SIAI-Marchetti was an Italian

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

primarily active during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

History

The original company was founded during 1915 as SIAI (''Società Idrovolanti Alta Italia'' –

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 ...

Company of Upper Italy). As suggested by its name, the firm initially specialised in the manufacture of seaplanes, the vast majority of which were intended for the Italian armed forces. Perhaps its most prominent early aircraft was the SIAI S.16, a seaplane that had been configured to perform both

aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or Strategy, strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including Artillery observer, artillery spott ...

and

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 ...

roles, but also proved itself quite capable of long-distance flights. During 1925, Italian aviator

Francesco de Pinedo Francesco de Pinedo (February 16, 1890 – September 2, 1933) was an Italian aviator. A '' Regia Marina'' (Italy's Royal Navy) officer who transferred to the '' Regia Aeronautica'' (Italy's Royal Air Force), he was an advocate of the seaplan ...

of the ''

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) used an SIAI S.16''ter'' he named ''Genariello'' for a record-setting flight 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, ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to demonstrate his idea that seaplanes were superior to landplanes for long-distance flights. Having departed Rome on 21 April, Pinedo and his mechanic, Ernesto Campanelli, visited dozens of countries, often stopping for multiple weeks at a time, particularly in Australia, before successfully arriving in Tokyo on 26 September 1925.Anonymous, "Italian Flight to Tokyo Accomplished."
''Flight'', 1 October 1925, p. 644.Anonymous, "Rome-Tokyo-Rome: Marquis de Pinedo's Grand Air Tour Successfully Concluded."
''Flight'', 12 November 1925, p. 756. Shortly following the end of the

First World War 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 company was rebranded as Savoia following its acquisition of the ''Società Anonima Costruzioni Aeronautiche Savoia'', an Italian aircraft company founded by Umberto Savoia in 1915. The name Marchetti was added to the company's name shortly following the recruitment of its long-serving chief designer, Alessandro Marchetti, during 1922. Savoia-Marchetti gained prominence with the innovative S.55

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 ...

. During 1926, the S.55P

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 ...

successfully established 14 separate world records in categories including speed, altitude, and distance with a payload. Production models were produced for both civilian and military export customers; numerous S.55s were used during the Second World War and for a number of years beyond the conflict, despite the arrival of many newer types. Savoia-Marchetti became relatively well known for its flying boats and seaplanes, aided by the numerous endurance and speed records that had been set by its products. The company earned the favour of numerous Italian officials, including Air Marshal

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 ...

. Accordingly, the company was involved in the rapid development and prototyping of a wide portfolio of aircraft types during the 1930s. One such aircraft was the SM.75

trimotor A trimotor is a propeller-driven aircraft powered by three internal combustion engines, characteristically one on the nose and one on each wing. A compromise between complexity and safety, such a configuration was typically a result of the limit ...

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 ...

transport aircraft, which was developed in response to an enquiry by the Italian

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 partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

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 ...

for a modern, middle- to long-range

airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...

and

cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft generally feature one or more large door ...

; it featured an early implementation of retractable main

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

and was capable of long-range missions, such as transporting up to 24 passengers over 1,000 miles.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 207.Rosselli, p. 20. Another was the SM.81 ''Pipistrello'', which became the first three-engine

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

aircraft to be adopted by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

'';Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 188. furthermore, it would be one of the most flexible, reliable, and important aircraft operated by the service through the Second World War, transitioning from a front-line bomber to various second-line duties towards the conflict's latter years.Sutherland 2009, p. 31.Neulen 2000, pp. 85–86. The company became increasingly focused on the construction of military aircraft during the lead-up to, and throughout the majority of, World War II. In particular, the SM.79 ''Sparviero'' trimotor Italian

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

has been claimed by aviation authors Enzo Angelucci and Paolo Matricardi as being the best-known Italian aeroplane of the conflict.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 198. Performing its first flight on 28 September 1934, early examples of the type established 26 separate world records between 1937 and 1939, qualifying the SM.79 for some time as being the fastest medium bomber in the world.Arena et al. 1994, p. 7. It was operated in various capacities during the war, initially focusing on its transport and medium-bomber duties. The SM.79 was developed into an effective

