The Fiat G.12 was an Italian transport aircraft of

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 ...

Design and development

The G.12 was an all-metal low-wing

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

personnel transport aircraft. It had three

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 ...

s, one mounted on the nose and the other two in wing-mounted

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...

s. The engines drove three-blade feathering metal propellers. The mainwheels of its

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

retracted into the nacelles; the tailwheel was fixed. The flight deck and cabin were fully enclosed. Access was via a portside access door aft of the wing. The G.12 was designed as a civil aircraft, but served mainly in military roles during the war. Only a limited number were built, some as late as 1944, after the Italian armistice. The G.12 inspired the postwar G.212 "Flying Classroom", the last Italian three-engine transporter. It had a crew of four.

Variants

;G.12C :14-passenger transport aircraft, powered by three 574 kW (770 hp) Fiat A.74 R.C.42 radial engines. ;G.12 Gondar :Long-range cargo transport aircraft. ;G.12GA :Long-range transport aircraft, fitted with extra fuel tanks. Three built. ;G.12RT :Special long-range version, built to fly between

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and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. One built. ;G.12RTbis :One built. ;G.12T :Troop and cargo transport aircraft. ;G.12CA :18-passenger commercial airliner, powered by three Alfa Romeo 128 radial engines. ;G.12L :22-passenger commercial airliner. ;G.12LA :22-passenger commercial airliner, powered by three Alfa Romeo 128 radial engines. ;G.12LB :22-passenger commercial airliner, powered by three 604 kW (810 hp) Bristol Pegasus 48 radial engines. ;G.12LP :22-passenger commercial airliner, powered by three 793 kW (1,065 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3-G Twin Wasp radial engines.

Operators

Military operators

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Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' ; *

Royal Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single ...

operated 12 aircraft ; * ''

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 ...

'' ; *

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

operated some aircraft until 1956

Civil operators

; *

Avio Linee Italiane Avio Linee Italiane (ALI) was an Italian independent airline owned by the Fiat Group, which operated between 1926 and 1952. It was ultimately acquired by Linee Aeree Italiane (LAI). ALI was the country's only pre-World War II airline not to be ...

Stroud 1966, p. 417. ; *

Ali Flotti Riunite ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

Stroud 1966, p. 418. * Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane

Specifications

References

Bibliography

* Angelucci, Enzo ''The World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft''. London:Jane's Publishing, 1981. . * Angelucci, Enzo ''The World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft'', London, 1987. * * Stroud, John. ''European Transport Aircraft since 1910''. London: Putnam, 1966. * Stroud, John. "Post War Propliners : Fiat G.12 and G.212". ''Aeroplane Monthly''. Volume 23 No. 1, January 1994. London: IPC. Page 64-68.

External links

picture of Fiat G.12
{{Fiat aircraft 1940s Italian airliners Trimotors World War II Italian transport aircraft G.012 Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1940