Bulletproof

Piaggio’s military trainer is the epitome of ruggedness, and it flies well, too.

This four-seat tricycle gear aircraft started life as a two-seat tailwheel trainer built by Piaggio in the early fifties for the Italian air force, designated P. 148. The larger P. 149 was intended as a civilian training/touring aircraft, but suffered poor sales and faced a bleak future. Saved by the Luftwaffe purchasing 72 airframes to serve as its basic trainer, Piaggio subsequently entered into a licensing agreement with Focke Wulf which went on to build a further 190 P. 149Ds, most of which went to the German air force.