AERFER Ariete

We keep going with this saga of Italian jet airplanes.

The Aerfer Ariete was an the prototype of an Italian jet fighter that flew for the first time in 1958. It was a direct improvement from the Sagittario. It retained the main design features of the Sagittario II, specially the swept wings.

It was powered by two engines, the main being the same as the Sagittario, the 16,2Kn Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 as the main one, and the 8,025Kn Rolls-Royce Soar RSr-2 placed at the back, in tandem configuration. The particularity of this airplane was that this second auxiliary engine had it's own air intake that could be switched-on or off from the cockpit. This was made in order to achieve additional climbing and sprinting power.

As we already said, the prototype flew for the first time on 27th March 1958 and was armed with a pair of 30mm Hispano-Suiza HDD-825 cannons.

No production order was ensued and Aerfer decided to cancel all their fighter projects after this one. Even the much refined Aerfer Leone was cancelled before it could achieve the prototype status.

Sources:
1. Wikipedia
2. The Complete Book of Fighters
3. http://xoomer.virgilio.it/aviostoria/A/AERFER/ARIETE.htm

AERFER Sagittario II

We continue with the saga of these good looking Italian jet fighters.

The Sagittario II was an Italian all-metal single seat light fighter prototype intended to fullfil the interceptor or the light tactical support role. The prototype flew for the first time in May 19th 1956 and it became the first Italian airplane to break the sound barrier by achieving a mach 1.1 speed.

It was designed by the engineer Sergio Stefanutti (the same who designed the previous Sagittario I) and it was built by the Industrie Mechaniche Aeronautiche Meridionali - AERFER (Meridional Mechanical Aeronautical Industries). It was powered by a 16.2Kn thrust Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 engine and was armed with a pair of 30mm Hispano-Suiza HDD-825 cannon.

Some variants were projected:

• Sagittario II adapated for grass landing strip: This project was intended to provide the Sagittario with a separate carriage for taking-off from grass landing strips.
• Sagittario II ground attack-fighter: A ground-attack specialized variant intended to be armed with bombs, napalm canisters and unguided rockets and to be powered by a reduced version of the Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 engine.
• Sagittario II - Biposto scuola: A two-seater trainer version. 
• Sagittario III: A projected version powered by a Bristol Orpheus engine. 

The trial results were excellent, however the NATO decided to favour the development of the much better F-86 Sabre.

Sources: 1. Wikipedia
             2. The Complete book of fighters - Salamander Books
             3. http://xoomer.virgilio.it/aviostoria/A/AERFER/SAGITTARIO%202-PROGETTI.htm

AERFER Sagittario I

Now is the turn for an Italian jet fighter of the 1950s.

The AERFER Sagittario I (AKA Ambrosini Sagittario) was an Italian aerodynamical test airplane based on the Ambrosini S.7 Freccia (Arrow).

New wooden swept wings were added to the fuselage. The swept was of 45º. It was powered by a Turbomeca Marboré engine of 3.7Kn thrust. The inlet was at the nose of the fuselage and the exhaust was at the bottom, under the cockpit. As the original landing gear of the S.7 was retained, a special shielding was added to the rear wheel in order to protect it from the exhaust fumes.

It flew for the first time on 5th January 1953. It was the base for the much refined Sagittario II

Sources:
Wikipedia
Aviastar