Breda Ba.25
The Breda Ba.25 was an Italian two-seat biplane trainer designed and built by the Breda company. It was the most widely used Italian basic trainer of the 1930s. Design and development. The first flight took place near Milan in 1931. Initially designed as a single-seat aircraft, the prototype was later converted to a two-seat fuselage. Flight testing of the two-seat variant was successful, and in late 1931 "Regia Aeronautica" ordered a series of 100 Ba.25 training aircraft. The student and instructor sat in open tandem cockpits, although some versions had a single-bay cockpit . The initial production order was completed by 1935, but demand for the aircraft increased and production for the "Regia Aeronautica" totalled 719 by the end of 1938. Many others were produced for export or for private use with different radial engines like the Alfa Romeo Lynx or Walter Castor. Operational history. The Ba.25 remained in service of the Regia Aeronautica as a training aircraft during World War II. Some of the aircraft were seized and handed over to the Allies. Paraguay bought four Breda Ba.25, one of them a Ba.25Idro. They were used as primary trainers from 1939 to 1945 . Variants. There were many minor variants: The Ba.28 training aircraft was developed from the earlier Ba.25. It was also a biplane with a new, more powerful Piaggio Stella P.VII Z radial engine of 365 hp and had ailerons on the upper wing. In June 1936 the prototype was shown at the air show in Venice. The Italian Air Force in the same year ordered a series of 50 aircraft. During use in flight schools the Ba.28 proved not to be among the best – it was difficult to manage in the air. However, orders for the type arrived from abroad – were  duly delivered to the following countries: Afghanistan (2), China (18), Norway (6), Austria (12) and Spain (6).