S.A.I. (Ambrosini) S.107

The potentialities of the wooden lightweight single-seat fighter were under investigation in several countries during the late 1930s, an Italian proponent of the concept being Ing Sergio Stefanutti. Working at the Societa Aeronautica Italiana of Ing Angelo Ambrosini, Stefanutti developed the S.107 lightweight fighter from the S.7 tandem two-seat aerobatic trainer and competition aircraft. This was flown for the first time early in 1940, and was powered by a 515hp Isotta-Fraschini Gamma R.C.35-I 12-cylinder inverted-Vee air-cooled engine. It carried an armament of one 7.7mm machine gun. As initially flown, the S.107 was fitted with a long, faired windscreen extending over the engine in an attempt to reduce aerodynamic drag. As this elongated transparency was found to impair vision from the cockpit it was replaced by an orthodox stepped windscreen. Outstanding performance was demonstrated at Guidonia, and progressive development of the basic design led to the S.207, the sole example of the S.107 being lost meantime in an accident on 18 July 1941.