Breda

Order of Battle · Aircraft manufacturers · Italy

Breda

Società Italiana Ernesto Breda

A Milan locomotive works that armed Mussolini’s army with machine guns also built warplanes, including the record-breaking Ba.88 Lince, a sleek attack aircraft that proved nearly useless in combat.

1886Founded
DefunctStatus
3Aircraft on record
1Air forces flying its types
Photo: Charles from Port Chester, New York / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
CountryItalyFounded1886FoundersErnesto BredaHeadquartersMilanStatusDefunct
The story

Breda: the company and the aircraft that made its name

Locomotives and machine guns

Ernesto Breda founded his company in Milan in 1886 to build locomotives and railway machinery. Like several Italian engineering houses, it drifted into weapons and then aircraft. Its machine guns, the Model 30 and Model 37, became standard issue for the Royal Italian Army in Abyssinia, Albania and the Second World War, and at its wartime peak Breda employed 26,000 people. In 1935 it bought the railway works of Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali and soon afterwards that company’s aircraft division too. Breda’s early aircraft included the Ba.25 trainer, first flown near Milan in 1931.

Ba.65: the attack plane that went to war

The Breda Ba.65 was a single-seat attack aircraft that flew in September 1935. Breda and Caproni built 218 before production ended in July 1939. More than 150 served with Italian forces, including in the Spanish Civil War, where 12 of those sent were lost, and 55 were exported to Iraq, Chile and Portugal. A plan to licence-build 30 in China at the Sino-Italian works in Nanchang was abandoned in December 1937 when the Italian technicians were withdrawn.

The Lynx that could not hunt

Its successor promised far more. The twin-engine Ba.88 Lince first flew in October 1936 and in April 1937 took world speed records over 100 km and 1,000 km circuits from France. But once guns, armour and military equipment were fitted, the Lince became unstable and its performance collapsed, and it was a failure in wartime service. After the war Breda returned to trains and trams. It was nationalised into the EFIM state group in 1962 and liquidated in the 1990s; its rail arm merged with Ansaldo to form AnsaldoBreda.

A Milan locomotive works that armed Mussolini’s army with machine guns also built warplanes, including the record-breaking Ba.88 Lince, a sleek attack aircraft that proved nearly useless in combat.Breda · verified 2026-10-03
At a glance

Breda in numbers

The company

In short
Founded 1886

  • Founded in Milan by Ernesto Breda as a locomotive works
  • Bought the railway and aircraft divisions of Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali, 1935
  • Nationalised into EFIM, 1962; liquidated in the 1990s

Production

Best known for
Ba.65 and Ba.88

  • Ba.25 biplane trainer, 1931
  • Ba.65 attack aircraft, 218 built with Caproni
  • Ba.88 Lince, record-breaker turned combat failure
  • Model 30 and Model 37 machine guns

Today

Now
Defunct

  • Rail arm merged into AnsaldoBreda
  • Armaments arm became Breda Meccanica Bresciana

The numbers

Peak wartime employees
26,000
Employees
about 8,0001954
Ba.65 built (Breda and Caproni)
218
Ba.65 exported
55, to Iraq, Chile and Portugal
The aircraft

Every notable Breda aircraft

Breda Ba.65Attack and reconnaissance aircraft · first flight 1935 · 218 built

Photos: Charles from Port Chester, New York / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Aircraft Role First flight Built Status Note
Breda Ba.25 Two-seat biplane trainer 1931 Retired
Breda Ba.65 Attack and reconnaissance aircraft 1935 218 Retired Spanish Civil War and WWII; exported to Iraq, Chile, Portugal
Breda Ba.88 Lince Twin-engine attack aircraft 1936 Retired Speed records in 1937; unstable and underpowered in service
Who flies them

Breda aircraft in the world’s air forces

1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Breda types. 0 of them still have one in service.

Air force In service Formerly flown
Iraqi Air Force Breda Ba.65
Places, people, records

Where Breda built, who led it, what it achieved

Factories

  • Milan works · Milan (Sesto San Giovanni area) — Main industrial complex

People

  • Ernesto Breda · founder

Records and firsts

  • Ba.88 prototype: world speed record over a 100 km circuit, 1 April 1937
  • Ba.88: 475 km/h over 1,000 km, 10 April 1937
Timeline

Breda, year by year

1886

Ernesto Breda founds the company in Milan

1931

Ba.25 trainer first flight

1935

Acquires Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali rail and aircraft divisions

1935

Ba.65 prototype flies

1936

Ba.88 Lince first flight

1937

Ba.88 sets 100 km circuit speed record

1939

Ba.65 production ends

1962

Nationalised into EFIM

The family tree

Before and after Breda

Came afterBreda Nardihelicopter company with NardiRead the Breda Nardi page
Questions & Answers

Everything people ask about Breda

What did Breda build?
Locomotives, trams and rolling stock, machine guns, and in the 1930s military aircraft such as the Ba.65 and Ba.88.
Why did the Breda Ba.88 fail?
It was fast as a clean prototype, but with military equipment fitted it became unstable and lost much of its performance.
How many Breda Ba.65s were built?
218, by Breda and Caproni, up to July 1939.
What happened to Breda?
It was nationalised in 1962 and liquidated in the 1990s. Its rail arm became part of AnsaldoBreda and its weapons arm Breda Meccanica Bresciana.

Continue the tour

Around Breda

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Sources & Further Reading

Every fact, checked

Verified 2026-10-03.