Fiat G.212

G.212
Role Airliner
Manufacturer Fiat
First flight 19 January 1947
Introduction 1947
Primary user Italian Air Force
Produced 1947–1950
Number built 19[1]
26[2]
Developed from Fiat G.12

The Fiat G.212 was an Italian three-engine airliner of the 1940s. An enlarged development of Fiat's earlier G.12 transport, it was used in small numbers in commercial service and by the Italian Air Force.

Development and design

The first prototype of the G.212, the G.212CA military transport, flew on 19 January 1947.[3] While very similar in configuration to the G.12, i.e. a low-wing all-metal cantilever monoplane with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage, the G.212 was longer, had a bigger wing and a wider fuselage. It was powered by three 642 kW (860 hp) Alfa Romeo 128 radial engines.

This 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 engines.

Operational history

The G.212CP entered service with Avio Linee Italiane ("Italian Airlines"), which ordered six, in 1947,[4] being operated on routes within Europe.[1] On 4 May 1949, a chartered Avio Linee Italiane G.212, carrying the Torino football first team squad back home from a match in Lisbon, crashed into a hill at Superga, near Turin, killing all 31 aboard, including 18 players.[5]

New G.212s were also purchased by the Egyptian airline SAIDE, who 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 Kuwaiti airline Arabian Desert Airlines.[4]

As well as the G.212CA prototype, the Italian Air Force acquired six G.212CPs, two of which were converted to flying classrooms for training purposes as G.212AV (Aula Volante).[1][4] One of these aircraft is preserved at the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle, near Rome.[6]

Variants

Fiat G.212 at the Italian Air Force Museum.
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

 Egypt
 France
 Italy
 Kuwait

Military

 Italy

Specifications (G.212CP)

Data from Post War Propliners : Fiat G.12 and G.212 [4]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development


References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 Donald 1997, p. 412.
  2. ↑ Aerei Italiano
  3. ↑ Stroud 1994, p.67.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Stroud 1994, p. 68.
  5. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Fiat G.212CP I-ELCE Turin." Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved: 7 March 2008.
  6. ↑ "The Italian Air Force Museum." Target Aviation Photography. Retrieved: 7 March 2008.
  7. ↑ aeroflight
  8. ↑ "Fiat G.212." Aeronautica Militare. Retrieved: 7 March 2008.
Bibliography
  • Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Aerospace Publishing. 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
  • Stroud, John. "Post War Propliners: Fiat G.12 and G.212". Aeroplane Monthly, Volume 23 No. 1, January 1994, pp. 64–68. London: IPC.
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