- Design and development
- Operational history
- Variants
- Operators
- Specifications (P.23R - Piaggio engines)
- Notes
- References
- External links
{{for|the unrelated Piaggio P.23 transport aircraft prototype of 1935|Piaggio P.23}}| name=Piaggio P.23R | image=Piaggio P.23R.jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Commercial transport aircraft prototype | national origin=Italy | manufacturer=Piaggio | designer= | first flight=1936 | introduced= | retired= | status= | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built=1 | variants with their own articles=
}} |
The Piaggio P.23R, also known as the Piaggio P.123 for propaganda purposes, was an Italian commercial transport aircraft prototype designed and built by Piaggio. Design and developmentPiaggio designed the P.23R specifically to break speed records for commercial transport aircraft. It was a three-engine low-wing cantilever monoplane with twin tail fins and rudders. The three 671-kilowatt (900-horsepower) Isotta Fraschini Asso ("Ace") XI R V-12 engines were mounted in aerodynamically clean, sleek cowlings and each drove a three-bladed propeller. The fuselage was pencil-shaped. The crew of two sat side by side in separate open cockpits, each protected by a windscreen. The P.23R later was re-engined with three 746-kilowatt (1,001-horsepower) Piaggio P.XI RC.40 radial engines and its landing gear was modified. In addition, both cockpits were enclosed with canopies. Operational historyThe P.23R first flew in 1936. On 30 December 1938, it carried a payload of 5000 kilograms (11,023 pounds) at an average speed of 404 kilometers per hour (250.8 miles per hour), setting new world records over both the {{convert|1000|km|mi|adj=on|sp=us}} and {{convert|2000|km|mi|adj=on|sp=us}} distances. The P.23R{{'}}s development was halted in 1939. During World War II, however, Allied aircraft recognition manuals erroneously identified it as a possible Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) bomber. VariantsAlthough confusingly numbered as if it were a variant of the Piaggio P.23 commercial transport prototype of 1935, the P.23R was in fact an entirely new design. Operators- {{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
Specifications (P.23R - Piaggio engines){{Aircraft specs
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|height ft=16
|height in=2
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|wing area sqft=982.4
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|empty weight lb=26,410
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|eng1 name=Piaggio P.XI R.C.40
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|max speed mph=273
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|cruise speed mph=217
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|stall speed mph=93
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|range miles=2,360
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|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=23,871
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}}Notes1. ^{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Jonathan W.|title=Italian Civil and Military aircraft 1930-1945|location=New York|year=1963|pages=220–221|isbn=0-8168-6500-0}}
References- {{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Jonathan W.|title=Italian Civil and Military aircraft 1930-1945|location=New York|year=1963|pages=220–221|isbn=0-8168-6500-0}}
External links{{Commons category|Piaggio P.23R}}- AR Aircraft Manuals Blueprints Video Publications: Piaggio P.23R
{{Piaggio aircraft}} 6 : Italian airliners 1930–1939|Italian cargo aircraft 1930–1939|Piaggio aircraft|Trimotors|Low-wing aircraft|Aircraft first flown in 1936 |