Fiat G.212

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 Aeronautica Militare.

Development and design
The first prototype of the G.212, the G.212CA military transport, flew on 19 January 1947. 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, being operated on routes within Europe. 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.

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.

As well as the G.212CA prototype, the Aeronautica Militare 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.

Civil

 * SAIDE
 * Cie Air Transport
 * Ali Flotte Riunite
 * Avio Linee Italiane ("Italian Airlines")
 * Arabian Desert Airlines
 * Ali Flotte Riunite
 * Avio Linee Italiane ("Italian Airlines")
 * Arabian Desert Airlines
 * Arabian Desert Airlines

Military

 * Aeronautica Militare
 * Aeronautica Militare