Italian aircraft types
The Italian aircraft manufacturers have a long history that goes back to the dawn of manned flight. Many pioneers like Caproni, the automobile manufacturer Fiat, railway car and ship-building company Piaggio and the company Savoia-Marchetti became well-known and established names in aviation history. The Italian aircraft builders have constructed a very large number if different types. Strangely, the number of types that went into large-scale production is much lower. The Italians were always famous for their elegant designs which is clearly demonstrated by their WW-II fighters. Italian manufacturers produced fighters that could meet on even terms with its opponents and also here the limited numbers available prevented large military successes!
This collection of more than 200 photographs gives a nice overview of the history over the period 1930-1990. What is presented in this collection are mostly the lesser known types. I must admit that it is definitely NOT a complete overview of ALL types built, but for people more interested in Italian aircraft development I would recommend the following book: Thompson, Jonathan W. Italian civil and military aircraft 1930-1945 Aero Publishers, Inc., 1963 ISBN 0-8168-6500-0 It is out of print for many years by now, and maybe also not so easy to obtain second-hand but it is definitely worth finding!!
Nico Braas
