Italian authorities took interest in the design by March 1940 as the war raged on. A monocoque fuselage with metal skinning was used to make the P.119 one of the more modern Italian offerings of the war (many still relied on mixed wood/metal construction practices). A first flight by way of prototype was had on December 19th, 1942 and results were promising enough to warrant flight trials which lasted into August of 1943. It was found that the concentrated nature of the weapons causes excessive vibration of the aircraft when all were fired but this issue appeared solvable. A landing accident also damaged one of the wings which grounded the aircraft for repairs.
With series production expected to come through, engineers laid plans for the aircraft to accept the more powerful Piaggio P.XV RC.60/2V radial piston engine of 1,700 horsepower - hopefully driving performance figures even further. As it stood, the P.119 could manage a maximum speed of 400 miles per hour, a range out to 940 miles and a service ceiling nearing 41,348 feet. 10,000 feet of altitude could be reached in 3.25 minutes.
Despite all of this work and optimism, the P.119 was derailed when Italy surrendered to the Allied powers in September of 1943. The Armistice all but doomed the promising product and nothing more beyond the completed prototype was finished.
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