Aerfer Ariete

Ariete
General information
Type	Prototype fighter
Manufacturer	Aerfer
Designer	Sergio Stefanutti
Primary user	Italian Air Force
Number built	2
History
First flight	27 March 1958
Developed from	Aerfer Sagittario 2

The Aerfer Ariete (Italian for Ram or Aries) was a prototype fighter aircraft built in Italy in 1958. It was a refined derivative of the Aerfer Sagittario 2, and was an attempt to bring that aircraft up to a standard where it could be mass-produced as a viable combat aircraft.

Retaining most of the Sagittario 2's layout with a nose intake and ventral exhaust for the main Derwent engine, the Ariete added a Rolls-Royce Soar RS.2 auxiliary turbojet engine to provide additional power for climbing and sprinting. This used a dorsal, retractable intake with its exhaust at the tail.

No production ensued; a proposed version with a de Havilland Spectre rocket engine instead of the auxiliary turbojet, the Aerfer Leone (Lion or Leo), was abandoned before a prototype could be built.

Operators

  Italy

• Italian Air Force operated two aircraft for evaluation test ^[1]

Specifications (Ariete)

Data fromAir Enthusiast, ^[2] Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59 ^[3]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
• Wingspan: 7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
• Height: 3.28 m (10 ft 9 in)
• Wing area: 14.5 m² (156 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 2,400 kg (5,291 lb)
• Gross weight: 3,535 kg (7,793 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 turbojet engine, 16.2 kN (3,600 lbf) thrust
• Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce RSr.2 Soar turbojet engine, 8.025 kN (1,804 lbf) thrust

Performance

• Maximum speed: 1,125 km/h (699 mph, 607 kn)
• Maximum speed: Mach 1.1
• Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
• Rate of climb: 227 m/s (44,700 ft/min)
• Time to altitude: 12,000 m (39,000 ft) in 4 minutes 20 seconds
• Wing loading: 244 kg/m² (50 lb/sq ft)
• Thrust/weight: 0.685
  
• Take-off run: 500 m (1,600 ft)
• Landing run: 900 m (3,000 ft)

Armament

• Guns: 2 × 30 mm HS-825 cannon (30x136mm)

See also

Related development

• Ambrosini S.7
• Ambrosini Sagittario
• Aerfer Sagittario 2
• Aerfer Leone

References

1. "Aerfer Ariete". Aeronautica Militare. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
2. Swanborough 1971, p. 108.
3. Bridgman, Leonard, ed. (1958). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59. London: Jane's All the World's Aircraft Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 187.

Bibliography

• Buttler, Tony. X-Planes of Europe II: Military Prototype Aircraft from the Golden Age 1946–1974. Manchester, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2015. ISBN   978-1-90210-948-0
• Swanborough, Gordon. Air Enthusiast, Volume One. London: Pilot Press, 1971. ISBN   0-385-08171-5.