Question on the Breda Ba 65 lower fuselage windows

Shane · Post by **Shane** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:03 pm

I am building the AZ, Azur and Aerofile Breda Ba 65. I am using the Ali D'italia #7 Breda Ba 65 book as my primary source of information on the aircraft. Since I am building several of them, I wanted to make different versions, K 14 and A80 engines, single and twin cockpits etc. I even robbed a Rare Plane kit for the turret to use with one of these kits. While there are several profiles available, there is little information on the bottom windows and bomb door configurations.

The 1/48 scale drawing of a single place A80 version seems to show windows behind the bomb bay (D'italia p. 24/25). The side profile drawings on page 14 show lower windows on all the versions of the k-14 while the line profiles on page 30 show the windows on all versions of the A80.

Azur gives you clear windows to put in both their single and twin place K 14 versions. Does this mean only the K-14 single had the windows and the A80 single seat didn't?

The AZ kit does not offer lower windows, but it is of an A80 single seat version.

Aerofile does not offer any windows on the single or twin place versions (A80 or K 14).

Rare Plane does not have the windows on any of its versions

I know the Breda Ba 65 went through several modifications during its operational use and that makes it difficult to pin which aircraft had what modifications when it deals with a part of the aircraft few people photographed. I know the bomb bay changed it's appearance and was later used to hold an extra fuel tank. I assume the exterior difference was changed from the K-14 to the A80?

Common sense would dictate that the windows were deleted on all but the twin place aircraft, but common sense is sometimes wrong.

Thanks
Shane

Rick · Post by **Rick** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:51 am

I attach some images from the Breda 65 K14 Manual (MM 75081 - 75161) concerning the second pilot abitacle, even if it is not clear if they include the presence of the turret, and a lower fuselage sight; I need more time to find the equivalent images for A80; hoping this can help

Riccardo

Shane · Post by **Shane** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:40 am

Rick:
Thanks for the quick post. The pictures really show what a "jungle gym" of bars the pilots lived in.

Are the pictures of a duel control (bi-comando) BA65 A14? Looking at the pictures, it seems that this second cockpit (for the second pilot) has rudder peddles, stick, instrument panel and is facing forward. #20, the open sliding cockpit frames is labeled "moble wind screen cabin 1 pilot" (babel fish translation) indicates that the 1st pilot could slide his cockpit windows back to be in between the first and second pilot. Operational aircraft had the internal bomb rack behind the pilot. Also, #9 translates to Commando Motor (throttle?).

The diagram at the bottom does show the windows for the K-14 and they belong to the operational two seater (open gunners station, non-turret) according to Ali D'italia. They also have a similar picture for the identical A80 two seater.

I guess my question is, are there any pictures or references that show no windows on the bottom, and if so, which version had no windows? Most of the models on the internet do not have the lower windows (all of them are of the single seat version.)

Rick, thanks for the post. There is a great deal of detail and information that can be added to the cockpit from these pictures.

Shane