The Fiat G.212 was an Italian three-engine

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

of the 1940s. An enlarged development of

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

's earlier G.12 transport, it was used in small numbers in commercial service and by the

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

Development and design

The first prototype of the G.212, the G.212CA military transport, flew on 19 January 1947.Stroud 1994, p.67. While very similar in configuration to the G.12, i.e. a low-wing all-metal

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 ...

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 ...

with a retractable

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynami ...

, the G.212 was longer, and had a larger wing and a wider

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

. It was powered by three 642 kW (860 hp) Alfa Romeo 128

radial engines 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 cal ...

. It was followed by two versions intended for civil use, the G.212CP airliner, with accommodation for 34 passengers, and the G.212TP freighter, both using the more powerful

Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments at Pratt & Whitney on twin-row designs. Production bega ...

engines.

Operational history

The G.212CP entered service with ''

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 ...

'' ("Italian Airlines"), which ordered six, in 1947, being operated on routes within Europe.Donald 1997, p. 412. On Thursday 1 July 1948 I-ELSA, a flight from Milano to Brussels crashed near

Keerbergen Keerbergen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises only the town of Keerbergen proper. On January 1, 2006, Keerbergen had a total population of 12,444. The total area is 18.39 km² w ...

airfield (eight people died). One of the surviving crewmembers died six months later in the crash of an ALI Douglas C47 at Milano airport. On 4 May 1949, a chartered ''Avio Linee Italiane'' G.212, carrying the

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

first team squad, the Grande Torino, back home from a match in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, crashed into a hill at

Superga Superga is a hill situated on the south bank of the river Po to the east of Turin in north-west Italy. At above sea level, it is one of the most prominent of the hills that ring the city. Superga is known for the Basilica of Superga and its ro ...

, near

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, killing all 31 aboard, including the 18 players. New G.212s were also purchased by the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian airline SAIDE, which received three aircraft in 1948, and the French airline Cie Air Transport. Four of the ''Avio Linee Italiane ''aircraft were sold to '' Ali Flotte Riunite'', one of which was sold again to the

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

i airline Arabian Desert Airlines. As well as the G.212CA

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

, the Italian Air Force acquired six G.212CPs, two of which were converted to flying classrooms for training purposes as G.212AV (''Aula Volante''). One of these aircraft is preserved at the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle, near

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Variants

;G.212CA: The first prototype of the G.212 family. ;G.212CP:The first production series civil airliners. ;G.212TP: Freight transports for civil and military use. ;G.212AV: (''Aula Volante'') Navigation training aircraft; six G.212CPs fitted out as flying classrooms for the Italian Air Force.

Operators

Civil

; * SAIDE - Services Aériens Internationaux d'Egypte ; * ; * Ali Flotte Riunite *

; * Arabian Desert Airlines

Military

; *

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

operated 11 Fiat G.212 from 1949 until 1952aeroflight
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Specifications (G.212CP)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Donald, David, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft.'' Aerospace Publishing. 1997. . * Stroud, John. "Post War Propliners: Fiat G.12 and G.212". ''Aeroplane Monthly'', Volume 23 No. 1, January 1994, pp. 64–68. London: IPC.

External links

FIAT G.212Fiat G.212
Airliners.net

(In Italian) {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation G.212 1940s Italian airliners Trimotors Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1947