Fiat Aviazione / Aeritalia
Fiat G.91 The Gina

The Fiat G.91 is a jet fighter aircraft designed and built by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione, which later merged into Aeritalia.

The G.91 has its origins in the NATO-organised NBMR-1 competition started in 1953, which sought a light fighter-bomber (officially, the competition was seeking a "Light Weight Strike Fighter") to be adopted as standard equipment across the air forces of the various NATO nations. The G.91 was specifically designed to fulfil the requirements of this competition, being relatively lightweight and capable of operating from austere airstrips while also being armoured and suitably armed while remaining relatively affordable in comparison to many frontline fighters. On 9 August 1956, the prototype conducted its maiden flight. After reviewing multiple submissions, the G.91 was picked as the winning design of the NBMR-1 competition.

Development

Design

The Fiat G.91 is a lightweight tactical ground attack aircraft. It is a subsonic aircraft that was designed for both simplicity and agility. A key function of the aircraft is its short-field capability, having been constructed with a rugged airframe to withstand the demands imposed by high-intensity operations and the use of semi-prepared airstrips; the undercarriage is furnished with low-pressure tyres for the same purpose. The standard mission of the G.91 was the attack of targets within a 170-mile radius of its base with a typical loiter time of ten minutes, travelling at maximum speed in the combat area and traversing at cruise speeds. The G.91 is typically powered by a single Bristol Siddeley Orpheus turbojet engine.

The specified technical requirements included a 1,100 m (3,610 ft) takeoff distance over a 15 m (49 ft) obstacle, the capability to operate from semi-prepared grass airstrips and roads, a maximum speed of Mach 0.95, a range of 280 km (170 mi) with 10 minutes over the target while possessing a maximum of 2,200 kg (4,850 lb) empty weight and 4,700 kg (10,360 lb) max weight. Equipment requirements were the presence of armoured protection for the pilot and the fuel tanks along with alternative arrangements of 4 × 12.7 mm (.5 in) machine guns or 2 × 20 mm or 30 mm autocannon . These operational specifications were viewed as not being straightforward to fulfil at that time. Wiki Link