Mario Castoldi (February 26, 1888 – May 31, 1968) was an Italian aircraft engineer and designer.

Biography

Born in

Zibido San Giacomo Zibido San Giacomo ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Penin ...

Province of Milan The province of Milan () was a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Milan. The area of the former province is highly urbanized, with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, the third-highest population density among Ital ...

, Castoldi worked for the experimental center of Italian Military Aviation at

Montecelio Guidonia Montecelio (), commonly known as Guidonia, is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio, central Italy. Geography The municipality of Guidonia Montecelio, formed by the main towns of Guidonia and Montecelio, l ...

, not far from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In 1922, he moved to Macchi Aeronautica, where he became famous for designing a series of

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 ...

s that set world speed records. His first winning plane was the Macchi M.39 seaplane. It was designed in 1925–26 to compete in the

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 of 1926. Powered (like all the Macchi planes from this time) by a

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

engine, it managed a top speed of 396 km/h (246 mph) and won the contest for that year. For the next four years, Castoldi designed several more racing seaplanes (the M.52, M.52R, and the M.67), which entered the Schneider Trophy races but they lost to the British racers (the Supermarine S.5, and the Supermarine S.6). Castoldi's most famous plane was the Macchi M.C.72 (designed over three years, from 1931 to 1933). At first, Castoldi hoped this plane would enter (and win) the Schneider Trophy race of 1931, but the plane could not be ready in time for that contest (the winner was the British

Supermarine S.6B The Supermarine S.6B is a British racing seaplane developed by R.J. Mitchell for the Supermarine company to take part in the Schneider Trophy competition of 1931. The S.6B marked the culmination of Mitchell's quest to "perfect the design of ...

). As a result of three consecutive victories for the British, the Schneider races were over. Development on the M.C.72 continued. Jane asserts that the Italian

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

personally supported the M.C.72 program (most likely as a part of his efforts to gain international prestige for Italy). After the deaths of two test pilots who were flying the plane, in April 1933, pilot

Francesco Agello Francesco Agello (27 December 1902 – 24 November 1942) was an Italian test pilot. Biography and flight achievements Born at Casalpusterlengo, Lombardy, Italy, Agello graduated from pilot school in 1924 and soon became a test pilot. He was ...

succeeded in setting a speed record for a

with a speed of 684 km/h. Work on improving the plane's speed continued as the design team hoped they could exceed a speed of 700 km/h. After a year and a half, this feat was accomplished by Agello, who attained an average speed of 709 km/h (440 mph) flying the three passes in M.C.72 on October 23, 1934. This world speed record lasted for five years, but as a record for a piston-engine seaplane, it has never been broken. After the M.C.72, Castoldi worked on designs for Italian fighters. However, he was limited by the inability of Fiat to provide more powerful engines. Later designs had to rely on German-supplied engines. Castoldi was in charge of the design of a series of military fighters that formed the mainstay of the Italian fighter force in World War II, specifically the C.200, C.202 and

Macchi C.205 The Macchi C.205 ''Veltro'' () (also known as MC.205, "MC" standing for "Macchi Castoldi") was a Second World War-era fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Italy, Italian aircraft manufacturer Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane ...

. In 1945, Castoldi retreated to private life. He died at

Trezzano sul Naviglio Trezzano sul Naviglio ( or simply ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan. Trezzano sul Naviglio borders the municipalities of Buccinasco, Cusago, Cesan ...

in 1968.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castoldi, Mario 1888 births 1968 deaths People from the Metropolitan City of Milan Aircraft designers 20th-century Italian engineers Polytechnic University of Milan alumni