BREDA 44

The Breda Ba.44 was an Italian passenger plane, in the biplane configuration, with a fixed undercarriage. The drive was provided by two Colombo S.63 or de Havilland Gipsy engines with 185 HP each. The flight of the prototype took place in 1934, and shortly after that, serial production began, which led to the production of only 6 copies of this machine. The plane did not have permanent weapons. Breda Ba.44 was created as a development of the Dragon Rapide produced under the license of de Havilland. Changes compared to the original consisted in redesigning the pilot's cockpit, changing the tail section and using native production engines. However, these changes did not lead to a significant improvement in the aircraft's performance. Four Ba.44 planes served in the Italian Civil Aviation, and one was purchased by the Italian Air Force to transport VIPs. Some of the aircraft were also purchased by Paraguay, where it served until 1947. The Italian Ba.44 planes took a small part in the fighting in Albania in 1939 and in the war with Greece (1939-1940) and Yugoslavia (1941).