what is it?
The Breda Ba.65 was an Italian all-metal single-engine, low-wing monoplane that was used by Aviazione Legionaria during the Spanish Civil War and Regia Aeronautica in the first half of World War II. It was the only Italian ground-attack aircraft that saw active service in this role. It saw service almost exclusively in the North African and Middle-Eastern theatre. In addition to more than 150 aircraft operated by the Italian forces, a total of 55 were exported and used by the air forces of Iraq, Chile and Portugal.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 12 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 91 years ago, in 1935.
- Top speed is 3.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 12 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1935-09-06
- introduced
- 1937
- number built
- 219
- role
- ground attack aircraft
- origin
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- makers
- Breda
- engines
- 1× Fiat A.80 R.C.41
- crew
- 1
- length
- 9.3 m
- wingspan
- 12 m
- height
- 3 m
- max take-off weight
- 3,150 kg
- top speed
- 430 km/h
- range
- 550 km
- ceiling
- 7,450 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q904606, Wikipedia: Breda Ba.65 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.