The Fiat G.91 was a single-engine jet fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft with swept wings, designed by engineer Giuseppe Gabrielli and produced by the Italian company Fiat Aviazione.
General information
It won the NATO competition for the production of a new light tactical support aircraft. Used mainly by the Italian Air Force and the German Luftwaffe, in Italy it is also famous for having long been the aircraft of the national aerobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori. It was also used, to a lesser extent, by the Portuguese Força Aerea. It remained in production for 19 years and 756 were built.
Designed in response to the competition for a tactical attack and support aircraft launched by NATO in December 1953, it had good speed and could carry about 450 kg of underwing stores. FIAT decided to base the design (on a reduced scale) on the American F-86K Sabre, and the resulting resemblance earned the G.91 the nickname "Little Sabre". The prototype made its first flight on 9 August 1956 at the Turin-Caselle airport. In January 1958 the aircraft was officially declared winner of the NATO competition and from August of the same year the pre-production aircraft equipped the 103rd Gruppo.
In Italy the G.91 was assigned not only to the 103rd Gruppo but also to the 14th Gruppo. The 13th Gruppo, part of the 32nd Stormo, briefly received this "Light Tactical Fighter" in the "R-1" version, fitted with a new squared-off nose housing three cameras for aerial reconnaissance and later with a Martin Baker "zero-zero" ejection seat, whose adoption led to the redesign and replacement of the canopy. In 1963 the national aerobatic team (PAN) Frecce Tricolori received, in place of its earlier F-86E Sabres, the pre-production G.91s, which were lightened (stripped of their armament) and fitted with smoke generators.
The last flight of a G.91 (in the R version) took place in 1992 with a ceremony at Treviso-Sant'Angelo airport, while a few years later, in 1995, the last two-seaters (G.91T) were finally withdrawn from Italian Air Force service, closing a career of more than thirty years.
Length 10.29 m
Wingspan 8.56 m
Height 4.00 m
Wing area 16.46 sq m
Empty weight 3,100 kg
Max take-off weight 5,500 kg
Max speed 1,075 km/h
Service ceiling 13,260 m
Range 1,150 km
History of aircraft G91PAN MM6264 pre-production no. 30
Assembly was completed at FIAT Aviazione in Turin-Caselle on 12 June 1958 and the aircraft was delivered to the Italian Air Force on 15 December 1958, entering service in 1959 (with the initial codes "5-264") with the 103rd Gruppo of the 5th Aerobrigata. In 1961 it was transferred to the 14th Gruppo of the 2nd Aerobrigata as "2-64", taking the codes "2-26" when the 2nd Aerobrigata became the 2nd Stormo. As a pre-production aircraft it was selected for the national aerobatic team and modified to PAN standard (disarmed and fitted with smoke systems). It entered service with the Frecce Tricolori / 313th Aerobatic Training Group at the Rivolto military airport (UD) on 26 June 1966 as "Pony 2" (number "2" on the fin), which it kept until 1968, then became "Pony 1" (formation leader) until 28 June 1970. In 1971 it was first "16" and then "Pony 6" — from 1972 until August 1976 — flown by the then Capt. Massimo Montanari. From 15 June 1976 to 5 August 1979 it continued to fly with the Frecce Tricolori, in periods without a number or occasionally as "16". From 12 July 1980 it was again "Pony 6", once more assigned to Maj. Massimo Montanari, until 21 September 1980. In its final months with the Frecce Tricolori it flew as "Pony 7" until its transfer to the 2nd Stormo on 6 November 1981. To seal the bond with the town of Carpi and its local aero club, the Italian Air Force donated MM 6264 to the local airport in Emilia-Romagna, where it ended its career as gate guardian.
Under a thirty-year free loan, the aircraft was transferred by the Municipality of Carpi to the Primo Club Frecce Tricolori of Pieve di Soligo which, on 15 March 2013 (represented by President Remigio Villanova, board member Giovanni Fornasier, member Gen. Gianfranco Da Forno and Lgt. Roberto Bassi), acquired, dismantled and transported the aircraft from Carpi airport to Pieve di Soligo, where its restoration was completed in August 2014. The aircraft has been requested for numerous events (including the 55th anniversary of the Frecce Tricolori at Rivolto) and since April 2018 has been permanently hosted at the Jonathan Foundation.