Photo: Boschung Global Ltd.
After the end of the Second World War, the Italian state had to contend not just with the destruction of the Musolini and the resulting chaos but also the nagging issue of how to revitalize one of the most historic aeronautical-producing nations in all of Europe. Through the Fiat G.59, a post-war modification of the ever-present G.55 Centauro, Italy was put back on track with enough time for more advanced jet fighters to be designed.
Though largely overlooked in modern aviation circles, we doubt any self-respective av-geek would turn their nose at this 1951 example currently up for grabs by Boschung Global Ltd. out of Sarnen, Switzerland. This particular two-seater, twin bubble cockpit example just finished a comprehensive restoration product with only 240 operating hours on the clock since it left its home hangar looking shiny and new. Because Italian engine manufacturers were hurting just as badly as its aviation sector after the war ended, Fiat decided against using the Italian license-built variant of the German Daimler-Benz DB 605 used in the G.55.
The G.59 utilized a British engine instead, the same Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 that powered the Supermarine Spitfire and North American P-51 Mustang to victory over the Axis forces during the war. The first converted prototypes first flew in 1948, with a production run of converted Fiat G.55s following soon afterward. Before long, Air Forces in exotic places like Syria were placing orders for G.59s due to geopolitical situations that made acquiring other Allied aircraft impractical. Today, only a handful of G.59s survive, with only a small fraction in airworthy condition.
Even fewer examples of the rarer two-seater trainer airframe are known to survive, making this particular airframe one of the most exotic airworthy warbirds in the skies today. The aircraft is decked out in its original Aeronautica Militare Italiana markings to make for a plane that looks fresh off the factory floor. With its license-built Hamilton Standard 24D50 quad-blad propeller spinning with reckless abandon, the G.59 very nearly resembles a strange chimera of a Spitfire and a P-51 Mustang with its striking similarity to both aircraft. The bright red nose cone does even more to make the resemblance unmistakable.
Being a fully-restored airplane, or essentially a restomod with wings, this G.59 flies with a full suite of modern avionics and communication hardware including but not limited to a Bendix King KT76A Transponder, a VHF Bendix King KX155 communications array, and Bendix King KR87 ADF navigation assistant that allows an ease of use that old-school Italian Air Force pilots didn't have the luxury of using. It's all in the name of making an aircraft that has all the looks of an old warbird but with all the functionality of a modern airplane. If you ask us, that combination can't be beaten.
The G.59 utilized a British engine instead, the same Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 that powered the Supermarine Spitfire and North American P-51 Mustang to victory over the Axis forces during the war. The first converted prototypes first flew in 1948, with a production run of converted Fiat G.55s following soon afterward. Before long, Air Forces in exotic places like Syria were placing orders for G.59s due to geopolitical situations that made acquiring other Allied aircraft impractical. Today, only a handful of G.59s survive, with only a small fraction in airworthy condition.
Even fewer examples of the rarer two-seater trainer airframe are known to survive, making this particular airframe one of the most exotic airworthy warbirds in the skies today. The aircraft is decked out in its original Aeronautica Militare Italiana markings to make for a plane that looks fresh off the factory floor. With its license-built Hamilton Standard 24D50 quad-blad propeller spinning with reckless abandon, the G.59 very nearly resembles a strange chimera of a Spitfire and a P-51 Mustang with its striking similarity to both aircraft. The bright red nose cone does even more to make the resemblance unmistakable.
Being a fully-restored airplane, or essentially a restomod with wings, this G.59 flies with a full suite of modern avionics and communication hardware including but not limited to a Bendix King KT76A Transponder, a VHF Bendix King KX155 communications array, and Bendix King KR87 ADF navigation assistant that allows an ease of use that old-school Italian Air Force pilots didn't have the luxury of using. It's all in the name of making an aircraft that has all the looks of an old warbird but with all the functionality of a modern airplane. If you ask us, that combination can't be beaten.
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