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What was the first aircraft designed in Italy to exceed Mach 1.1?
Short answer
The Aerfer Sagittario 2 reached Mach 1.1 —it did not exceed it— on 4 December 1956, in a dive from 13,725 m and piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Giovanni Franchini, breaking the sound barrier in controlled flight. It was the first Italian aircraft to break the sound barrier.
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From the S.7 to the research jet
The Sagittario 2 was based on the company's earlier Sagittario, itself a development of the S.7, a piston-engine trainer. It was powered by a single Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 centrifugal-flow turbojet. Sergio Stefanutti, designer of the first Italian canard fighter, also designed the first domestically conceived jet fighter.
The flight of 4 December 1956
The prototype made its first flight on 19 May 1956. On 4 December that year, with Lieutenant Colonel Giovanni Franchini at the controls, it broke the sound barrier in controlled flight. It reached a top speed of Mach 1.1 during a dive from 13,725 m (45,000 ft).
Italy's first supersonic aircraft
Stefanutti is credited with the first Italian aircraft to break the sound barrier.
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