Alenia Aermacchi

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Alenia Aermacchi SpA
legal form Società per azioni
founding 2012
resolution January 1, 2016
Reason for dissolution Incorporation into Leonardo
Seat Varese , ItalyItalyItaly 
Number of employees 12,000
sales 2.8 billion euros (2010)
Branch Aircraft construction

Alenia Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer based in Venegono Superiore near Varese ( Lombardy ). The company was part of the Finmeccanica group, which merged Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronautica at the beginning of 2012 , creating the leading manufacturer of aerospace technology in Italy alongside AgustaWestland . On January 1, 2017, Alenia Aermacchi went completely into Leonardo .

history

Aermacchi, formerly known only as Macchi, was active in aircraft construction for around 100 years. Alenia Aeronautica emerged from the traditional aircraft construction division of Fiat , which in 1969 merged with other companies to form the state-owned Aeritalia and became Alenia after another merger.

Alenia

Alenia Aermacchi M-346
C-27J
Aermacchi MB.339CD
Aermacchi SF.260

The aircraft construction division of Fiat originated in 1908 when the first aircraft engine was developed from motors for racing cars . The company Avio Aero , which was involved in the development and construction of the Turbo-Union RB199 and Eurojet EJ200 models, stands in this tradition today . In 1916, due to the war, Fiat founded the company Società Italiana Aviazione , which, among other things, built Pomilio P-type aircraft under license, with the SIA 7 and SIA 9, its first own models. The SIA was renamed Fiat Aviazione in 1918. Under the chief designer Celestino Rosatelli , the company built a number of well-known double-decker models, including the Fiat CR.20 , CR.32 and CR.42 , as well as the Fiat BR.20 bomber . The G-series aircraft, including the Fiat G.55 , the Fiat G.91 and the G.222 transport aircraft , which were already sold under the company name Aeritalia, originate from the later chief designer Giuseppe Gabrielli .

Aeritalia was founded in Naples in 1969 when the Fiat aircraft manufacturers merged with Aerfer and Salmoiraghi to form a new group. In 1976, Aeritalia became 100% state-owned. Like Fiat, the company built the Lockheed F-104 under license and was involved in the development and construction of the Tornado and AMX fighter aircraft . In civil aircraft construction it was a subcontractor of McDonnell Douglas for a long time and built parts of the MD-80 series and the MD-11 in Italy . In addition, parts of the Boeing 767 were produced, especially after the takeover of McDonnell Douglas by Boeing .

In 1990 Finmeccanica (now Leonardo ) Aeritalia merged with the defense electronics company Selenia to form Alenia. This created Italy's leading aerospace and defense company. Over time, some companies in the aerospace and electrical engineering sectors were outsourced. Alenia Aeronautica was involved in the development and construction of the Eurofighter and the Joint Strike Fighter as well as the new edition of the G.222 transport aircraft, the Alenia C-27 .

Alenia not only brought its ongoing military programs into the new company Alenia Aeronautica. In the civil sector, it manufactured aircraft components for both Airbus and Boeing , including the Boeing 787 . In addition, Alenia built regional aircraft together with EADS (formerly Aérospatiale ) under the name Avions de Transport Régional (ATR). There was also a collaboration with Dassault and Sukhoi ( Suchoi Superjet 100 ).

In 2005 Finmeccanica handed over the management of Aermacchi to Alenia Aeronautica.

Aermacchi

The brothers Giovanni and Agostino Macchi built carriages in the second half of the 19th century . Their descendants also remained connected to road traffic: Giovanni, Giuseppe, Enrico and Giulio Macchi founded the Società Anonima Fratelli Macchi joint stock company on June 19, 1905 . Initially, the company was mainly active in railway construction , from 1948 to 1960 Macchi also built motorcycles .

In October 1912 the Italian Ministry of War published a tender for new military aircraft . Giulio Macchi then founded the company Società Anonima Nieuport-Macchi together with the French Société Anonyme des Établissements Nieuport on May 1, 1913 in Varese near Milan , which was then renamed Aeronautica Macchi . During the First World War , Macchi specialized in flying boats . One of the most famous types of this time was the Macchi M.5 . Land aircraft were also manufactured, especially under license, including the Nieuport 11 .

Shortly after the war, Macchi converted military aircraft into civilian types that could be used for passenger or freight transport. The production of record-breaking aircraft was also started. The development ended in 1931 with the Macchi MC.72 , the fastest airplane at the time, which reached over 700 km / h. The chief developer was Mario Castoldi , to whom the type designation MC also goes back.

During the Second World War , Aermacchi delivered the Macchi MC.200 , MC.202 and MC.205 fighter planes , which were used by the Italian Air Force on all fronts, but initially suffered from the low-performance radial engines installed .

In the mid-1950s, the turn to jet aircraft was heralded with the Aermacchi MB 326 . This single-engine trainer, which was delivered to the troops from 1961, was extremely successful with over 800 units for twelve customers. The successor, the Aermacchi MB 339 , was a business success with 200 copies and nine customers and is still in production today. The latest versions of this aircraft are also suitable for training budding Eurofighter pilots. In the future, the Aermacchi M-346 will continue the series of these jet trainers.

Aermacchi took over the SIAI-Marchetti range and with it the successful SF.260 . This enabled Aermacchi to offer a suitable training aircraft for all phases of pilot training.

Planes

Aircraft types built by Macchi and subsequently Aermacchi:

Macchi MC.205
Aermacchi Chimera 175, manufactured in 1957
Aermacchi motorcycle sold by Harley-Davidson in the USA

motorcycles

In 1948 Giulio Macchi began producing motorcycles in a branch in Milan . The first model was a simple type with a 123 cm³ two-stroke engine , which was soon followed by new machines with OHV engines. The best known in Germany were the models Ala rossa, Ala blu, Ala azzurra, Ala verde and Ala d'Oro with a horizontal single-cylinder engine with 175 cm³ or 250 cm³. The Chimera 175 and Chimera 250 models (only for Italy, no export) were produced with the same engines, and they also had full fairing for the engine. In the 1960s, Aermacchi's motorcycle division was owned by Harley-Davidson . The further development of racing machines with two-cylinder engines for the 250 cm², 350 cm³ and 500 cm³ classes was very successful. Walter Villa was motorcycle world champion in the 250 cm² class on such a machine in 1973 and 1974 . In 1978 the plant was sold to Cagiva .

Automobiles

The company also began producing tricycles for a short time in 1946 , with the single wheel in the front. A two-cylinder engine with 750 cm³ displacement , which was operated with naphtha and produced 25 hp (18.4 kW), provided the drive . The Macchi MB1 was available as a passenger and delivery vehicle; later there were also diesel versions. Only prototypes were made of the Gabry model presented in 1963 . First, an air-cooled two-stroke engine with 150 cm³ was used; which was later replaced by a two-cylinder engine. The engine was mounted in the stern. The body was made of plastic and had sliding doors .

Production sites

Alenia Aermacchi's headquarters are at the company's Venegono airport near Varese, the military aircraft department in Turin and the civil aircraft department in Naples . Production sites are located at Turin Airport (Eurofighter, C-27), at the Cameri military airfield (JSF), in Pomigliano d'Arco (ATR) and at Taranto Airport (Boeing 787). The jet trainers are built in Venegono.

literature

Web links

Commons : Aermacchi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Leonardo: Filing of Articles of Association - DETAIL - Leonardo - Aerospace, Defense and Security. Retrieved May 23, 2017 (UK English).