The Macchi M.18 was a

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

Alessandro Tonini Alessandro Tonini (1885 – 12 November 1932) was an important Italian aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer of the early 20th century who worked for Gabardini, Macchi, and IMAM. Biography Tonini was born in Cavarzere in the Province of Ve ...

and produced by

Macchi Macchi is an Italian surname, the patronymic or plural form of the old personal name ''Macco'' from the Latin '' Maccus''. It is possibly a variant of '' macchia''. Notable people with the surname include: * Aurelio Macchi (1916–2010), Argenti ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the early 1920s.Taylor 1989, 617''World Aircraft Information Files'' File 901 Sheet 01 Originally planned as a passenger aircraft, it entered production as a

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

before eventually being offered on the civil market that it was originally intended for.

Design and development

A conventional design for

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the M.18 was a

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

flying boat with unstaggered wings of unequal span braced by

Warren truss In structural engineering, a Warren truss or equilateral truss is a type of truss employing a weight-saving design based upon Triangle, equilateral triangles. It is named after the British engineer James Warren (engineer), James Warren, who pat ...

-style struts. The engine was mounted pusher-fashion in the interplane gap, and the pilot and observer sat in side-by-side open

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

s. An open position was provided in the bow for a gunner. In addition to the standard military version, a version with

folding wing A folding wing is a wing configuration design feature of aircraft to save space and is typical of carrier-based aircraft that operate from the limited deck space of aircraft carriers. The folding allows the aircraft to occupy less space in a co ...

s was produced for shipboard use as the M.18AR. This equipped the Italian Navy's

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

'' Giuseppe Miraglia'' and the Spanish Navy's ''Dédalo''. The latter service used the type in action against Moroccan rebels.''World Aircraft Information Files'' File 901 Sheet 02 Six of the 20 machines purchased by Spain remained in service at the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and were used to attack Nationalist forces on

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

as well as flying

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

patrols. Portugal also operated the type, buying eight examples in 1928. The

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

an government bought two Macchi M.18AR in late 1932 for the naval aviation wing. They received the serials R.3 and R.5 and were intensively used in the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, The first of these, the M.18 ''Economico'' ("Commercial"), was generally similar to the military version, but was followed by the M.18 ''Lusso'' ("Luxury") which featured an enclosed cabin. The M.18 ''Estivo'' ("Summertime") again reverted to open cockpits. Some 70 civil examples were produced in all, some being purchased by joyriding firms such as ''

Ad Astra Aero (Latin for "to the stars air") was a Swiss airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnersh ...

'' in Switzerland and some others being used by SISA for

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

flying boat pilots for airline service in the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

Variants

;M.18: Standard bomber version. ;M.18AR: With folding wings for shipboard use. ;M.18 Economico: (Commercial) Civil version generally similar to the Military bomber. ;M.18 Lusso: (Luxury) Enclosed cabin VIP transport. ;M.18 Estivo: (Summertime) Open cockpit for joyriding.

Operators

; *

Ecuadorian Air Force The Ecuadorian Air Force (; FAE) is the air branch of the Armed Forces of Ecuador. Mission To develop the military air wing, in order to execute institutional objectives which guarantee sovereignty and contribute towards the nation's security an ...

; *

Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...

; *

Paraguayan Navy The Paraguayan Navy () is the maritime force of the Armed Forces of Paraguay, in charge of the defense of Paraguay's waters despite not having direct access to the sea. It has gone to war on two occasions: the War of the Triple Alliance (18 ...

; *

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy (), also known as the Portuguese War Navy (''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'') or as the Portuguese Armada (''Armada Portuguesa''), is the navy of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Chartered in 1317 by King Dinis of Portugal, it is ...

; *

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics () and Naval Aeron ...

Spanish Republican Navy The Spanish Republican Navy was the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. History In the same manner as the other two branches of the Spanish Republi ...

; *

Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

Specifications (M.18 AR)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * Sapienza Fracchia, Antonio Luis: "La Contribución Italiana en la Aviación Paraguaya". Author's edition. Asunción, 2007. 300 pp. {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation M.18 1920s Italian bomber aircraft Flying boats Single-engined pusher aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1920