Fiat G.46

Fiat

Industry	Aerospace
Founded	July 11, 1899 (1899-07-11) in Italy
Products	Aircraft

The Fiat G.46 represents an Italian military training aircraft developed soon after the conclusion of World War II.

Design and development

The G.46 featured a traditional low-wing monoplane layout with a tailwheel landing gear configuration, where the main wheels retracted inward. Seating was arranged in tandem beneath an extended transparent canopy for both the pilot and instructor. Its initial prototype, equipped with a 205 hp (153 kW) Alfa Romeo 115-Ibis powerplant, completed its first flight on 25 June 1947.

Flight evaluations demonstrated outstanding handling qualities and aptitude for aerobatic maneuvers, leading to production orders.

Besides the 150 units procured by the Aeronautica Militare, an additional 70 were sold internationally to countries including Austria, Argentina, and Syria.

Variants

File:Fiat G.46.jpg

G.46-1B

Initial production and prototype two-seat variant powered by the Alfa Romeo 115bis engine; total of 25 delivered to the Italian Air Force.

G.46-2B

Two-seat version fitted with a de Havilland Gipsy Queen engine, produced primarily for the Argentine Air Force with 70 units built plus another 12 supplied to the Syrian Air Force.

G.46-3B

Two-seat model powered by the Alfa Romeo 115ter engine for Italy’s air force; 25 constructed.

G.46-4B

Two-seat variant also using the Alfa Romeo 115ter engine, with a production run of 55 for the Italian Air Force.

G.46-5B

Prototype navigation trainer configured as a two-seater.

G.46-4A

Single-seat version powered by the Alfa Romeo 115ter engine, with 35 produced for Italian military use.

Operators

File:G.46-4B Austria.JPG

Fiat G.46 of the Austrian Air Force

Template:Country data Argentina

• Argentine Air Force utilized 70 units of the Fiat G.46

Austria

• Austrian Air Force operated five Fiat G-46B aircraft previously belonging to the Italian Air Force.

Italy

• Italian Air Force operated a fleet of 141 Fiat G.46 aircraft between 1949 and 1960.

Template:Country data Syria

• Syrian Air Force possessed 12 G.46-2B models.

Surviving aircraft

File:E.a-441 Fiat G-46-5B (8164148796).jpg

Former Argentine Air Force Fiat G-46, Museo Nacional de Aeronautica, 2012

File:Fiat G-46.jpg

Former Argentine Air Force aircraft exhibited at Ciudad Jardin Lomas del Palomar

• A Fiat G.46 formerly operated by the Argentine Air Force is exhibited at the Museo Nacional de Aeronautica de Argentina.
• Another ex-Argentine Air Force G.46 is on public display at Plaza de los Aviadores (Aviators Square) in Ciudad Jardin Lomas del Palomar, Buenos Aires.
• The Frasca Air Museum located in Champaign, Illinois, showcases a flight-capable G-46-3B that has been modified to a single-seat configuration; this aircraft originally served with the Italian Air Force.
• At the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a G-46-3B is currently exhibited and undergoing restoration to regain airworthiness.

Specifications (G.46-4B)

Bibliography

• Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1953–54. London: Jane's All The World's Aircraft Publishing Company, 1953.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989, p. 389.
• Vigna, Achille. "Juan Peron's Gift to Italy." Air International, vol. 49, no. 1, July 1995, pp. 38–42.
• World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing, File 894 Sheet 22.

External links

• Restoration project for the G.46
• Audio recordings of a G.46 at an airshow