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CELEBRATING 1 00 YEARS OF ITALIAN GENIUS. INNOVATION AND ACHIEVEMENT •

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~~ Alenia Aermacchi A Finmeccanica Company

Swiss movement, English heart

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Swiss made I 26 jewel automatic movement I 38 hour power reserve I Adjustable Italian leather strap I SuperLuminova.'"~-' hands and indexes I Water resistant to 5atm Diameter: 42mm I Calibre: Sell ita SW200-l

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CHRWARD LONDON

ontents 8 The genesis of Alenia

Aermacchi

10 Giulio Macchi

14 First World War -The companies are founded

30 Inter-war years

52 The great race - the Schneider Trophy

62 The Second World War

70 Postwar rebuilding

80 Jet success

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Flagship trainer

Over the Falklands

International programmes and consolidation

Into the 21 si Century

Limited edition prints

Survivors

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Charlotte Pearson Jonathan Schofield

Tim Hartley

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Legacy, heritage and the future

In 1978, one of the finest minds of the 20th century, philosopher, historian and scientist]ames Burke, wrote and presented a television series called Connections; An alternative view of

change. As a teenager I watched this avidly because it showed me a new approach to history. History is not a linear, neatly packaged process the way it is often taught. Random events conspire to affect change. People work motivated by their own reasons, often to solve a particular problem or to make a profit. Earlier work is improved upon or provides a stimulus to become something entirely different. To trace a path through the development of anything can take you to some very surprising places, seemingly unconnected until you understand how you got there. This was a revelation, one for which I have been grateful my entire adult life. In short, the series taught me how to think.

At the end of the penultimate episode of Connections, James Burke explains why he believes history to be so important to humanity, a theme he expands on in the final

Renzo Catellani flying the immaculate Aermacchi MB.326 from VolaFenice at the Reggio Emilia airport. Lulglno Callaro

part. It is a very simple but vital message: "You can only know where you are going, if you know where you have been." Producing this issue has taught me one thing, the message of Connections could be the motto of Alenia Aermacchi.

This is a company with strong roots, having grown into an international aerospace giant over the last 100 years while staying in the same area. It has produced extraordinary, world beating aircraft throughout its history, and I was astounded and ashamed to discover how few I knew anything about and how much I still have left to learn, not only about the aircraft, but also the talents that created them. That shame has now turned to delight as the full picture emerged from my research.

The people behind this story are almost a family, the developments they began interweaving through the various companies in a complex series of relationships. Sometimes the co-operation between the companies was officially frowned upon, the work of Mario Castoldi at Macchi and Tranquillo Zerbi at Fiat was based upon

6 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

Castoldi's need for powerful racing engines, work they carried out often at an unofficial personal level. Test pilots, engineers and scientists you would expect to find in this story, but this period of racing development was initiated by a French industrialist who wanted to connect the great seapor ts of the world with commercial flying boats. The international competition he financed was instead to affect the development of high performance aircraft for the Second World War. Like I said earlier, history does not conform to neat packages. The century behind Alenia Aermacchi travels a varied and fascinating road. It takes it from companies that produced railway rolling stock, gun limbers and wagon wheels to two companies that still produce modern luxury yachts and then into space.

All through this story one factor in the success of Alenia Aermacchi is prevalent, its sense of its own heritage. The company began with military and commercial aircraft, but it is high performance -yet cost effective­trainers that have formed the keystone for

The Aermacchi MB.339T-Bird 11 was an entry into the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System competition of 1994 and is now on display at the Venegono fac tory. Alenia Aermacchi

60 years at Aermacchi, a development chain that has resulted in today's superb M.346.

Fiat, through to Aeritalia and Alenia have been at the cutting edge of combat aircraft development for decades, a line that culminates in the Typhoon and shortly the F-35. From my research, I feel it is an appreciation and an understanding of the value of its legacy that has brought the group such international success. The photographs on these pages feature a collection of the aircraft on display at the Venegono factory complex, along with one of its most famous products recently returned to flight Clearly, this is a company which knows where it has been. What will be just as fascinating is where this solid foundation of knowledge will take it in the next 100 years.

