Piaggio P.111
The Piaggio P.111 was an Italian high-altitude research aircraft designed and built by Piaggio for the Regia Aeronautica.
Design and development
The genesis of the P.111 was in 1938, when the Regia Aeronautica awarded a contract to Piaggio to construct the prototype of a three-seat, twin-engine, high-speed, high-altitude bomber with a pressurized cabin. Piaggio constructed a new radial engine especially for the P.111, the 18-cylinder double-row air-cooled Piaggio P.XII R.C.100/2v, which was fitted with a two-stage supercharger.While the P.111 prototype was under construction, the Regia Aeronatica decided to use it as a high-altitude research aircraft rather than a bomber prototype.