SAI-Ambrosini SS4
| SAI-Ambrosini SS4 | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Interceptor aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
May 1939 |
| Number of pieces: |
prototype |
The SAI-Ambrosini SS4 (also known as Ambrosini SS4 or Progetto Canard ) was the prototype of an interceptor made by the Italian company SAI-Ambrosini . The first flight took place in 1939. Despite the promising flight characteristics, further development was discontinued in 1942 after an engine failure and the subsequent landing accident.
history
As early as 1935, engineer Sergio Stefanutti at SAI-Ambrosini had started to design duck-wing aircraft (canard). In 1935 he had successfully tested a wooden motor glider with the designation SS2 (SAI Stefanutti Model 2) and in 1937 the two-seater test model SS3 Anitra (duck) with a small two - cylinder C.NA IIbis engine with 40 hp . Because of the weak engine, the performance remained low, but the expectations placed in the design as a duck wing were confirmed by the flight characteristics.
This was followed by the SS4 from 1938 onwards , which took off on its maiden flight in May 1939 in Castiglione del Lago in the form of a prototype with a pusher propeller . This first machine received the military registration number of the Regia Aeronautica "MM.387". The extensive test flights carried out in 1940 and 1941 confirmed the good properties and good controllability. As armament was for SS4 a 30-mm cannon (still as the prototype dummy was mounted) and two 20-mm machine guns of Mauser in the fuselage nose . However, the prototype crashed due to an emergency landing due to an engine failure in 1942, so that further development was then discontinued.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 6.75 m |
| span | 12.32 m |
| height | 2.48 m |
| Takeoff mass | 2,450 kg |
| drive | a liquid-cooled 12-cylinder V-engine Isotta Fraschini Asso XI RC.40; 985 hp (724 kW) |
| Top speed | 570 km / h |
| Armament | one cannon 30 mm, two cannons 20 mm |
See also
Web links
- SAI AMBROSINI SS4 (English)
- SAI AMBROSINI SS4 (Italian)