Z.1007 Alcione ( Alcyone - Kingfisher) - Italian medium-sized wooden bomber. Designed by CRDA designers under the direction of Filippo Zappata. The aircraft made its first flight on March 11, 1937, and was adopted by the Regia Aeronautica in May 1939.
| Z.1007 Alcione | |
|---|---|
 Z.1007bis Italian Air Force in flight | |
| Type of | medium bomber |
| Developer |  CRDA |
| Manufacturer | CRDA (Trieste) IMAM (Naples) Piaggio (Pontedera) |
| Chief Designer | Filippo Zappata |
| First flight | March 11, 1937 |
| Start of operation | May 1939 |
| End of operation | 1948 year |
| Status | decommissioned |
| Operators |  Regia aeronautica |
| Years of production | February 1939 - September 1943 |
| Units produced | 594 |
Content
History
The development of a new bomber began in 1935 by a group of designers led by Filippo Zappata . The prototype made its first flight in March 1937 . The aircraft was a typical Italian bomber with a three-engine layout, had a wooden body with a two-keel plumage. The prototypes installed Isotta Fraschini radial engines each with a capacity of 825 hp, but on serial machines that received the designation Z.1007bis they were replaced by Piaggio P.XI RC.40 engines of 1000 hp. each. Small arms consisted of two turrets, (above and below the fuselage), with heavy machine guns Scotti or Breda-SAFAT . as well as separate two machine guns in front of the fuselage.
Combat use
The Kingfishers were put into service in combat units in 1939 . In June 1940, the military baptism of these aircraft began, first during the invasion of France, later in Greece. As scouts, they were used in the Italian air corps during the battle for Britain . Since 1941, they have been used for raids on British oil refineries in the Middle East. However, after 1941, the use of "Alcione" began to gradually decline. Affected by the poor technical condition of most aircraft and the lack of spare parts for their repair. About a dozen Z.1007 survived the surrender of Italy in September 1943 , went to the Germans, and they passed them to the Air Force of the Republic of Salo . However, none of these aircraft was no longer suitable for flights. The last "Kingfishers" used by the Croats, but only as training machines.
Armed
- Kingdom of Italy
- Croatia
Performance Specifications
The following specifications correspond to Z.1007bis :
Data Source: [1]
- Specifications
- Crew : 5 people
- Length : 17.8 m
- Wing span : 24.8 m
- Height : 5.22
- Wing area: 75 m²
- Empty weight: 9 395 kg
- Normal take-off weight: 13,620 kg
- Powerplant : 3 × Radial Piaggio R.XI RC.40
- Engine power: 3 × 1000 hp (3 × 745 kW)
- Flight characteristics
- Maximum speed: 465 km / h
- Cruising speed : 380 km / h
- Practical range: 1,750 km
- Practical ceiling : 8,200 m
- Wing load: 181.6 kg / m² (calculated)
- Thrust- weight ratio : 164 W / kg (calculated)
- Armament
- Rifle Cannon:
- 3 × 12.7 mm Isotta-Fraschini Scotti or Breda-SAFAT machine gun
- 2 × 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun
- Combat load: up to 2 600 kg
- in the bomb bay: up to 1,200 kg of bombs and
- external suspension: up to 1,000 kg of bombs
- 2 × 450 mm 800 kg torpedoes