The Aerfer Sagittario 2 (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
for ''
sagittarius'') was a prototype all-metal single-seat lightweight
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
built in Italy by
Aerfer
Aerfer was an Italian manufacturing company created in 1955 by the merger of IMAM and Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali. The name is a contraction of ''Costruzioni Aeronautiche e Ferroviarie'' (Aeronautical and Railway Constructions).
In 1969 it ...
, intended to serve as an interceptor or light tactical support aircraft. First flown in 1956, it became the first Italian aircraft to break the
sound barrier
The sound barrier or sonic barrier is the large increase in aerodynamic drag and other undesirable effects experienced by an aircraft or other object when it approaches the speed of sound. When aircraft first approached the speed of sound, th ...
in controlled flight when it reached Mach 1.1 during a dive from 13,725 m (45,000 ft).
Design and development
The Sagittario 2 was based on the earlier
Sagittario, which was itself a development of the
S.7 piston-engined training aircraft that went into service with the
Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
in small numbers.
A small all-metal aircraft, the Sagittario 2 had its
jet engine
A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...
mounted in the nose, with the exhaust underneath the mid-fuselage. The wing and tail surfaces were highly-swept.
The
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
was moved forward of its position on the Sagittario's predecessors, and equipped with a
bubble canopy
A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility.
The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; so ...
. A tricycle
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
was fitted, with the nose gear retracting under the engine.
Development continued as the
Ariete
The C1 Ariete ( en, battering ram) is the main battle tank of the Italian Army, developed by Consorzio Iveco Oto Melara (CIO), a consortium formed by IVECO and OTO Melara. The chassis and engine were produced by Iveco, while the turret and fire- ...
.
Operators
;
*
Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
operated two aircraft for evaluation test
Specifications (Sagittario 2)
See also
References
Bibliography
* ''The Aeroplane'', December 21, 1956, p. 924
* Buttler, Tony. ''X-Planes of Europe II: Military Prototype Aircraft from the Golden Age 1946–1974''. Manchester, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2015.
* Giuseppe Ciampaglia, ''Dal SAI Ambrosini Sagittario all'AERFER Leone'', January 2004, IBN editore, with English translation by Stephen Richards
{{Aerfer aircraft
Sagittario 2
1950s Italian fighter aircraft
Single-engined jet aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1956