Piaggio P.IX | |
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P.IX mounted on the IMAM Ro.37 at the Italian Air Force Museum, Vigna di Valle | |
Type | Air cooled radial |
National origin | Italy |
Manufacturer | Piaggio |
Designer | Renzo Spolti |
First run | 1933 |
Major applications |
IMAM Ro.37bis Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 |
Developed from | Gnome-Rhône 9K |
Developed into | Piaggio P.X |
The Piaggio P.IX, or Piaggio Stella P.IX, was an Italian nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by Rinaldo Piaggio S.p.A. Based on the Gnome-Rhône 9K, the engine was rated at 600 hp (447 kW). Production was used to power a number of other aircraft developed in Italy. The main users were the Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 transport and the IMAM Ro.37bis, the main reconnaissance aircraft in the Regia Aeronautica during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Spanish Civil War and Second World War, but the engine was also used by other designs, including the prototype Savoia-Marchetti SM.79.
Piaggio acquired a license from Gnome et Rhône in 1925 for their engines derived from the Bristol Jupiter and, in 1933, brought out a developed version, created under the direction of engineer Renzo Spolti. [1] The engine had nine cylinders and was therefore named P.IX. It was one of a range of Piaggio radial engines named Stella, or Star, all based on the same radial design. [2]
The engine had cylinders that had steel barrels and aluminium heads. Aluminium alloy pistons were connected to a split crankshaft via articulated connecting rods. The valves were enclosed. [3] Each cylinder retained the same bore and stroke as the Gnome-Rhône 9K, 146 millimetres (5.7 in) and 165 mm (6.5 in) respectively. [1] However, it was more powerful and was rated at 600 horsepower (447 kW) when fitted with a supercharger. [4]
The engine was used to power aircraft that served during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Spanish Civil War and Second World War, including one hundred and forty Savoia-Marchetti SM.81s, a Regia Aeronautica transport, and the majority of the production of the IMAM Ro.37bis reconnaissance aircraft. Most had retired by 1943. [5] [6]
Data from Piaggio, 1939 [4]
Related development
Comparable engines
Related lists
Piaggio P.IX | |
---|---|
![]() | |
P.IX mounted on the IMAM Ro.37 at the Italian Air Force Museum, Vigna di Valle | |
Type | Air cooled radial |
National origin | Italy |
Manufacturer | Piaggio |
Designer | Renzo Spolti |
First run | 1933 |
Major applications |
IMAM Ro.37bis Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 |
Developed from | Gnome-Rhône 9K |
Developed into | Piaggio P.X |
The Piaggio P.IX, or Piaggio Stella P.IX, was an Italian nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by Rinaldo Piaggio S.p.A. Based on the Gnome-Rhône 9K, the engine was rated at 600 hp (447 kW). Production was used to power a number of other aircraft developed in Italy. The main users were the Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 transport and the IMAM Ro.37bis, the main reconnaissance aircraft in the Regia Aeronautica during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Spanish Civil War and Second World War, but the engine was also used by other designs, including the prototype Savoia-Marchetti SM.79.
Piaggio acquired a license from Gnome et Rhône in 1925 for their engines derived from the Bristol Jupiter and, in 1933, brought out a developed version, created under the direction of engineer Renzo Spolti. [1] The engine had nine cylinders and was therefore named P.IX. It was one of a range of Piaggio radial engines named Stella, or Star, all based on the same radial design. [2]
The engine had cylinders that had steel barrels and aluminium heads. Aluminium alloy pistons were connected to a split crankshaft via articulated connecting rods. The valves were enclosed. [3] Each cylinder retained the same bore and stroke as the Gnome-Rhône 9K, 146 millimetres (5.7 in) and 165 mm (6.5 in) respectively. [1] However, it was more powerful and was rated at 600 horsepower (447 kW) when fitted with a supercharger. [4]
The engine was used to power aircraft that served during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Spanish Civil War and Second World War, including one hundred and forty Savoia-Marchetti SM.81s, a Regia Aeronautica transport, and the majority of the production of the IMAM Ro.37bis reconnaissance aircraft. Most had retired by 1943. [5] [6]
Data from Piaggio, 1939 [4]
Related development
Comparable engines
Related lists