26: Primary trainer with a longer wingspan and Walter NZ 120 engine, prototype only.
Ba.28: Export version with Piaggio-built Gnome-Rhône 7K engine for Norway, Paraguay, China and Ethopia, among others.