Aerfer Ariete

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

The Aerfer Ariete (Italian for Ram) 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, was abandoned before a prototype could be built.

Operators
1) Italy
Italian Air Force operated two aircraft for evaluation test

Specifications (Ariete)
Data from Air Enthusiast, Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59

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 (39,370 ft) in 4 minutes 20 seconds
Wing loading: 244 kg/m2 (50 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.685
Take-off run: 500 m (1,640 ft)
Landing run: 900 m (2,953 ft)
Armament
Guns: 2 × 30 mm HS-825 cannon (30x136 mm)

Aerfer Sagittario 2

Sagittario 2
Role - Prototype fighter
Manufacturer - Aerfer
First flight - 19 May 1956
Primary user - Italian Air Force
Number built - 2
Developed from - Ambrosini Sagittario
Developed into - Aerfer Ariete

The Aerfer Sagittario 2 (Italian for sagittarius) was a prototype all-metal single-seat lightweight fighter aircraft built in Italy by Aerfer, intended to serve as an interceptor or light tactical support aircraft. First flown in 1956, it became the first Italian aircraft to break the sound barrier in controlled flight when it reached Mach 1.1 during a dive from 13,725 m (45,000 ft).
Design and development
The Sagittario 2 was based on the earlier Sagittario, which was itself a development of the S.7 piston-engined training aircraft that went into service with the Italian Air Force in small numbers.
A small all-metal aircraft, the Sagittario 2 had its jet engine mounted in the nose, with the exhaust underneath the mid-fuselage. The wing and tail surfaces were highly-swept. The cockpit was moved forward of its position on the Sagittario's predecessors, and equipped with a bubble canopy. A tricycle undercarriage was fitted, with the nose gear retracting under the engine.
Development continued as the Ariete.

Operators
1) Italy
Italian Air Force operated two aircraft for evaluation test

Specifications (Sagittario 2)
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 9.50 m (31 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 7.50 m (24 ft 7 in)
Height: 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 14.73 m2 (158.6 sq ft)
Aspect ratio: 3.82
Airfoil: root: laminar symmetric 8.5% thick, tip: laminar symmetric 9.30% thick
Empty weight: 2,300 kg (5,071 lb)
Gross weight: 3,293 kg (7,260 lb)
Fuel capacity: 1,200 l (320 US gal; 260 imp gal) in four fuselage tanks
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 centrifugal-flow turbojet, 16 kN (3,600 lbf) thrust
Performance
Maximum speed: 1,006 km/h (625 mph, 543 kn)
Range: 765 km (475 mi, 413 nmi)
Service ceiling: 14,000 m (46,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 42 m/s (8,300 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 12,000 m (39,370 ft) in 10 minutes
Wing loading: 227 kg/m2 (46 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.49
Armament
Guns: 2 × 30 mm (1.181 in) Hispano-Suiza HSS 825 L/70 cannon with 300 rpg
Hardpoints: 2 with a capacity of 318 kg (701 lb), with provisions to carry combinations of:
Bombs: 2 × 227 kg (500 lb) bombs or 2 × 318 kg (701 lb) napalm tanks
Other: 2 × machine guns or cannon
Rockets: 12 × 7.62 cm (3 in) rockets