Fiat G.80

The Fiat G.80 was a military trainer developed in Italy in the 1950s, and was that country's first true jet-powered aircraft. It was a conventional low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle undercarriage and engine intakes on the fuselage sides. The pilot and instructor sat in tandem under a long bubble canopy.

Two G.80 prototypes were followed by three pre-production machines, but the Aeronautica Militare found it unsuitable for their requirements and did not purchase it in quantity. Undeterred, Fiat developed a more refined version, dubbed the G.82, for entry in a NATO competition to select a standard jet trainer. Apart from many detail changes, the G.82 featured a longer fuselage, a Rolls-Royce Nene engine in place of the G.80's de Havilland Goblin, and wingtip tanks. Five aircraft were constructed, but when the competition was cancelled and the G.82 was not selected by either NATO or the Aeronautica Militare, the development programme was finally terminated. Plans for specialised versions including night fighter, reconnaissance, and close-support aircraft went unrealised, as did the G.84 that was to have been powered by an Allison J35. The G.82s were used for a few years by the Aeronautica Militare's training school at Amendola before being handed over to the Reparto Sperimentale Volo ("Department of Experimental Flight") in 1957.

Variants

 * G.80-1B - prototype (1 built)
 * G.80-3B - pre-production version (4 built)
 * G.81 - definitive production version of G.80 (not built, development cancelled in favour of G.82)
 * G.82 - prototypes for NATO competition (5 built)
 * G.84 - Allison J35-powered version (not built)

Operators

 * Italian Air Force
 * Italian Air Force