Happy l OO'h birthday Alenia Aermacchi! As usual, I have been assisted in the

production of this magazine by some remarkable and enthusiastic people. Aviation Classics' old friend Colonel Douglas C Dildy has been joined by Santiago Rivas and Lewis Mejla in explaining the use of the MB.326 and 339 in Argentina and Peru, Colonel Dildy adding to his histor y of the aircraft of the Falklands War following on from the Harrier and Mirage issues. Another old friend, Luigino Caliaro, waited in the rain and fog for weeks until the weather cleared just long enough to get the airborne photographs with the Vola Fen ice MB.326. I would also like to thank the great Italian historian and aviation expert Gregory Alegi, who has supplied many fascinating insights into the people behind the aircraft, as well as vital information that clarified the histories of the smaller

companies in the lineage. There has also been a tremendous amount of support from Alenia Aermacchi itself, and I would like to record my deepest appreciation for the effor ts of Marco Valerio Bonelli, Barbara Buzio and Bruno Frigerio who between them supplied many of the images that grace these pages, not to mention a great deal of information.

To you all, if you will forgive my lack of your beautiful language, molto molte grazie. •

All best, Tim

Where are they going? Here. The latest in a long line of excellent trainers. the Alenia Aermacchi MB.346 Master. Alenia Aermacchi

The genesis of ALENIA AERMACCHI A company family tree A timeline of the company histories that developed into the Italian aerospace manufacturer Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company and a giant of the European aerospace industry.

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8 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI -lOOYEARS YOUNG

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This issue of Aviation Classics will examin e the histo ry of the Alenia Aermacchi in detail, including the aircraft produced by the companies

that merged together to cr eate the aerospace giant between 1913 and today, the 100th Anniversar y of the founding of the firs t of these

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compa nies. The s tor y follows two main streams, tha t of Fiat of Turin and that of Macchi of Var ese, and incorporates many shor t lived bus inesses along the route . Many of these will feature in sidebars scattered through the magazine, wher e possible in chronological order. This char t is intended to show the r elationship

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between these companies, how they changed , merged , spilt and developed through the last century, covering as they do the majority of the histor y of manned flight. Happy anniversar y Alenia Aer macchi, looking at what you have achieved over the last 100 years, we can only wonder at what the next century will bring.

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Macchi had been a name synonymous with vehicle making in Varese, northern Italy, since 1840, when the brothers Agostino and Giovanni Macchi established a coach and carriage works in the town. It made all kinds of motor vehicles , including trams, and in the early 1900s it was the presence of tramlines that influenced the firm, now run by a new generation of Macchis , to open two new factories - a coachworks and what later became an aircraft workshop.

A gostino and Giovanni Macchi had established their coach and carriage works in the town of Varese in 1840 where it was known as Carrozzeria Macchi.

The two brothers both raised families in the town, Agostino having six children, Enrico, Giulio, Giovanni, Giuseppina, Giulia and Felicita; while his brother Giovanni had three, Giuseppe, Luciano and Silvio. While little is recorded about the early lives of the children or their education, it is obvious that the young Macchis were all well versed in the family business, and indeed business and engineering in general. I say obvious because in 1905, four of the family, Giovanni, Giuseppe, Enrico and Giulio, along with extended family members Angelo and Pietro, formed a new company. This was called Societa Anonima Fratelli Macchi, roughly equivalent to the Macchi Brothers Limited. The new business was to build bodywork for coaches, trams and trains, manufacture automobiles and act as a wheelwright, servicing and manufacturing wooden wheels for a wide variety of vehicles.

The driving forces behind the new venture were brothers Giovanni and Giulio Macchi, both of whom had seen the rapid developments in modern transportation towards the end of the 19th century as a threat to the traditional products of the family company. TI1ey had decided to diversify into new areas in order to survive.

Giulio Macchi was born in 1866, and as already noted, little is known about the early life and education of either Giulio or his brother Giovanni, but suffice to say Giulio was a well respected businessman in Varese in 1905. He was a Rotarian and shareholder and board member of the local bank, the Credito Varesino, which still exists today. He also held board member positions at Varese's electrical power and Grand Hotel companies. While busy with these duties, Giulio also found time to work with Varese's local council on the development plan for the city. It was his work with the council and as a board member of the Grand Hotel company that brought Giulio into contact with famous art nouveau architect Guiseppe Sommaruga, who designed the

beautiful Palace Grand Hotel on Campigli hill just to the west of the town centre, a site we will return to. This area was served by the new electric tramway that ran westwards for 25km (15 miles) from Varese to Laveno on the shore of Lake Maggiore. Interestingly, the trams on this service were built by Macchi, so it can be seen that Giulio was able to bring all his business interests together in the development plan for Varese.

