The Romano R.90 was a prototype single-seat

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

fighter of the 1930s. A single example of the R.90 was built, but the type did form the basis of the Romano R.83 and Romano R.92 fighters which were built in secret for the

Spanish Republicans Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

during the Spanish Civil War.

Design and development

In 1933, the French Navy issued a specification for a single-seat seaplane fighter capable of being operated from the catapults of its

Cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s and

Battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s. To meet this requirement, the Chantiers aéronavals Étienne Romano designed a

, the Romano R.90, with designs also being prepared by Loire, Bernard and Potez.Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 353. Unlike the other three designs, the R.90 was a

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

. It was of mixed construction, with a welded steel-tube fuselage and wooden, single-bay wings,Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 502. with the upper wings being gulled into the top of the fuselage to give a better view for the pilot.Donald 1997, p. 785. Two floats were fitted. The proposed armament was four 7.5mm machine guns, two in the lower wing and two in the floats.''Flight'' 23 January 1936, p. 87.Parmentier, B
"Romano R-90"
''Aviafrance''. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 18 December 2010. It made its maiden flight in August 1935, powered by a 720 hp (537 kW) Hispano-Suiza 9Vbrs radial engine. With this engine it reached a speed of 352 km/h (219 mph). In October that year it was re-engined with a 680 hp (507 kW) Hispano-Suiza 14Hbrs radial in a

NACA cowling The NACA cowling is a type of aerodynamic fairing used to streamline radial engines installed on airplanes. It was developed by Fred Weick of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1927. It was a major advance in aerodynamic ...

, increasing the speed and the floats were modified. It was re-engined again in October 1937 with a 900 hp (671 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs-1 V12 engine with a 20mm cannon firing through the propeller boss. Despite reaching 400 km/h (248 mph),Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 503. faster than any of the other competitors,Green and Swanborough 1994, pp. 62, 353, 481–482. the R.90 was not ordered into production, 20 Loire 210s being purchased instead. Although the attempts to sell the R.90 to the French Navy failed, the aircraft attracted the attention of the

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...

, which placed an order for 24 of a landplane derivative, the Romano R.83. This differed in having a conventional fixed

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynami ...

, a non-gulled upper wing and was to be powered by a 450 hp (336 kW)

Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior The Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior is a series of nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aircraft engines built by the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company from the 1930s to the 1950s. These engines have a displacement of ; initial versions produced , ...

engine. These aircraft were to be assembled in secret by the Belgium company LACEBA (Les Ateliers de Construction et d'Exploitation de Brevets Aéronautiques). Flight testing in Belgium was carried out with a 280 hp (209 kW) Salmson 9ABa engine, to give the impression that the aircraft was a trainer rather than a fighter, with the more powerful engine to be fitted when the aircraft was delivered to Spain. A second landplane fighter derivative was designed and built for the Spanish Republicans, the Romano R.92. This was powered by a Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs engine as tested in the Romano R.90, and reverted to the gulled upper wing of the floatplane. A single example was built in 1938.

Operational history

The first six R.83s were delivered to Barcelona between April and July 1938. The six R.83s were re-engined with the intended Wasp-Junior engines and were probably used as advanced trainers.Nash, David
"Aircraft that took part in the Spanish Civil War"
. ''Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War''. Retrieved 18 December 2010. The remaining 18 R.83s had not been completed by the time the Spanish Civil War ended in April 1939. The sole R.92 was also delivered to Spain in 1938, but any use is unknown.

Variants

;Romano R.90 :Single seat floatplane fighter. One built. ;Romano R.83 :Single seat landplane, powered by Salmson 9 for testing and delivery to be replaced by Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior on delivery for operational use. 24 ordered by Spain, 6 delivered. ;Romano R.92 :Single seat landplane fighter, powered by 900 hp (671 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs-1 V12 engine and armed with single 20mm cannon. One built.

Operators

; *

Specifications (R.90, HS-14 engine)

Notes

References

* Donald, David. ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. Leicester, UK:Blitz Editions, 1997. .
"Fire Floats"
'' Flight'', 23 January 1936. p. 87. * Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. New York, Smithmark, 1994. . {{Romano aircraft 1930s French fighter aircraft R.90 Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1935