Fiat Aeritalia G.91 Gina

Summary

Description

In 1953, in the midst of the Cold War, NATO expressed the need for a light and economical tactical support aircraft, capable of performing reconnaissance missions and operating from rudimentary airstrips.

In the autumn of 1957, Aeritalia (the aerospace division of Fiat) won the competition with its G.91 prototype, competing against the Northrop N156, Breguet Taon, and Dassault Etendard IV. Despite the G.91's impressive performance during trials, France decided to continue developing the Etendard IV, and Britain did not participate in the competition as it focused on the Hawker Hunter project.

The G.91 was a simple and robust design, featuring a swept-wing configuration, single engine, and a large air intake under the cockpit. It was armed with 4 12.7mm Colt Browning cannons (later replaced by 2 30mm DEFA cannons in the R3 version) and could carry up to 900kg of external ordnance. It did not have a fire control radar.

The first production version was a single-seat ground attack aircraft, which entered service with the Italian Air Force in 1959. In the same year, a specialized reconnaissance version called the G.91R was developed, featuring a shortened nose housing three 70mm Vinten cameras, suitable for low-altitude, high-speed aerial photography.

Later, a two-seat training variant called the G.91T was produced. Finally, starting in 1966, Aeritalia developed a more powerful twin-engine version with J85 engines, as the original Orpheus 803 turbojet alone proved inadequate.

The G.91 was intended to become a standard aircraft in NATO air forces, but it was ultimately only adopted by Italy (174 aircraft), West Germany (438 aircraft, including 294 built under license) - the first jet fighter owned by Germany since World War II - and Portugal (60 aircraft, including 40 acquired from the Luftwaffe). Portugal was the only nation to deploy its G.91s in combat during the independence wars in Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. When hostilities ceased in 1975, Angola acquired some of the aircraft that Portugal had not evacuated.

The Italian Air Force aerobatic team, the "Frecce Tricolori," flew the highly maneuverable G.91 from 1963 to 1982. Finally, after a long service life, the last Portuguese G.91 was retired in 1993, and the last Italian aircraft in 1995.

Technical specifications

Current operating countries

No country is operating the G.91 Gina in 2024.

All operators

Angola • Germany • Greece • Italy • Portugal

Photo of G.91 Gina

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