J.Davilla Italian Aviation in the First World War. Vol.3: Aircraft M-W (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 75)

Pomilio PF

  Under engineer Corradino Di Ascanio, Pomilio also produced the PF, a two-seat biplane reconnaissance aircraft evolved from the previous “Gamma” fighter design. The PF was fitted with a 300-hp Fiat A.12 engine.
  The PF was faster than contemporary fighters then in service with the Italians. With this new airplane Mario de Bernardi reached a speed of 240 km/h. The PF carried a powerful defensive armament of two synchronised machine guns fired by the pilot and one or two machine guns mounted in a ring mount fired by the observer.
  The PF was the first Italian reconnaissance aircraft to have its cameras mounted inside the fuselage; it actually had three cameras one with a focal length of 500 mms.
  Although flight testing in May to June 1918 revealed the PF to have superior performance, the PF was not built in series, because the Society Anonima Pomilio was absorbed by the Ansaldo firm and the PF was, in fact, a competitor to the SVA 9 and 10 series. In fact, after the Pomilio firm had been absorbed by Ansaldo, the Pomilio technicians produced a version of the PE which became the Ansaldo A.3.
  Pomilio went to the U.S. and designed the FVL.8 and BVL.12 for the Engineering Division at Wright Field.


Pomilio P.F. two-seat reconnaissance aircraft with one 300-hp Fiat A.12 engine
  Wingspan 10.30 m; length 8 m;
  Loaded weight 1,500 kg
  Maximum speed 240 km/h; endurance 3 hours 30 minutes
  Armament was two synchronized machine guns fired by the pilot and one or two machine guns mounted in a ring mount fired by the observer
  One built