The Fiat A.22 was an Italian water-cooled

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

from the 1920s. It produced 425 kW (570 hp) and powered several absolute world distance records as well as commercial passenger flights.

Design and development

During the second half of the 1920s Fiat introduced several water-cooled aircraft engines, including the A.20, A.22, A24, A.25 and A.30. They were all upright V-12s with 60° between the

cylinder bank The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

s; capacities ranged between 18.7 L and 54.5 L (1,141-3,326 cu in) and power outputs between 320 kW and 745 kW (430-1,000 hp). Producing 425 kW (570 hp) from 27.5 L (1,678 cu in), the A.22 was towards the middle of these ranges. When Fiat were advised by the government to simplify their water-cooled product line, they focussed on the A.20, A.22 and A.30 models. The A.22 was first run in 1926 and a "few hundred" were built. The A.22 was developed into the

Fiat AS.2 ''For the aircraft of the same name, see Fiat AS.2 (aircraft)'' The Fiat AS.2 was an Italian 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled V engine designed and built in the mid-1920s by Fiat Aviazione especially for the 1926 Schneider Trophy air race. Design a ...

and AS.3

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying ...

race engines.

Operational history

The A.22 was best known for its contribution to some world long distance record flights made by the single engine landplane

Savoia-Marchetti S.64 The Savoia-Marchetti S.64 was a monoplane developed in Italy in 1928 specifically to contest the world duration and distance records. Design The S.64 was an unusual pod-and-boom design, with the empennage carried on two open truss structures t ...

, which used the specially adapted A.22 T. version. Between 31 May and 2 June 1928 this aircraft flew non-stop for 7,665 km (4,763 mi) to capture the world closed circuit distance record. The flight lasted 58 hr 34 min; the two crew, Capt. Arturo Ferrarin and Major Del Prete took turns as pilot. A month later, the same crew set a new world straight-line distance record of 7,187 km (4,467 mi), flying from Italy to Brazil in 47 hr 55 min. The closed circuit record was later taken by the French but a slightly revised S.64bis recovered it for Italy with a distance of 8,187 km (5,088 mi) flown in 67 hr 13 min on 31 May-2 June 1930. The A.22R powered more conventional, airline, flights in a Savoia-Marchetti S.66 three engine

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

operated by

Ala Littoria Ala Littoria S.A. was the Italian national airline that operated during the fascist regime in the 1930s and 1940s. History ''Ala Littoria'' was formed by a merger of Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM), Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (SANA) ...

on the

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

and Rome-

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

routes.

Variants

''From Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1938'' ;A.22: un-geared, compression ratio 5.5:1. ;A.22 R.: (R - ''Riduttori'' - reduction gear) Geared 0.5:1, compression ratio 5.5:1. ;A.22 S.:High compression, compression ratio 6:1. ;A.22 AQ.: (AQ - ''Alta Quota'' - high altitude) Direct drive, compression ratio 7.5:1. ;A.22 AQ.R.: (AQ.R. - ''Alta Quota Riduttori'' - high altitude geared) High altitude 0.5:1 geared engine, compression ratio 7.5:1. ;A.22 T.: Special version for

Applications

''From Thompson'' *

Savoia-Marchetti S.55 The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 was a double-hulled flying boat produced in Italy, beginning in 1924. Shortly after its introduction, it began setting records for speed, payload, altitude and range. Design and development The S.55 featured many in ...

* Savoia-Marchetti S.66

Specifications (A.22 R.)

References