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

, in which capacity it achieved numerous successes against Allied shipping in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

theater.Arena et al. 1994, p. 9. During 1943, the company was rebranded as SIAI-Marchetti. As the conflict turned in favour of the Allies, the company's manufacturing facilities were a particularly high-priority target for enemy bombers, leading to their virtual destruction by the final months of WWII. The firm continued to make efforts to design and produce new aircraft, such as the SM-93

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

during 1944, but the economic consequences of the costly war made such ambitions unrealistic at best. During the immediate

postwar A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

era, SIAI-Marchetti endeavoured to survive within the commercially inhospitable climate by diversifying into the manufacture of various items of railway equipment and

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

s though efforts were not successful. The company was relatively insolvent, operating as such for roughly six years following the conflict's end before being compelled to declare

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in September 1951. During the firm's bankruptcy, all of its staff were dismissed, although more than half were re-employed by the liquidator to complete outstanding orders. During 1953, the company re-emerged from the bankruptcy process, and quickly began to focus its development efforts on the emerging market for

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s. Largely as a result of its investment into helicopters, SIAI-Marchetti was acquired by Italian helicopter specialist

Agusta Agusta was an Italian helicopter manufacturer. It was based in Samarate, Northern Italy. The company was founded by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923, who flew his first aeroplane in 1907. The MV Agusta motorcycle manufacturer began as an offshoot ...

during 1983. Its remaining fixed-wing assets were subsequently absorbed by the aircraft manufacturing interest

Aermacchi Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the It ...

during 1997.

