Savoia-Marchetti SM.75
| Savoia-Marchetti SM.75 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Airliner , transport aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
November 1937 |
| Production time: |
1937 to 1943 |
| Number of pieces: |
95 |
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.75 was a three-engine airliner produced by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Savoia-Marchetti in the 1930s. The SM.75 was a further development of the SM.73 , from which it differed in its greater transport capacity, a retractable landing gear and higher performance. The first flight of the SM.75 took place in November 1937. During the Second World War it was developed into a military transport aircraft.
use
Pre-war period
First a first series of 50 aircraft was built (W.-No. 32001-32050). The aircraft were equipped with three "Alfa Romeo 126 RC.134" (750 hp) engines. Five aircraft were delivered to the Hungarian MALERT between July 1938 and February 1939 , which operated the aircraft until the Hungarian entry into the war in June 1941.
A total of 36 SM.75 were delivered to the Italian airline Ala Littoria before June 1940 . Four of these aircraft were lost before the war (I-TUON on November 22, 1938 near Lienz, I-LEAL on February 10, 1940 near Aiello Calabro, I-LUPI on May 17, 1940 near Barcelona, all with personal injury, I-LOVE unknown).
The service took place on the European routes with 24 passengers as well as on the route to Italian East Africa ( Ethiopia and Eritrea ) with 18 passengers.
Second World War
The remaining 32 aircraft of the Ala Littoria were taken over in June 1940 by the Regia Aeronautica , which formed the Servizi Aerei Speciali (SAS) with the other aircraft of the Italian airlines . The SAS served for military transport purposes and consisted, among other things, of three nuclei , which were formed from the three airlines Ala Littoria, Aviolinee and LATI. In addition to military transport tasks, these were to handle civil air traffic during the war. The Nucleo Ala Littoria received six SM.75s, the Nucleo LATI two SM.75s, the rest were assigned to SAS transport squadrons.
In December 1939, the LATI had started traffic to Brazil across the South Atlantic with Savoia-Marchetti SM.83 . After the SM.82, which was also used , had several breaks in December 1940, the SM.75 I-BAYR was also used, but was lost on the fourth flight off the island of Fernando de Noronha , probably due to engine problems . In addition to two passengers, two complete crews (eight people) went missing. In addition to the SM.82, the SM.75 was also used to supply East Africa when the situation there became critical in 1941.
In August 1940 it was decided to better adapt the SM.75 to its new requirements. The Ala Littoria therefore ordered 20 SM.75s, which were equipped with the wings, tail unit and landing gear of the SM.82. The tank capacity was increased to 7,000 liters, which gave the SM.75 a range of 4,500 km. A total of 23 aircraft (W.-Nr. 32051-32073) were delivered between March 1942 and January 1943. Some of the aircraft were equipped with "Alfa Romeo 128 RC.18" engines with 860 hp each.
Due to the war situation, it was decided to launch another series of 30 SM.75bis, also with three "Alfa Romeo 128 RC.18" engines. The equipment of a commercial aircraft with a turret on the back of the fuselage, which was equipped with a 12.7 mm machine gun, was particularly significant. Of this series, 17 aircraft (W.-Nr. 001-017) had been completed by August 1943, three of which were delivered to LATI and two to Ala Littoria.
During the war, the planes of the Nuclei LATI and Ala Littoria were subjected to acts of war, as the Italian companies were militarized in June 1940. Accordingly, aircraft from these companies were destroyed by bombs or shot down by enemy aircraft. On July 31, 1943, a total of 45 SM.75 were still available, twelve of them with the LATI and eleven with the Ala Littoria, 13 with military units and nine with aviation companies for repair or overhaul.
Japan flight 1942
Since there was an interest in a connection between the allied Germany and Italy with Japan during the war, the SM.75 RT (for Rome – Tokyo) MM60539 (W.-Nr. 32056) was equipped to cover a distance of 8000 km non- stop being able to fly with a payload of 140 kg. From Rome it only took nine hours to go to Zaporozhye in the Soviet Union, from where the longest stage to Baotou in Japanese-occupied China was tackled. The 6000 km long route was covered in a flight time of 21 hours and 14 minutes. The distance to Tokyo (2700 km) took another 10 hours and 4 minutes. The outward flight took place from June 30, 1942 to July 3, 1942 with a break in Baotou, the return flight from July 16, 1942 to July 20, 1942 on the Tokyo – Baotou – Odessa – Rome route.
In use since 1943
After the Italian armistice, Deutsche Lufthansa received a total of 16 SM.75 from the airlines. One was taken over directly by the German Air Force, one was confiscated by the Romanian authorities and four flew with the Aeronautica Cobelligerante Italiana on the Allied side. The Lufthansa did not put the planes themselves one because they counted on maintenance difficulties, but were eleven aircraft to the Luftwaffe. Four remained in their custody and were then scrapped, the last was bombed. The Japanese aircraft was handed over to the 2./VersuchObdL on October 22, 1943, the rest flew with Transportgeschwader 1 from September 1943 . The peak was on February 29, 1944 at 25 aircraft. There the planes were sorted out in July 1944 and probably stored until they were then scrapped.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Passengers | 18-24 |
| length | 21.60 m |
| span | 29.68 m |
| height | 5.10 m |
| Wing area | 118.6 m² |
| payload | 9,500 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 13,000 kg |
| Top speed | 363 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 6,250 m |
| Range | 1,720 km |
| Engines | three radial engines Alfa Romeo 126 RC.134 |
literature
- Brotzu, Cosolo: Dimensione Cielo 8. Roma 1975.
