Fiat G91 Armament

[Piet van Schalkwyk]

Good morning all,

 

Did the Fiat G91-T's in Italian Air Force or Luftwaffe service carry the Matra M116 rocket pods during their service careers?  If so, was this done on a regular basis and which units partook in the weapons training that this would allow?  Did the T-1/3 aircraft only carry the internal weapons pylons, or could they also be equipped with the outside pylons?

 

Thanks for any assistance in this regards,

Piet

Edited April 15, 2022 by Piet van Schalkwyk
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[Selwyn]

26 minutes ago, Piet van Schalkwyk said:

God morning all,

 

Did the Fiat G91-T's in Italian Air Force or Luftwaffe service carry the Matra M116 rocket pods during their service careers?  If so, was this done on a regular basis and which units partook in the weapons training that this would allow?  Did the T-1/3 aircraft only carry the internal weapons pylons, or could they also be equipped with the outside pylons?

 

Thanks for any assistance in this regards,

Piet

The M116 was a war shot one use disposable rocket pod and would not be used for training. Do you mean the reusable M155 pod?

 

Selwyn

[CharlieGolf2009]

From my personal experience with the T/3s of the Portuguese Air Force (ex-Luftwaffe), the outboard pylons were never fitted, and I think the twin-seaters were in fact limited to those 2 hardpoints. The only armament was a pair of .50cal machine guns sometimes, and the ever present fuel tanks.

 

I seem to remember seeing somewhere pictures of several different Italian AF G-91T/1s with what seemed to be LAU-5003 rocket pods. Can't recall where, nonetheless.

 

 

[Piet van Schalkwyk]

9 hours ago, Selwyn said:

The M116 was a war shot one use disposable rocket pod and would not be used for training. Do you mean the reusable M155 pod?

 

Selwyn

Thanks Selwyn,

 

I came across a drawing of a G91T with a M116 pod and was quite surprised to see this.  I was under the impression that the pod was automatically jettisoned after the "one shot" burst.  Was the Italian AF G91T's ever used for weapons training or was this carried out mainly on the single seater.  My frame of reference is the MB326M Impala Mk 1's which we used for basic, as well as weapons training, using the machine gun pods and Matra F2 6-shot rocket pods.  I was wondering whether the Fiat G91T's were used in a similar role.

 

Thanks for your reply and kind regards,

Piet

[Piet van Schalkwyk]

6 hours ago, CharlieGolf2009 said:

From my personal experience with the T/3s of the Portuguese Air Force (ex-Luftwaffe), the outboard pylons were never fitted, and I think the twin-seaters were in fact limited to those 2 hardpoints. The only armament was a pair of .50cal machine guns sometimes, and the ever present fuel tanks.

 

I seem to remember seeing somewhere pictures of several different Italian AF G-91T/1s with what seemed to be LAU-5003 rocket pods. Can't recall where, nonetheless.

 

 

Thanks for the reply, the information is appreciated.

 

Kind regards,

Piet

[CharlieGolf2009]

16 hours ago, Piet van Schalkwyk said:

Thanks for the reply, the information is appreciated.

 

Kind regards,

Piet

 

You're quite welcome, Piet.

 

Meanwhile, I found a picture of a formation of AMI T/1s on their way to the gunnery range, for an A/G training mission. The rocket pods do seem to be the LAU-5003.

http://fighterplaneworld.com/index.php/2020/04/05/mister-t-il-fiat-g91t-1/

[Piet van Schalkwyk]

Thanks very much for this photograph.  This is what I was hoping for, as I could not find one myself.  I really do appreciate your participation in finding this, allowing me to finalise a correct profile of a Gina T with rocket pods.

 

Kind regards,

Piet

[Bonehammer]

These are the pods you're looking for... maybe?

 

[Piet van Schalkwyk]

Thanks for the video Bonehammer, it is much appreciated.  The photograph above of the three aircraft in formation was perfect for me, that was indeed what I was looking for.   The video also confirms the use of the rocket pods.  It was lovely to see all those 60's and 70's aircraft deliver their ordinance in the video.  Must have been a fine outing on the weapons range.  Kind regards, Piet.

[canberra kid]

this is from the German Air Force G.91 flight Manual

John

 

[Piet van Schalkwyk]

Thanks for this information Canberra Kid, it is appreciated.  I believe the video shows the 2inch rocket being fired.  Kind regards, Piet.

[exdraken]

Regarding the flight manual, very much appreciated such stuff!!

 

Regarding rockets it simply says 100 2 inch  rockets.   Are those really 25  shot launchers?

 

The other interesting part is the overload aspect for dome loadouts!  How did that work? Less fuel? Longer runways? Headwind?

 

Thanks!