Savoia-Marchetti SM.82
| Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) SM.82 in the Museo Aeronautica Militare Vigna di Valle |
|
| Type: | Transport plane bomber |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
October 30, 1938 |
| Commissioning: |
1940 |
| Production time: |
1939-1944 |
| Number of pieces: |
circa 875 |
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 was an Italian transport and bombing aircraft .
history
The Italian SM.82 was one of the few foreign aircraft types that were used in the operational German Air Force ("associations") until September 1943. The SM.82 was a transport aircraft that was particularly distinguished by its large load capacity of 4 t or 32 equipped soldiers. The aircraft was in production from December 1939 to August 1944, a total of 721 aircraft were built, 299 of them after the Italian armistice. The SM.82 served in the Italian Air Force until 1960.
The interest of the German Air Force in this aircraft was evident early on. One can only guess that the significantly higher transport capacity to the German standard Transporter Ju was interesting for the Air Force 52 after the starting in January 1941 X Air Corps in Sicily and southern Italy in support of the Afrika Korps was used and there was considerable demand for transport to Africa. As a result, at the beginning of October 1941 , the Reich Aviation Ministry bought three used SM.82s from Regia Aeronautica as well as ten others that were in final assembly.
commitment
In February 1942, a corresponding transport unit was set up and officially listed as Stabsstaffel III./KGzbV 1, unofficially as the "Savoiastaffel". The III./KGzbV 1 named Lieutenant Helmut Schwarz as the first squadron leader and sent him to Brindisi on February 18, 1942 to build up the squadron. By the end of February, the previously retrained staff arrived in Brindisi with the three existing SM.82s, and the squadron leader reported his unit on February 22, 1943 "set up". Since no documentation was available in German, the further training of the technical and flying personnel went with great effort; In total, only 60 minutes of flight time (four to five traffic circuits and then the solo flight) were available per crew for instruction until the end of March 1942 "operational readiness" was reported. At the beginning of April the squadron was relocated to Lecce, where an Italian unit was able to support the further construction with spare parts and ground service equipment. At the same time, the squadron was now directly subordinate to the air transport pilot Mediterranean in Rome. By mid-June 1942, the aircraft were each equipped with two German MG 13 machine guns in side brackets. A year later the relay moved to Grosseto , from there in September 1943 to Malpensa and finally in mid-October 1943 to Celle, where they transferred their entire stock of 15 SM.82 to III./TG 1 (the former III./KGzbV 1, so their original home association) gave up. Like the II./TG 1, after the capitulation of Italy from September 1943, this had already been equipped with captured SM.82s and, after a brief refreshment in Celle, relocated with their SM.82s again to the southeast front at the end of October 1943.
The use of the SM.82 was satisfactory. The Air Force therefore approached the Italian Ministry of Aviation with the request to purchase 300 SM.82s. The negotiations ultimately led to an order for 100 SM.82s with delivery commencing in December 1942. However, the high losses of the Regia Aeronautica in supplying North Africa meant that the first four aircraft (MM 60856-60859) were not handed over until April 1943. By September 1943 only ten more aircraft were delivered (MM 61175-61184).
On July 31, 1943, the Regia Aeronautica had a stock of 249 SM.82. After the armistice on September 8, 1943, the Luftwaffe confiscated the aircraft in large numbers. On January 31, 1944, however, only 116 aircraft were in service with the Luftwaffe, as the aircraft had to be converted to German equipment and in accordance with German operating regulations, so that there were delays when they were taken over into service.
In the period from November 1942 to the Italian armistice, the Luftwaffe recorded total losses of over 600 transport aircraft in the Mediterranean region alone. As a result, the aviation industry was no longer able to compensate for the losses, although the Ju 52 / 3m had also been built in France since 1942. The Italian booty was therefore more than welcome. The Air Force equipped three regular transport groups ( II./TG 1, III./TG 1 , IV./TG 3 ) as well as the TGr 110, which was equipped with Italian personnel. The supplementary squadron of transporters (ErgTG) also received some aircraft of this type. The peak was 231 aircraft on July 31, 1944. After that, the number dropped rapidly.
The III./TG 1 was relocated to Odessa at the beginning of 1944 , where it took part in supplying the Crimea . However, it quickly became apparent that the aircraft was technically and aeronically unsuitable for use in the Russian winter. The group was therefore withdrawn from the mission in April 1944 and stationed in Celle. The II./TG 1 remained in Italy (Collerate) until it was relocated to Germany for dissolution in August 1944. The Italian TGr 110 was stationed in Goslar from June to October 1944, from where transport missions were flown to the northern section of the Eastern Front. The IV./TG 3 was equipped with the SM.82 in Italy from October 1943 and presumably stayed in Italy. Due to the lack of fuel, the aircraft was rarely flown from the summer of 1944. By the end of September 1944, the aircraft had largely been withdrawn from the transport groups after the dissolution of the transport groups equipped with Italian aircraft had been decreed in August. It can be assumed that the aircraft were then largely scrapped.
In total, the Luftwaffe took over 280 new aircraft by November 30, 1944. The difference between 299 aircraft built after the armistice and 280 aircraft taken over is likely to be in losses from pre-takeover bombing. In addition, some new aircraft remained in the factory, which were taken over by the winners in May 1945.
As part of the Italian Aeronautica Cobelligerante Italiana , 30 SM.82 flew on the side of the Allies after September 1943. On December 31, 1943, there were 27 aircraft there, 17 of them operational. By the end of the war, three aircraft were lost to enemy action and six to other reasons.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 4th |
| Transport capacity | 40 soldiers |
| length | 22.9 m (75 ft) |
| span | 29.68 m (97 ft) |
| height | 6.0 m (20 ft) |
| Wing area | 118.6 m² (1,277 ft²) |
| Empty mass | 10,550 kg (23,259 lb), bomber 11,200 kg (24,692 lb) |
| Takeoff mass | maximum 18,020 kg (39,727 lb), bomber 18,410 kg (40,587 lb) |
| Engine | 3 × nine - cylinder radial engines Alfa Romeo 128 RC.21, each 708 kW (963 PS) |
| Top speed | 347 km / h (187 kn, 212 mph) |
| Marching speed | 250 km / h (135 kn, 125 mph) at 3,000 m (9,843 ft) |
| Landing speed | 110 km / h (59 kn, 68 mph) |
| Range | 2,100 km (1,134 nmi, 1,864 mi) |
| Service ceiling | 6,000 m (19,685 ft) |
| Armament | 1 × 12.7 mm Scotti machine gun (0.5 in) in the rear turret 3 × 7.7 mm Breda SAFAT machine gun (0.303 in) in the lower torso stand and sideways |
| Bomb load | 4,000 kg (8,818 lb) |
Web links
swell
- Documents from the Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg
- Brotzu / Cosolo: Dimensione Cielo 9 , Rome 1976
- Helmut Schwarz, Karl Kössler : The History of the Savoia Squadron / Transport Fliegerstaffel 4