J.Davilla Italian Aviation in the First World War. Vol.2: Aircraft A-H (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 74)

Bresciani Bre.1, Bre.2, Bre.3

  Luigi Bresciani received brevet number 6 as a seaplane pilot with the rank of Naval tenente. He was assigned to the seaplane base at Venice, and participated in aeronavale co-operation between aircraft and ships. With the entry of Italy into the first world conflict, tenente Bresciani performed many war flights over the Adriatic. He was later asked to direct the creation of long range bomber seaplane for the arsenal at Venice. The Regia Marina had concluded that it would be necessary to develop a naval bomber seaplane due to the Regia Aeronautica’s decision to produce its own multiengine seaplanes. Initially, Bresciani served as chief engineer for the transformation of five three-engined Capronis into float planes at Venice.
  While preparing to create these aircraft, Bresciani developed his own seaplane bomber. It was a large float plane with a central hull suspended beneath biplane wings and twin booms carried on the lower wing. Bresciani eliminated the central rudder of the Capronis leaving the twin booms without a connecting structure. He also replaced the traditional fuselage with a central hull flattened in the center; and with a a convex step. The crew was located at forward edge of the hull: in the bow there was a gunner and immediately after him two pilots, seated side-by-side with dual controls. In the stern, there was a gunner’s turret. This hull was connected to the wings through a rigid metallic frame, suspended by elastic bungee chords to help absorb landing shocks. The twin fuselage booms, covered originally in cloth, were layer covered in wood which was sanded and painted, then once again covered with thin metallic plate in their forward section to improve structural rigidity and reduce vibrations.
  The two fuselage booms were considerably closer together than Caproni’s aircraft. Being only 3.5 meters apart the two propellers caused severe turbulence in the zone where the two propellers were closest together.
  The armament constituted from a 25-mm cannon in the bow and a machine gun turret in the stern. There was a 100 kg bomb load. Bresciani realized the importance of having adequate engines to power this heavy seaplane and decided use three 150-hp Isotta Fraschini V 4Bs instead of the 100-hp engines used on the Capronis.

Technical

  Floats - The central float had a single step, but relatively short, as it did not have to support the tail planes.
  Its dimensions were length 7.60 m; width 3.00 m; height 0.25 m; weight 580 kg
  Four lightened steel sheet trestles were fixed on the double bottom to support the frame to which all the supporting frame of the airframe was attached by means of elastic attachments.
  The central float weighed 580 kg, The entire float structure weighed 778 kg, or 18% of the total weight of 4,360 kg.
  Power Plants - The front engines protruded from the fuselage. The petrol tanks were placed in the fuselages which were covered with plywood, except in the front area protected by aluminum caps.
  The struts, in steel tube, were also braced by large steel cables faired with wooden tails. The whole assembly of the connection frame between the float and the airframe was rigid, but also poorly aerodynamic.
  Tail Unit - The ends of the fuselages carried two sturdy steel tube shelves on which the horizontal fixed plane was fixed.
  The fixed horizontal surface area was 8.50 sq m; horizontal rudder 5.60 m; fixed vertical surfaces 0,90 m (each).
  The horizontal rudder had an area of 5.60 sq.m; rudders 4.20 sq , and ailerons 6.20 sq m (each).
  The rudder controls were of the common pedal and lever type (based on the system used in the Albatros WDD).
  Accommodation - Four man crew. The pilot and copilot sat in the cockpit with the group of engine controls which were all assembled on a box placed between the driver’s seat and that of the observer. In the bow there was a gunners position and there was an aft current for the fourth crew member, the rear gunner.
  The was a starter motor for the central engine which was controlled by the pilot.
  Armament consisted of a 25 mm gun in the bow gunner’s position and a machine gun in the aft turret. Up to 100 kg of bombs could be carried.

Testing

  Construction was begun in 1915 near the arsenal in Venice and was completed to late autumn. The floatplane, designated Bresciani Bre.1, was heavier than the predicted by around 1,000 kilograms. The first taxi tests on water towards the end of the same year were made by Bresciani, himself, although he lacked experience in flying muti-engine aircraft. But he quickly learned how to maneuver on the water by adjusting the propellers. The first tests at sea revealed to Bresciani that the Bre.1 was maneuverable and easy to pilot. Flight tests followed, again by Bresciani, that confirmed the positive findings of the sea trials. The new seaplane took off easily and, despite its 4,000 kg take off weight and cumbersome central hull, achieved a record speed of 115 km/h and could reach 3,000 meters in around 70 minutes. The good performance of the Bresciani Bre.1 was impressive, but Bresciani decided it still needed significant modifications.
  After the testing of Bre.1, Bresciani created a second version with the following alterations:
  The hull was built in thin metallic plate and its width was reduced from 3 m to 2.60 m.
  The wings, were given a thicker cross section.
  The step of the hull that was convex in the Bre.1, in Bre.2 the became concave.
  On April 3rd 1916, Bresciani took off with in the Bre.1 to perform flight tests with the 25-mm cannon mounted in the bow and with the rear defensive machine gun fitted in its current. The big aircraft was taking off when the right lower wing detached after the tip hit the sea , and the the Bresciani 2, crashed into the sea from about 50 meters. In the accident the whole crew perished, including Bresciani. The Navy recovered the wreck of the airplane. Its technical analysis ascertained that the fracture of the wing was due to the breakup of one of the spars that connected the lower wing to the right fuselage. It was concluded that this was due to a basic flaw in the design which had been rushed into flight testing. The aircraft had been flown before its structural integrity testing could be completed.
  A redesign of the Bre.2 resulted in the fitting of a conventional central fuselage similar to that of the Caproni, where the crew were protected from the elements. The crew’s exposure to waves had been one of the major complaints concerning the two earlier Bresciani designs. The central motor, was moved to the rear of the center fuselage. The wings were strengthened with the addition of new struts and connecting rods.
  The arsenal in Venice completed the construction of a first example which was designated Bre.3. This new version flew several times, but it was ascertained that the structural strengthening had made it much heavier than the prototype. The aerodynamic changes, structural enhancements and weight increase ensured that the Bre. 3 was slower and less maneuverable than the Bre.1 and Bre.2. Despite additional testing and modifications the Bresciani Bre. 3 was finally abandoned by the Regia Marina as being unusable.
  A development of the Bre.3 with two floats under the two fuselage booms was proposed, but never built. With a loaded weight of 4,100 kg carrying a payload of 1,375 kg, it was hope this variant would have a maximum speed of 140 km/h.
  Had Bresciani’s design been successful, the Regia Marina would have had its own independent long range bomber with which to attack the Austro-Hungarian seaplane and naval stations along the coast and ships at sea. Instead, in the July 1917, the Regia Marina adopted the Ca.450 fitted with twin floats.


Bresciani Bre.1 Four-Seat Long Range Seaplane with Three 150-hp Isotta Fraschini V 4B Engines
  Wingspan 24.80 m; Length 13 m; Height 5m; wing area 124 sq m; height of central hull 7.96m
  Empty weight 3,435 kg; payload 925 kg; loaded weight 4,360 kg;
  Maximum speed 115 km/h; range 400 km
  One built