Ba.88 Lince | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Attacker |
National origin | Italy |
Manufacturer | Società Italiana Ernesto Breda |
Designer |
|
Status | Retired |
Primary user | Regia Aeronautica |
Number built | 149 |
History | |
Manufactured | 1936–1940 |
Introduction date | 1939 |
First flight | October 1936 |
Retired | 1941 |
The Breda Ba.88 Lince ("Lynx") was a ground-attack aircraft used by the Italian Regia Aeronautica during World War II. Its streamlined design and retractable undercarriage were advanced for the time, and after its debut in 1937 the aircraft established several world speed records.[1] However, when military equipment was installed on production examples, problems of instability developed and the aeroplane's general performance deteriorated. Eventually its operational career was cut short, and the remaining Ba.88 airframes were used as fixed installations on airfields to mislead enemy reconnaissance.[1] It represented, perhaps, the most remarkable failure of any operational aircraft to see service in World War II.[2]