| Alberto Rizzi, e-mail, 21.02.2018 22:12 Despite being a good aircraft, the Ro.41 showed inferiority in all its performances, if compared with the contemporary C.R. 32. That's why it saw only sporadic combat use: in Spain, where in 1939 the survived machines remained in service – as trainers - in Franco's Air Force; and over the airports in Tobruk area, for some protection cruises during the Summer 1940.
In Italy all its operative career was then as fighter trainer also in a two seats version; and – after the September '43 Italian armistice – also in the Luftwaffe.
A curiosity: because of its general, superficial resemblance with the Polikarpov I-15, some Ro.41 had been used in the role of Republican fighters, in propaganda movies shot for the Italian Fascist dictatorship during the Spanish Civil War.
Characteristics:
Length: 6,00 m. (= 19' 8")
Wing span: 8,81 m. (= 28' 11")
Height: 2,68 m. (= 8'8")
Empty weight: 1.010 Kg. (= 2,225 lb)
Max take off weight: 1.265 Kg. (= 2,786 lb)
Engine: one Piaggio P.VII C.45; 390 CV (= 264 Kw) at 4.500 m. (= 14,750')
Performances:
Max speed: 322 Km /h (= 200 m.p.h.)
Cruising speed: 254 Km /h (= 158 m.p.h.)
Endurance: 568 Km. (= 353 miles)
Ceiling: 7.750 m. (= 25,400')
Armament: Two Breda-SAFAT 7.7 mm. (= 0.303") machine gun in the nose reply |
