Aerfer Leone

Aerfer · Italy · first flew 1953 · fighter

The Aerfer Leone was an Italian experimental single-seat jet fighter developed in the early 1950s to explore high-speed flight and advanced propulsion. Later versions combined a turbojet with a rocket booster for enhanced climb performance.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, swept
E — Engines	1 × rocket, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	Thin swept wing on a compact fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Italian experimental jet fighter of the early 1950s
Mixed jet and rocket propulsion in later versions
Thin swept wing on a compact fuselage

A compact swept-wing jet with a mid-mounted wing, a conventional tail, and a slim fuselage housing a single turbojet; the later Ariete version shows an additional tail rocket nozzle.

Specifications

The Aerfer Leone has a length of 11 m (36 ft).
It has a wingspan of 9.5 m (31 ft).
Its maximum speed is 1150 km/h (715 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Designed by Sergio Stefanutti at Aerfer, the Leone first flew in 1953 and was followed by the more advanced Ariete. The programme demonstrated Italian capability in transonic jet design but did not achieve production orders, as Italy opted for US-supplied aircraft instead.

Variants

The Leone was followed by the Aerfer Ariete, which added a rocket motor in the rear fuselage for zoom-climb interception; together they formed a coherent experimental series.

Where you'll see it

No operational service; the Leone and Ariete were purely experimental aircraft used to gather data on transonic handling and mixed-propulsion concepts.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 5,024 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.