Aircraft

* SIAI S.8 – two-seat reconnaissance flying boat (1917) * SIAI S.9 – two-seat flying boat (1918) * SIAI S.12 – two-seat reconnaissance flying boat (1918) and racing seaplane (as Savoia S.12, 1920) * SIAI S.13 – two-seat reconnaissance flying boat (ca. 1919) * SIAI S.16 – flying boat (1919) * SIAI S.17 – racing flying boat (1920) * SIAI S.19 – racing flying boat (1920) * SIAI S.21 – racing flying boat (1921) * SIAI S.22 – racing flying boat (1921) * SIAI S.23 – biplane flying boat trainer (1922) * SIAI S.50 – 1922 redesignation of Marchetti MVT fighter prototype (1919) * SIAI S.51 – racing flying boat (1922) * SIAI S.52 – fighter prototype (1924) * Savoia-Marchetti S.55 – double-hulled flying boat (1924) * Savoia-Marchetti S.56 – three-seat trainer/touring flying boat (1924) * Savoia-Marchetti S.57 – reconnaissance flying boat (1923) * SIAI S.58 – single-seat flying boat fighter prototype (1924) * Savoia-Marchetti S.59 – reconnaissance/bomber flying boat (1925) * Savoia-Marchetti S.60 – high-speed monoplane bomber project (1925) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.62 – bomber/reconnaissance flying boat (1926) * Savoia-Marchetti S.63 – flying boat airliner, single-hull version of S.55 (1927) * Savoia-Marchetti S.64 – record breaking aircraft (1928) * Savoia-Marchetti S.65 – twin engined push/pull racing seaplane (1929) * Savoia-Marchetti S.66 – 22-passenger flying boat (1931) * SIAI S.67 – single-seat flying boat fighter (1930) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.70 – high-speed attack/bomber project (1930s) * Savoia-Marchetti S.71 – eight-passenger light transport (1930) * Savoia-Marchetti S.72 – bomber/transport (1934) * Savoia-Marchetti S.73 – 18-passenger airliner/transport (1934) * Savoia-Marchetti S.74 – airliner (1934) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.75 – airliner/transport (1937) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.76 (I) – projected four-engined version of SM.75 (1937); redesignated as SM.95 in 1939 * Savoia-Marchetti SM.76 (II) – SM.75 for LATI (1940) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.77 – flying boat airliner (1937) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.78 – bomber/reconnaissance flying boat (1932) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 ''Sparviero'' – medium bomber (1934) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.80 – touring amphibian (1933) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 ''Pipistrello'' – bomber/transport (1935) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 ''Marsupiale'' – heavy bomber/transport (1939) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.83 – 10-passenger transport, civilized version of SM.79 (1937) * Savoia-Marchetti S.84 – prototype airliner developed from the S.73 (1936) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.84 – medium bomber/torpedo bomber (1940) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.85 – dive bomber (1936) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.86 – dive bomber (1940) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.87 – floatplane version of SM.75 (1940) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.88 – twin-engined heavy fighter prototype (1939) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.89 – ground attack (1941) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.90 – prototype transport developed from the SM.75 * Savoia-Marchetti SM.91 – prototype twin-engine long-range fighter-bomber (1943) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.92 – prototype twin-engine heavy fighter/bomber (1943) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.93 – dive bomber (1943) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.94 * Savoia-Marchetti SM.95 – transport/airliner (1943) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.96 (I) – projected cargo version of SM.95 (1942) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.96 (II) – projected single-seat monoplane fighter (1940s) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.96 (III) – projected twin-tail assault transport (1940s) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.97 – four engine airliner study (1943?) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.99 – two or three engine transport study (1940s) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.101 – single-engine transport aircraft (1947) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.102 – twin-engine transport aircraft (1949) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.103 – low-wing fighter-trainer project * SIAI-Marchetti SM.104 – twin engine, twin boom transport project (1946) * Savoia-Marchetti SM.105 ''Canguro'' – projected military/civil transport aircraft (1947) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.106 – four engine high-wing transport project * SIAI-Marchetti SM.107 – twin-engine low-wing transport project * SIAI-Marchetti SM.10X – low-wing twin-engine jet fighter project (1949) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.109 – four engine high-wing cargo transport project * SIAI-Marchetti SM.110 ''Chimera II'' – four engine jet airliner project (1950) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.112 – twin-turboprop airliner project (1953–1957) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.115 – transport aircraft project (1950s) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.122 – twin-turboprop airliner project (1953–1957) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.132 – twin-engine low-wing jetliner project (1953–1954) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.133 – twin-engine interceptor/fighter project * SIAI-Marchetti SM.155 – twin-hull transatlantic flying boat project (1944) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.166 – twin-hull flying boat project * SIAI-Marchetti FN.333 Riviera – luxury touring amphibian flying boat (1952) * SIAI-Marchetti S.201 – V/STOL transport project * SIAI-Marchetti S.202 – two-seat trainer, project sold to FFA * SIAI-Marchetti S.204 – twin turboprop light transport project (1960s) * SIAI-Marchetti S.205 – four-seat liaison aircraft (1965) * SIAI-Marchetti S.206 – projected 5–6 seat version of S.205 (1967?) * SIAI-Marchetti S.208 – 5-seat version of S.205 (1967) * SIAI-Marchetti S.210 – twin-engined cabin aircraft (1970) * SIAI-Marchetti S.211 – two-seat jet trainer, light attack aircraft (1981) * SIAI-Marchetti S.226 – 22 passenger business jet project (1980s) * SIAI-Marchetti S.229 – swept-wing canard twin engine jet aircraft project, enlarged version of S.226 (1980s) * SIAI Marchetti SF.260 – aerobatics plane and a military trainer (1964) * SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019 – STOL liaison, observation aircraft (1969) * SIAI Marchetti SF.600 Canguro – feederliner aircraft (1978) *

SIAI-Marchetti S.700 The SIAI-Marchetti S.700 Cormorano was an Italian proposal for a twin-engined Amphibious aircraft, amphibian based on the Vulcanair Canguro, SF.600 Canguro. Development The S.700 was designed to use as much of the SF.600 as possible to build a t ...

– general purpose amphibian aircraft (not built) * FFA AS-202 Bravo – two/three-seat light civil aircraft (1969)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Angelucci, Enzo and Paolo Matricardi. ''World Aircraft: World War II, Volume I'' (Sampson Low Guides). Maidenhead, UK: Sampson Low, 1978. . * * * Neulen, Hans Werner. ''In the skies of Europe – Air Forces allied to the Luftwaffe 1939–1945''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, The Crowood Press, 2000. . * Rosselli, Alberto. "In the Summer of 1942, a Savoia-Marchetti Cargo Plane Made a Secret Flight to Japan." ''Aviation History''. January 2004. * Sutherland, Jon & Diane Canwell: ''Air War East Africa 1940–41 The RAF versus the Italian Air Force''. Barnsley (South Yorkshire) Pen and Sword Aviation, 2009. .

External links