Interest in a STOL aircraft was raised by the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch acquired from Germany, and in June 1939 the Regia Aeronautica asked Italian aircraft companies to design a similar machine (see below).
The IMAM Ro.63 was of mixed construction with wood, fabric and metal used for the fuselage and wings. It first flew in June 1940, just at the outbreak of World War II. It was put into competition with another Italian aircraft, but clearly proved superior.
It had STOL capabilities similar to the Fi.156, but the larger fuselage held up to four people, and the wings held more fuel. The 190 kW (250 hp) Hirth HM 508 engine and constant speed propeller helped to give it a maximum speed of 240 km/h (149 mph) and almost 1,000 km (621 mi) range. However, there was no defensive armament, as the Fi 156 had from the C version onwards.
The aircraft, designed by Giovanni Galasso, and tested by Aldo Ligabò, could have been a success, but although 150 were ordered, only six were produced from mid-1940 to 1941, due of the shortage of available engines, the Italian engine industry having failed to produce enough suitable Isotta Fraschini Beta engines.
The Ro.63 was a viable machine that was not put into production in significant numbers (practically only a pre-series production) despite the fact that development was completed pre-war. They were doomed by lack of Italian-built engines. The performance was better than the Fi 156, with a superior speed and endurance, and only slightly inferior STOL capabilities. This was due to the more powerful engine and the two-speed propeller.
Operational serviceedit
The aircraft was deployed in the North African Campaign, together with 30 Fieseler Fi 156 imported from Germany, even though this was insufficient to replace the IMAM Ro.37 and older reconnaissance aircraft. By 1943, after two years hard service, only one Ro.63 survived. In 1948 it was proposed to resume production, but lack of capacity and data about the aircraft meant that the project was eventually abandoned.
Other STOL aircraftedit
Other STOL aircraft in the same competition as the Ro.63 included the AVIS C.4 and Caproni GDL. The Avis C.4 had a good performance but suffered from poor flying characteristics. [citation needed] The Caproni GDL, was not completed.[citation needed]
imam, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september, 2007, lear. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources IMAM Ro 63 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2007 Learn how and when to remove this template message The IMAM Ro 63 was an Italian STOL aircraft designed for short range reconnaissance and light transport during World War II Ro 63Role ReconnaissanceManufacturer Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali IMAM Designer Giovanni GalassoFirst flight June 1940Primary user Regia AeronauticaNumber built 6 Contents 1 Development and design 2 Operational service 3 Other STOL aircraft 4 Operators 5 Specifications Ro 63 6 See also 7 References 8 NotesDevelopment and design editInterest in a STOL aircraft was raised by the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch acquired from Germany and in June 1939 the Regia Aeronautica asked Italian aircraft companies to design a similar machine see below The IMAM Ro 63 was of mixed construction with wood fabric and metal used for the fuselage and wings It first flew in June 1940 just at the outbreak of World War II It was put into competition with another Italian aircraft but clearly proved superior It had STOL capabilities similar to the Fi 156 but the larger fuselage held up to four people and the wings held more fuel The 190 kW 250 hp Hirth HM 508 engine and constant speed propeller helped to give it a maximum speed of 240 km h 149 mph and almost 1 000 km 621 mi range However there was no defensive armament as the Fi 156 had from the C version onwards The aircraft designed by Giovanni Galasso and tested by Aldo Ligabo could have been a success but although 150 were ordered only six were produced from mid 1940 to 1941 due of the shortage of available engines the Italian engine industry having failed to produce enough suitable Isotta Fraschini Beta engines The Ro 63 was a viable machine that was not put into production in significant numbers practically only a pre series production despite the fact that development was completed pre war They were doomed by lack of Italian built engines The performance was better than the Fi 156 with a superior speed and endurance and only slightly inferior STOL capabilities This was due to the more powerful engine and the two speed propeller Operational service edit nbsp The aircraft was deployed in the North African Campaign together with 30 Fieseler Fi 156 imported from Germany even though this was insufficient to replace the IMAM Ro 37 and older reconnaissance aircraft By 1943 after two years hard service only one Ro 63 survived In 1948 it was proposed to resume production but lack of capacity and data about the aircraft meant that the project was eventually abandoned Other STOL aircraft editOther STOL aircraft in the same competition as the Ro 63 included the AVIS C 4 and Caproni GDL The Avis C 4 had a good performance but suffered from poor flying characteristics citation needed The Caproni GDL was not completed citation needed Operators edit nbsp Kingdom of ItalyRegia AeronauticaSpecifications Ro 63 edit nbsp Data from Italian Civil and Military aircraft 1930 1945 1 General characteristicsCrew 1 Capacity 1 2 Length 9 60 m 31 ft 6 in Wingspan 13 500 m 44 ft 3 1 2 in Height 2 354 m 7 ft 8 2 3 in Gross weight 1 058 kg 2 332 lb Max takeoff weight 1 482 kg 3 267 lb Powerplant 1 Hirth HM 508D inverted V 8 air cooled piston engine 190 kW 250 hp Performance Maximum speed 203 km h 126 mph 109 kn Range 900 km 560 mi 490 nmi See also editAircraft of comparable role configuration and era AVIS C 4 Fieseler Fi 156 Kobeseiko Te Gō Kokusai Ki 76 Taylorcraft L 2 Westland LysanderRelated lists List of Regia Aeronautica aircraft used in World War IIReferences editLembo Daniele Officine Meccaniche Meridionali Aerei nella storia magazione Delta editions Parma Oct Nov 2003 in Italian enricopezzi it in Italian Thompson Jonathan W 1963 Italian Civil and Military aircraft 1930 1945 1st ed New York Aero Publishers Inc ISBN 0 8168 6500 0 Notes edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMAM Ro 63 Thompson Jonathan W 1963 Italian Civil and Military aircraft 1930 1945 1st ed New York Aero Publishers Inc ISBN 0 8168 6500 0 Portals nbsp Italy nbsp Companies nbsp Aviation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title IMAM Ro 63 amp oldid 1136502740, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
