Breda Ba.15

The Breda Ba.15 was a light, high‑wing monoplane produced in Italy during the early 1930s by the Società Italiana Ernesto Breda, a company better known for its military aircraft and locomotives. First flown in 1931, the Ba.15 was designed as a versatile civilian trainer and tourer, capable of operating from short, unprepared fields. Its wooden‑framed, fabric‑covered wings were mounted on a steel tube fuselage, giving the aircraft a robust yet inexpensive structure. Power was supplied by a 70 hp (52 kW) de Havilland Gipsy or, in later models, a 90 hp (67 kW) Fiat A.50 radial engine, driving a two‑bladed fixed‑pitch propeller. The cockpit accommodated two occupants side‑by‑side, with large windows that provided excellent visibility for training purposes. Only a few dozen were built, but the Ba.15 saw service with Italian flying clubs, the Regia Aeronautica for liaison duties, and was exported to South America, where it helped introduce aviation to remote regions. Though it was quickly superseded by more modern designs, the Ba.15 demonstrated Breda’s ability to produce reliable, low‑cost aircraft for civil markets and contributed to the growth of general aviation in Italy during the inter‑war period.