Varese lies to the north west of Milan, west of Como and south of Lugano, on the shores of Lake Varese. It is a beautiful city with many parks and woodlands, despite the area being an industrial centre for companies such as Agusta helicopters, Cagiva motorcycles, Ignis electronics and Ficep machine tools. It is interesting to note that so much of Italy's aerospace industry developed in the area, companies such as Caproni, SIAI and of course Aermacchi were all associated with the region around Milan and Varese. These developments were spurred by the proximity of the industrial centre of Milan and the wide range of small

scale businesses in the region, whose skills in working with wood and fabric lent themselves to the construction of early aircraft The many lakes in the region were also useful in the development of seaplanes, of which more later.

To return to 1905 and the formation of the new Fratelli Macchi company, the building of new premises to allow for large scale production required investors, and it is testimony to the reputation of the family name that 49 shareholders from industry and finance were attracted to invest in the new venture. The site for the new coachworks was selected alongside the main road on the north side of Campigli hill , almost in the shadow of the Palace Grand Hotel. Giulio had been much impressed by American mass production techniques and brought in machine tools that would allow for the mass manufacture of wooden wheel rims, hubs and spokes. This enabled the new company to maintain quality control while minimizing costs, factors that helped it become successful in bidding for military contracts to produce

Although taken after the end of the First World War. this image shows the location of the Macchi Varese factory. at the foot of Campigli hill below the splendid Palace Grand Hotel. Alenia Aermacchi

Carlo Felice Buzio. the aviation pioneer who was to persuade Giulio Macchi to move into aircraft production. Alenia Aermacchi

wheels for towed ar tillery and other army equipment. These contracts were to be a major source of support for the company through its development years while it was establishing itself.

In 1907, the Macchi brothers joined with the Banca di Legnano to form Wolsit, or Wolseley Italiana, with a view to producing Wolesely automobiles under licence in Legnano. This venture was badly hit by a financial crisis at the time, so in 1909 the alliance was liquidated after only a few vehicles had been produced. From this point on, the Macchi broth ers were actively seeking other avenues to diversify into. A remarkable character, Carlo Felice Buzio enters the story. Buzio was a keen sporting aviator with many contacts in the French aviation industry in particular, as it was leading European aircraft development at the time. He was also well known in the Italian Army's Battaglione Aviatori, and was very active in promoting aviation in Italy in both civil and military circles. The Italian Army had used aircraft >-

The wing workshop at Varese. The wooden structures of early aircraft called for great c raftsmanship and skill from the workforce, despite the mass production nature of the task. Alenia Aermacchi

"THIS SUCCESS IN ATTRACTING THE ORDER FROM THE ARMY MEANT THAT MACCHI HAD TO QUICKLY GET UPTO SPEED IN

NEW MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES AND SKILLS. IT

WAS DECIDED TO FORM A COMPLETELY SEPARATE

COMPANY, SOCIETA ANON IMA NIEUPORT-MACCHI"

in its campaign against Turkish forces in Libya in 1911, Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti becoming the first man to drop bombs from an aircraft, an Etrich Tau be. He attacked the oasis at Ain Zara, dropping four 1.5kg bombs by hand. The Battaglione Aviatori had a number of different types, but none were produced in Italy, making the country dependent on foreign suppliers. Buzio was aware that the Italian Army was organizing a competition to find an Italian supplier of militar y aircraft, and sought a company to form an alliance with himself and his French contacts to produce aircraft in Italy. He

Women were a major part of the workforce in early aviation, a quiet revolution in engineering factories the world over. Here women cover wings and ailerons in fabric at the Varese plant. Alenia Aermacchi

12 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

Nieuport Macchi company, the first a ircraft were a lready being produced at the Macchi brothers factory in Varese, such as this Nieuport IVG. Alenia Aermacchi

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approached Giulio Macchi with this proposal in 1912, and together they convinced the board of Macchi to move into this brand new area of development.

