Italian Forces

SAI-Ambrosini SS.4: a rear view

Rear view of the SAI-Ambrosini SS.4 canard fighter still in Passignano sul Trasimeno’s factory prior the transfer to Castiglion del Lago airfield for the flight tests ended tragically. The accident’s enquiry cleared the SS.4’s design, but the program was nevertheless cancelled and the manufacturer and the designer, Sergio Stefanutti, polarized over most conventional designs like the SAI 207 and 403. During the WW2 the canard concept for fighter aircrafts was approached also by other, like the Americans (Curtiss XP-55 Ascender) and the Japanese (Kyūshū J7W1 Shinden), but without success as the many projects of following decade. The modern Eurofighter Typhoon isn’t a “pure canard”. Victor Sierra