IMAM Ro.44

what is it?

The IMAM Ro.44 was a fighter seaplane developed in Italy, a single seater derivative of the Ro.43 that first flew in October 1936. While the Ro.43 had serious problems, the Ro.44 was an utter failure. Armed with two 12.7 mm machine guns fitted in the nose, the rear fuselage of the R.43 was redesigned to dispense with the observer's position, and changes were made to the tail.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 engine · 11.6 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 311 km/htop speed
• range 1,200 kmwithout refuelling
• size 2,226 kgmax take-off weight
• built 35made in total

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 90 years ago, in 1936.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.6 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,200 km: 7× Amsterdam to Brussels.

spec sheet

first flight

1936

introduced

1938

number built

35

role

fighter seaplane

origin

🇮🇹 Italy

makers

Meridionali

engines

1× Piaggio P.X R

length

9.7 m

wingspan

11.6 m

height

3.5 m

max take-off weight

2,226 kg

top speed

311 km/h

cruise speed

188 km/h

range

1,200 km

ceiling

7,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family