The Piaggio Stella P.VII was the first P series aircraft engine produced by
Rinaldo Piaggio S.p.A. Based on its experience license-producing the
Gnome-Rhône 7K, Piaggio sold the engine to be used on a wide range of Italian aircraft before and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, including the record-breaking
Caproni Ca.133.
Development
Having built engines under licence from
Gnome et Rhône
Gnome et Rhône was a major French aircraft engine manufacturer. Between 1914 and 1918 they produced 25,000 of their 9-cylinder Delta and Le Rhône 110 hp (81 kW) rotary designs, while another 75,000 were produced by various licen ...
, Piaggio designed a seven-cylinder radial using the same principles. The engine, named P.VII for its seven cylinders, was one in a series of radial engines produced by Piaggio initially named ''Stella'', meaning star.
The engine was first run in 1933 and was produced in many models.
One notable version was the P.VII Z which was fitted with a floatless Piaggio AS80 carburettor for aerobatic flight. It powered the Caproni Ca.133 flown by
Renato Donati
Renatus is a first name of Latin origin which means " born again" (natus = born). In Italian, Portuguese and Spanish it exists in masculine and feminine forms: Renato and Renata. In French they have been translated to René and Renée. Renata is ...
that, in 1933, broke the record for the longest duration in inverted flight.
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]
Variants
;P.VII C.15: Supercharged, rated at at ; first flew 1933
;P.VII C.16: Supercharged, rated at at ; first flew 1934
;P.VII C.16/35:
;P.VII C.35: Supercharged, rated at at ; first flew 1935
;P.VII C.40: Supercharged, rated at at ; first flew 1935
;P.VII C.45 / 2v: Two speed supercharged, rated at at ; first flew 1935
;P.VII R.C.10: Supercharged and geared, rated at .
;P.VII R.C.35: Supercharged and geared, rated at at ; first flew 1938
;P.VII R.C.45: Supercharged and geared, rated at at first flew 1935
;P.VII Z: Normally aspirated, designed for acrobatic aircraft, rated at , first flew 1933
Applications
* Breda Ba.28
* Caproni Ca.101
The Caproni Ca.101 was a three-engine Italian airliner which later saw military use as a transport and bomber. It was designed in 1927 and first flown in 1928.
Design and development
The Ca.101 was a derivative of the Caproni Ca.97, with an en ...
* Caproni Ca.113
The Caproni Ca.113 was an advanced training biplane produced in Italy and Bulgaria in the early 1930s. Designed as a follow-on to the Ca.100, it was a more powerful and robust aircraft capable of aerobatics. It was a conventional design with two ...
* Caproni Ca.133
* Caproni Ca.148
The Caproni Ca.133 was a three-engined transport/bomber aircraft used by the Italian ''Regia Aeronautica'' from the Second Italo-Abyssinian War until World War II.
Originally developed as a civilian airliner and successor to the Ca.101, the Ca ...
* Caproni Ca.310
The Caproni Ca.310 ''Libeccio'' (Italian: southwest wind) was an Italian monoplane, twin-Radial engine, engine reconnaissance aircraft used in World War II. Derived from the similar Caproni Ca.309, Ca.309, it had its combat debut during the Span ...
* Caproni Ca.311 __NOTOC__
The Caproni Ca.311 was a light bomber- reconnaissance aircraft produced in Italy prior to and during World War II. It was a member of the large family of Caproni designs derived from the Ca.306 airliner prototype of 1935, and more d ...
* Caproni Ca.316 __NOTOC__
The Caproni Ca.316 was a reconnaissance seaplane produced in Italy during World War II, intended for catapult operations from Italian Navy capital ships. It was a member of the large family of Caproni designs derived from the Ca.306 ai ...
* Hispano HS-42
* IMAM Ro.41
The IMAM Ro.41 was an Italian light biplane fighter aircraft, serving in the Regia Aeronautica in the 1930s-1940s, mainly as a trainer.
It was a singular aircraft, being obsolescent as a fighter when it first appeared in 1934, but despite this ...
* North American Sk.14A
* Savoia-Marchetti S.71
* Savoia-Marchetti SM.85
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.85 was an Italian monoplane dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft that served in small numbers in the ''Regia Aeronautica'' at the beginning of World War II. They were soon replaced in service by the Junkers Ju 87.
Desi ...
Specifications (C.35)
See also
References
{{Piaggio aeroengines
P.VII
1930s aircraft piston engines
Aircraft air-cooled radial piston engines