The Fiat AS.3 was an Italian 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled

V engine A V engine, sometimes called a Vee engine, is a common configuration for internal combustion engines. It consists of two cylinder banks—usually with the same number of cylinders in each bank—connected to a common crankshaft. These cylinder ...

designed and built in the mid-1920s by

Fiat Aviazione Fiat Aviazione was an Italian aircraft manufacturer, at one time part of the Fiat S.p.A., Fiat group, focused mainly on military aviation. After World War I, Fiat consolidated several Italian small aircraft manufacturers, like Fabbrica Aeroplani I ...

especially for the 1927

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded first annually, and later biennially, to the winner of a race for seaplanes and ...

air race.

Design and development

The AS.3 was an increased bore and

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

version of the Fiat AS.2 developed for the 1927 Scheider Trophy

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

race held at

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. Despite the increase in

capacity Capacity or capacities may refer to: Mathematics, science, and engineering * Capacity of a container, closely related to the volume of the container * Capacity of a set, in Euclidean space, the total charge a set can hold while maintaining a giv ...

the engine retained the same height and frontal area as the AS.2, this was achieved by shortening the

connecting rod A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a reciprocating engine, piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank (mechanism), crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the p ...

s. Two AS.3 powered aircraft placed joint second at the 1927 contest, the winning aircraft was a

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 engine, W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept ...

- powered Supermarine S.5. The AS.3 engine was also used at the 1929 competition, again taking second place.Eves 2001, p. 245.

Applications

* Macchi M.52

Specifications (AS.3)

References

Notes

Bibliography