The Macchi M.C.100 was an Italian commercial

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 ...

designed and built 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 ...

Design and development

The M.C.100 was a shoulder-wing

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

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 ...

flying boat, with a family resemblance to the military twin-engine M.C.99 and earlier M.C.94. It was powered by three

Alfa Romeo 126 Alfa may refer to: Businesses and organisations Broadcasting * Alfa Radio, a Macedonian radio station * XHFAJ-FM, a Mexico City radio station better known as Alfa 91.3 * Alfa TV (Cypriot TV channel), a premium television service available in Cyp ...

RC 10

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

s strut-mounted above the wing, each driving a three-bladed

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

propeller. The pilot and co-pilot sat side by side in a raised and enclosed control cabin forward of the wing, while the radio operator sat in the aircraft's nose. A main cabin in the hull had accommodation for 26 passengers. The

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

first flew on 7 January 1939. The prototype was followed by two more aircraft, and all three were in service by June 1940 with ''

Ala Littoria Ala Littoria S.A. was the Italian national airline that operated during the fascist regime in the 1930s and 1940s. History ''Ala Littoria'' was formed by a merger of Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM), Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (S ...

'' operating between Rome-Algiers-Barcelona. With the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the aircraft was used for liaison and communication duties, and to maintain a daily Rome-Marsala-Tripoli service.

Operators

; * ''

Specifications (M.C.100)

References

* * * {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation M.C.100 1930s Italian airliners Flying boats Trimotors High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939

Design and development

Operators

Specifications (M.C.100)

See also

References