SM.79
| SM.79 "Sparviero" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Medium bomber, torpedo bomber |
| Manufacturer | Savoia-Marchetti |
| First flight | 28 September 1934 |
| Introduction | 1936 |
| Retired | 1952 (Italy) 1959 (Lebanon) |
| Primary users |
Regia Aeronautica Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana Forţele Aeriene Regale ale României Spanish Air Force |
| Produced | 1936–1945 |
| Number built | 1,240 |
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero (Italian for sparrowhawk) was a three-engined Italian medium bomber with a wood-and-metal structure. Originally designed as a fast passenger aircraft, between 1937 and 1939 this low-wing monoplane set 26 world records, qualifying it for some time as the fastest medium bomber in the world. It first saw action during the Spanish Civil War and flew on all fronts in which Italy was involved during World War II. It achieved success as a torpedo bomber in the Mediterranean theater, and became the best-known Italian aeroplane of the war. It was easily recognizable due to its distinctive fuselage dorsal "hump", and was well liked by its crews, who nicknamed it il gobbo maledetto ("damned hunchback"). It was the most numerous Italian bomber of World War II, with some 1,300 built, remaining in Italian service until 1952.
The SM.79 project began in 1934 and was conceived as a fast, eight-passenger transport capable of being used in air-racing (the London-Melbourne race). Piloted by Adriano Bacula, the prototype flew for the first time on 28 September 1934. Originally planned to use the 597 kW (801 hp) Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI Ri as powerplant, the aircraft reverted to the less powerful 440 kW (590 hp) Piaggio P.IX RC.40 Stella, a license-produced Bristol Jupiter on which many Piaggio engines were based. The engines were subsequently replaced by Alfa Romeo 125 RC.35s (license-produced Bristol Pegasus).
The prototype (registration I-MAGO) was completed too late to enter the London-Melbourne race, but flew from Milan to Rome in just one hour and 10 minutes, at an average speed of 410 km/h (250 mph). Soon after, on 2 August 1935, the prototype set a record by flying from Rome to Massaua, in Italian Eritrea, in 12 flying hours (with a refuelling stop at Cairo). The SM.79 was by far the most important Italian offensive warplane of World War II, and one of the very few Italian aircraft to be produced in substantial quantities. Production started in October 1936 and continued until June 1943, totalling 1,217 machines. Some were constructed by Aeronautica Umbra of Foligno, makers of the AUT.18.
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