Breda Ba . 201 The Breda Ba . 201 was an Italian dive bomber designed during World War II , that never entered production . Development . The struggle of " Regia Aeronautica " to develop an effective bomber force was surprising for everyone , as in the pre - war period the Italian air force was highly rated and performed well during the Spanish Civil War and the Second Italo - Abyssinian War . But its performance in the first months of World War II was poor , even failing to reduce Malta with 1 , 000 bombers based less than 100 km ( 60 mi ) away . One of the reasons was the lack of dive bombers and effective ground - attack aircraft ; the Breda Ba . 88 was a failure , and the Caproni Ca . 310 was so ineffective that was replaced by the Fiat CR . 32 fighter bomber . Another failure was the Savoia - Marchetti SM . 85 dive bomber , phased out and replaced by the Junkers Ju 87 " Stuka " even before the evaluation of its successor the Savoia - Marchetti SM . 86 was complete . In 1939 , a new contest for a dive bomber was called , requiring a single - engine aircraft with a maximum speed of 500 km / h ( 310 mph ) , or 450 km / h ( 280 mph ) if twin - engined , capable of carrying 500 kg ( 1 , 100 lb ) bombs , with an endurance of 1 , 200 km ( 750 mi ) with a single engine , or 2 , 400 km ( 1 , 490 mi ) with two engines . There was only one twin - engine proposal , the Piaggio P . 122 , which despite its all - metal construction , dorsal - wing airbrakes , two Piaggio P . XI RC40 engines giving a total of 1 , 491 kW ( 2 , 000 hp ) , and the lack of competitors , was considered unfit for service and was unbuilt . Two single - engined types were proposed , the Caproni Ca . 355 , a single seat derivative of the Ca . 335 light bomber that first flew in January 1941 and the Breda Ba . 201 . Design . The Ba . 201 was a single - engined cantilever monoplane of all - metal construction . It had inverted gull wing s , with split flaps that doubled as dive - brakes and was fitted with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage . It had a long slim fuselage , with a low mounted tailplane . The cockpit was set as far forward as possible to give a good view for the pilot . The dive capabilities were found to be satisfactory , and the air brakes were highly effective , perhaps too effective - with the risk of slowing the aircraft down so much it became too easy a target . It was capable of carrying a single 500 kg ( 1 , 100 lb ) bomb and was armed with two 12 . 7 mm ( . 5 in ) Breda - SAFAT machine gun s fixed in the wings . After such engines as the 895 kW ( 1 , 200 hp ) Fiat A . 38 , the 716 kW ( 960 hp ) Isotta - Fraschini IF L . 121 , and the powerful 839 kW ( 1 , 125 hp ) Isotta - Fraschini Zetra , were evaluated , the Daimler - Benz DB 601 engine was chosen , because it was compact , and allowed free dives thanks to its direct injection system . The prototype first flew on 3 July 1941 , and was then sent to Guidonia for official testing . The aircraft showed that it had enough agility , once freed of its bombload , to hold its own against other Italian fighter s . However speed was disappointing , only 460 km / h ( 290 mph ) - slower than the requested for 500 km / h ( 310 mph ) - and slightly slower than older front - line fighters . The aircraft was barely capable of defending itself against enemy fighters , and then only after releasing its bomb . It had very good forward visibility , but rear visibility was poor . In comparison the Junkers Ju - 87D had a top speed of only 410 km / h ( 260 mph ) , but was armed with two new 7 . 92 mm ( . 312 in ) MG 81z machine guns , with 3 , 200 rpm instead of 1 , 050 . The Junkers rear - gunner gave it a greater defensive capability , while the Ba . 201 pilot relied on himself alone . The Reggiane Re . 2001 fighter bomber fitted with the same DB 601 engine was able to reach almost 550 km / h ( 342 mph ) , and carry 640 kg ( 1 , 411 lb ) bombs . The first prototype " MM . 451 " was followed by only one other before the programme was cancelled .