Savoia-Marchetti SM.73
| Savoia-Marchetti SM.73 | |
|---|---|
 Savoia-Marchetti SM.73 from SABENA |
|
| Type: | Airliner |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
4th July 1934 |
| Number of pieces: |
48 |
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.73 was a three-engine airliner from the 1930s. The aircraft built by Savoia-Marchetti was designed for a crew of four and 18 passengers.
history
In 1933, the parallel development of the SM.73 and the SM.81 bomber began, which meant that the aircraft looked alike, apart from the different engines and the rows of windows of the SM.73. The first flight took place on July 4, 1934. It was equipped with three engines and a rigid chassis and belongs to the class of the Ju 52 . However, the SM.73 achieved a significantly higher speed of 345 km / h.
use
The Belgian airline SABENA was interested in the aircraft for air transport to the Belgian Congo and ordered five SM.73s with Gnome Rhône 9K engines (600 hp), which were delivered in 1935. The Belgian aircraft manufacturer SABCA then built seven SM.73s under license. The Ala Littoria received a total of 16 aircraft in 1935/36, which were equipped with different engines. From December 1936, it was used on the Rome - Tripoli - Asmara - Addis Ababa route . The Italian airline Avio Linee bought six SM.73s for its European traffic. Due to the good results, the Ala Littoria acquired six more aircraft in 1937. For use in Ethiopia, nine aircraft were equipped with the Alfa Romeo 126 RC.34 (750 hp) high-altitude engine for the Ala. In 1937 and 1938 the Czech ČSA received six aircraft. A total of 48 SM.73s were built with the prototype and license production.
The SM.73 was flown a lot in Europe and a high safety standard was achieved. The Czech SM.73s were rarely used after the German occupation: Deutsche Lufthansa (DLH) presumably used an aircraft on a small scale in 1939/40. Two SM.73s of the ČSA, which was dissolved in 1939, were used in 1941/42 as training aircraft for the SM.82, which the Luftwaffe had acquired. At least one aircraft was sold to the Italian Regia Aeronautica .
Seven Belgian SM.73s were flown to Great Britain after the German attack and used there as a transport aircraft as part of the RAF 271 Squadron, with two aircraft being lost due to the war. The remaining aircraft were flown to the Belgian Congo, but were confiscated by the French authorities during a stopover in Algiers and handed over to the Italian Air Force. There they were used alongside the Italian aircraft as part of the Regia Aeronautica.
When the Italian entered the war on June 10, 1940, there were still 17 SM.73s from the Ala Littoria and five from the Avio Linee. Nine aircraft were in Ethiopia, the rest were assigned to the 605a and 606a Squadriglia. On July 31, 1943, eight aircraft were still available: four at the Nucleo Ala Littoria, one at the 18 ° Stormo and three under repair / overhaul. Three aircraft were confiscated by the DLH in September 1943, another by the Luftwaffe and three flew with the Aeronautica Co-Belligerente on the Allied side. The DLH handed over two aircraft to the RACSA, a connection unit of the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblica, the third was used to supply spare parts. The last remaining aircraft of Aeronautica Co-Belligerente was scrapped after the end of the war.
Overview of the operators
Incidents
From the first flight in 1934 to the end of operations in 1946, the Savoia-Marchetti SM.73 suffered 12 total losses. 118 people were killed in 9 of them.
- On March 16, 1940, a Savoia-Marchetti SM.73 of the Italian Avio Linee Italiane ( aircraft registration I-SUTO ) was flown into the Stromboli volcano ( Italy ) in adverse weather . The machine was on a flight from Tripoli via Catania to Rome. In this CFIT, controlled flight into terrain , all 14 occupants were killed, 5 crew members and 9 passengers.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 4 (pilot, copilot, radio operator, on-board mechanic) |
| Passengers | 18th |
| length | 18.37 m |
| span | 24.00 m |
| height | 4.45 m |
| Wing area | 92.20 m² |
| Empty mass | 7300 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 10,800 kg |
| drive | three radial engines Alfa Romeo 126 RC.10 |
| power | 800 PS each (approx. 590 kW) |
| Top speed | 325 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 7000 m |
| Range | 1000 km |
literature
- Emilio Caso, Michele Cosolo, Gherardo Brotzu: Dimensione Cielo. No. 7, Edizioni dell'Ateneo & Bizzarri, Roma 1974.
- Documents from the Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Accident statistics Savoia-Marchetti, page 73 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on June 2, 2020.
- ↑ accident report SM.73 I-SUTO , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 2 June 2020th