Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoia...M.79_Sparviero

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero (Italian for sparrowhawk) was a
three-engined Italian medium bomber developed and manufactured by aviation
company Savoia-Marchetti. It could be the best-known Italian aeroplane of the
Second World War. The SM.79 was easily recognizable due to its fuselage's
distinctive dorsal "hump", and was reportedly well liked by its crews, who
nicknamed it il gobbo maledetto ("damned hunchback").

The SM.79 first saw combat during the Spanish Civil War. In this theatre it
normally operated without fighter escort, relying on its relatively high speed
to evade interception. While some issues were identified, and in some cases
resolved, the SM.79's performance during the Spanish deployment was encouraging
and stimulated demand for the type, including a decision to adopt it as the
backbone of Italy's bomber units. Both Yugoslavia and Romania opted to procure
the type for their own air services, while large numbers were also procured for
the Regia Aeronautica. Almost 600 SM.79-I and –II aircraft were in service when
Italy entered the Second World War in May 1940; thereafter, they were deployed
in every theatre of war in which the Italians fought.

The SM.79 was operated in various capacities during the Second World War,
initially being used mainly as a transport aircraft and medium bomber. Following
pioneering work by the "Special Aerotorpedoes Unit", Italy put the type to work
as a torpedo bomber; in this role, the SM.79 achieved notable successes against
Allied shipping in the Mediterranean theater. A specialised drone version of the
aircraft flown by remote control was also developed, although the Armistice with
Italy was enacted prior to any operational deployment. It was the most numerous
Italian bomber of the Second World War, with about 1,300 built. The type would
remain in Italian service until 1952.

The engines fitted to the main bomber version were three 582 kW (780 hp) Alfa
Romeo 126 RC.34 radials, equipped with variable-pitch, all-metal three-bladed
propellers. Speeds attained were around 430 km/h (270 mph) at 4,250 m (13,940
ft), with a relatively low practical ceiling of 6,500 m (21,300 ft). Cruise
speed was 373 km/h (232 mph) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft), but the best cruise speed
was 259 km/h (161 mph) (60% power). The landing was characterized by a 200 km/h
(120 mph) final approach with the slats extended, slowing to 145 km/h (90 mph)
with extension of flaps, and finally the run over the field with only 200 m (660
ft) needed to land (2,050 rpm, 644 Hg pressure).

The SM.79 was typically operated by a crew of five (or a crew of six upon the
bomber version). The cockpit was designed for the accommodation of two pilots
seated in a side-by-side configuration. Instrumentation in the central panel
included oil and fuel gauges, altimeters for low and high altitude (1,000 and
8,000 m or 3,300 and 26,200 ft), clock, airspeed and vertical speed indicator,
gyroscope, compass, artificial horizon, turn and bank indicator, rev counters
and throttles.


Role
Medium bomber, torpedo bomber

Manufacturer
Savoia-Marchetti

First flight
28 September 1934

Introduction
1936

Retired
1952 (Italy)
1959 (Lebanon)

Status
Out of service

Primary users
Regia Aeronautica
Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana
Fortele Aeriene Regale ale României
Spanish Air Force

Produced
1936–1945

Number built
1,240

Developed into
Savoia-Marchetti SM.84

Spanish Civil War

The SM.79 saw action for the first time when serving with the Aviazione
Legionaria, an Italian unit sent to assist Franco's Nationalist forces during
the Spanish Civil War. The Sparviero started its operational service at the end
of 1936 when 8° Stormo B.T. (Bombardamento Tattico), with Gruppi XXVII° and
XXVIII°, under the command of Tenente Colonnello Riccardo Seidl, was sent to
Spain. Deployed to the Balearic Islands, the unit was named "Falchi delle
Baleari" (Balearic Falcons) and operated over Catalonia and the main cities of
eastern Spain, attacking the Second Spanish Republic, killing 2,700 civilians
and injuring more than 7,000. During the three years of the civil conflict, in
excess of 100 SM.79s served as bombers for the Aviazione Legionaira, of these,
only four were recorded as being lost in combat. Due to the experience gained in
Spain the SM.79-II, introduced during October 1939, went on to form the backbone
of the Italian bomber corps during the Second World War

The SM.79 began to lose its reputation for invulnerability when RAF Gloster
Gladiators and Hawker Hurricanes were encountered over the fortress-island
Malta, at the centre of the Mediterranean, in June 1940.

A Sparviero had the dubious honour of being the first aircraft to fall on
Maltese soil during the Second World War: on 10 July 1940, an estimated twenty
SM.79s without escort arrived to bomb the dockyard, Manoel Island, Tarxien and
Zabbar.

Specifications (SM.79-III)

General characteristics
Crew: 6 (pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer/gunner, radio operator, bombardier,
rear gunner)
Length: 16.2 m (53 ft 2 in)
Wingspan: 20.2 m (66 ft 3 in)
Height: 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 61.7 m2 (664 sq ft)
Empty weight: 7,700 kg (16,976 lb)
Gross weight: 10,050 kg (22,156 lb)
Powerplant: 3 × Alfa 128 R.C.18 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 642
kW (861 hp) each
Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers

Performance
Maximum speed: 460 km/h (290 mph, 250 kn) at 3,790 m (12,430 ft)
Range: 2,600 km (1,600 mi, 1,400 nmi)
Service ceiling: 7,500 m (24,600 ft)
Rate of climb: 5.3 m/s (1,040 ft/min)
Wing loading: 165 kg/m2 (34 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.173 kW/kg (0.105 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns: ** 1 × 20 mm (0.79 in) forward MG 151 cannon 2 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) dorsal
Breda-SAFAT machine gun 1 at the top, 1 in the belly (The belly gun was
optional).
2 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine guns in lateral "waist-gun" ports (optional)

Bombs: 1,200 kg (2,645 lb) internal bomb load or two external 450 millimetres
(17.72 in) torpedoes




*