The Ambrosini SAI.10 ''Grifone'' ("Griffon") was a military trainer aircraft produced in small numbers for the Italian

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...

early in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

With the approach of war, the Ministero dell' Aeronautica began a programme to increase the number of pilots available, and ordered a prototype primary trainer from Ambrosini. This aircraft, a

parasol monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

of mixed construction, first flew on July 8, 1939, with Guiliano Ferrari at the controls. A production batch of 50 was ordered, but this was quickly reduced to just 10 machines, all of which were delivered in 1940.Taylor 1989, p. 57

Variants

Production aircraft differed by having a Fiat A.50

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

in place of the prototype's

CNA D The CNA D, often known as the CNA D.4, was a four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed engine built in Italy by ''Compagnia Nazionale Aeronautica'' (CNA) between 1940 and 1951 to power light aircraft. Applications ''Data from'' Erickson * ...

. Other engine fits that were tried included an example with a

Siemens-Halske Sh 14 The Siemens-Halske Sh 14 was a seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine for aircraft produced in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. First run in 1928, it was rated at 93 kW (125 hp). Applications * Albatros L 82 * Ambrosini SAI.3 * Ambr ...

, and one with an

Alfa Romeo 110 The Alfa Romeo 110 was an Italian four cylinder air-cooled inverted inline engine for aircraft use, mainly for trainers and light aircraft. The Alfa Romeo 110 was based on the de Havilland Gipsy Major, with approximately 500 units produced. Deriv ...

; this latter machine was designated SAI.11. Another experimental development that did not enter production was a float-equipped SAI.10 Gabbiano ("Seagull").

Operators

; *''

Specifications

References

* * {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation SAI Ambrosini aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft 1930s Italian military trainer aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939