The Macchi M.67, was an Italian racing

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

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 ...

for the 1929

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded first annually, and later biennially, to the winner of a race for seaplanes and ...

race.

Design and development

Castoldi based the design of the M.67, (a single-seat, low-wing,

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

, twin-float

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

), on that of the earlier Macchi M.39, which had competed for Italy in the 1926 and 1927 Schneider Trophy races, following the M.39s layout but strengthened to accommodate the 18-cylinder, , Isotta-Fraschini Asso 1000("Ace") 1000 W-18 engine, a much bigger and more powerful engine than the Fiat AS.2 V12 fitted to the M.39. The M.67 carried fuel in its floats; the powerful engine drove a three-bladed

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

which created a large amount of

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Wh ...

. To provide extra flotation allowing smaller floats, lighter structure and less drag, fuel was carried in integral tanks built into the floats. To counter the high torque from the propeller, more fuel was carried in one float than the other, reducing swing on take-off dramatically due to reduced asymmetric hydro-dynamic drag, but also causing high out of trim forces in roll when airborne.Vašiček 2002, p. 34. Although the Italian public expressed a great deal of concern that the ''Asso'' 1000 engine was not ready for Schneider Trophy competition—Isotta-Fraschini built 27 of them for the 1929 Schneider Trophy race, but some exploded during testing—the Italian Air Minister,

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian ...

(1896–1940), believed that the M.67 had the best chance of winning the race and selected it to represent Italy. Macchi built three M.67s.

Operational history

The M.67s underwent testing on

Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...

in northern Italy. In August 1929 ''

Regia Aeronautica The Royal Italian Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') (RAI) was the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Regio Esercito, Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was ...

'' (Italian Royal Air Force)

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Giuseppe Motta was killed when his M.67 suddenly dived into the lake during a test flight in which he reached 583 kilometers per hour (362 miles per hour). Italy asked the 1929 races hosts, the British

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

, to postpone the race to allow Italy to correct the flaws in the M.67 and ''Asso'' 1000 engine, but the British refused. The Italians decided to enter the two surviving M.67s in the race despite the risk to their pilots, Balbo announcing that "the Italian team is going to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

merely to perform a gesture of chivalrous sportsmanship."Vašiček 2002, p. 35. Italy also entered a Macchi M.52R floatplane in the race.

The race took place at Calshot Spit in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and began on 7 September 1929, with

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

s Remo Cadringher and Giovanni Monti flying the two M.67s. Cadringhers M.67 began the race with an impressive burst of speed, but skidded in the first turn as its

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 ...

filled with blinding, choking smoke, and fumes; Cadringher went into a high-speed spin, pulled out of it over land, then completed one lap at an average speed of per hour before having to land, unable to see the pylons marking the turns due to smoke in the cockpit. Monti completed the first lap at an average speed of per hour, but his M.67s

radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

burst as he began the second lap; scalded by steam and boiling water entering his cockpit, Monti managed to make an emergency landing and was taken to a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

.Vašiček 2002, p. 36. The M.52R completed the race, taking second place. During the banquet celebrating the end of the race, Balbo said, "We have finished playing our part as sportsmen. Tomorrow our work as competitors will begin," signalling Italy's intention to be more competitive in the next Schneider Trophy race, scheduled for 1931.

Preserved aircraft

An M.67 is preserved in Italy at the ''Museo storico dell'Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle''.

Operators

;

Specifications

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Angelucci, Enzo. ''World Encyclopedia of Civil Aircraft''. London: Willow Books, 1984. . * Donald, David, ed. ''The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997. . * Eves, Edward. ''The Schneider Trophy Story''. Shrewsbury, UK. Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2001. . * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985).'' London: Orbis Publishing, 1985. * Taylor, Michael J. H. ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation''. London: Studio Editions, 1989. . * Vašiček, Radko. "When Seaplanes Ruled the Sky." ''Aviation History'', September 2002.

External links

Newsreel footage of 1929 Schneider Trophy racing teams, British Supermarine S.6A aircraft (#2 and #8), and Italian Macchi M.67 (#10) and Macchi M.52R (#4) aircraft at 1929 Schneider Trophy race
{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation M.67 Floatplanes 1920s Italian sport aircraft Schneider Trophy Racing aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929