In October 1912, the Paris Air Show, forerunner oftoday's massive exhibition, was the location for talks between Macchi and Nieuport, at the time producer of some of the most advanced aircraft in France. Agreement for licence production of Nieuport designs was reached swiftly, with a contract being signed by Giulio Macchi and Leon Bazaine, Nieuport's managing director, in November the same year. The first two Nieuport monoplanes were imported from France to give the new manufacturer experience with the type, the initial 10 members of staff learning much from studying the new machines. By the following year, the staff had increased to 49 and serious production had begun, as the army had issued a purchase order for 84 aircraft of which it stipulated 70 had to be built in Italy, with a due delivery date to the Battaglione Aviatori of April 1913. This initial order was for several types to be split between Macchi, Caproni, SIT, Wolsit and Asteria, but the army's competition found that none of the aircraft designed in Italy were satisfactory, so in the end the bulk of the order was given to Macchi with its proven Nieuport designs.

This success in attracting the order from the army meant that Macchi had to quickly get up to speed in new manufacturing techniques and skills. Much of these and the attendant organization required was not consistent with the firm's existing products, so it was decided to form a completely separate company,

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Societa Anonima Nieuport-Macchi, to produce nothing but aircraft. New manufacturing facilities were constructed alongside the existing works at the Campigli hill site and nominal capital was raised between Macchi and Nieupor t in a 70-30 split in investment This investment in the new company is testament to the constructive and friendly co­operation between the two manufacturers, an agreement which was to profitably succeed for many years. Pilots and engineers from Nieuport moved to Varese, including Henri Amman, a design engineer from Paris who became one of the three managers of the new company alongside Giulio Macchi and Carlo Buzio. The new company was formed on May 1, 1913, making Macchi the longest continuous aircraft manufacturer in Europe and arguably in the world.

Giulio Macchi proved to have both a passion and a vision for aviation. When the two companies split he chose to manage Nieupor t Macchi on September 30, 1914, then later the company that emerged from it, Aeronautica Macchi. This was a task he was to continue with great success until his death on December 15, 1934. That he managed the company with a talent for organization is borne out by the fact that by December 1915 the company had grown to 623 employees and had produced 160 aircraft for the Italian Army, a remarkable achievement by a remarkable and dedicated man. The stor y of the aircraft that he produced, along with all the other companies which were to go into making the aerospace giant known today as Alenia Aermacchi, is told in the following pages. • Words: Tim Callaway

Stress c alc ulations were tested rigorously. often to the destruction of the test sample. Here. a Macchi Parasol. the first design by the company, has its wing loaded with sandbags to assess its structural strength . Alenia Aermacchi

Alen ia Aermacchi 13

First World War Societa Anonima Macchi-Nieuport The foundation of Varese-based Macchi aircraft company took place on May 1, 1913, with an agreement to produce aircraft between French manufacturer Nieuport and Italian coachbuilder Fratelli Macchi. The factory began production to meet an order from the Italian Army, building 160 aircraft in two years. From Italy's entry into the First World War in 1915, this figure was to pale into insignificance as the company built 24% of Italian aircraft in the following three years.

A Nie uport IVG monopla ne. the first type of Nieuport aircraft produced by Macchi at Varese. Alenia Aermacchi

Unusually for the time, the first aircraft produced at the new Varese factory were monoplanes. These were Nieuport IVs in both single-seat and two-seat IVG and

IVM versions, a number of which had already been bought directly by the Italian Army's Battaglione Aviatori, so was a known quantity to the major customer. During the Italo­Turkish war in libya, the Battaglione Specialisti used several Nieuport IVGs, one of which made the second military reconnaissance flight on October 23, 1911, piloted by Captain Riccardo Moizo. The first had been carried out only a few hours earlier by Moizo's commanding officer, Captain Carlo Piazza, in a Bleriot XI. Production began at Varese in 1912, when two Nieuport-built examples were supplied from France to allow the staff of the new factory to familiarise themselves with the construction of the type. Altogether, 56 Nieuport IVs were built at Varese by December 1915, each aircraft being

The Macchi Pa rasol seen with the add itional centreboard on the upper wing. intended to improve directional stability. Alenia Aermacchi

14 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

assembled and tested at the factory, before being disassembled and moved the 35km (22 miles) south to the army hangar and field near Malpensa for acceptance ground and flight testing, a site which is now the main international airport for Milan. This arrangement for the aircraft built at Varese was to continue until facilities were developed at the much closer Venegono airfield in the 1970s.

FIRST DESIGN With the establishment of tooling and a production line for the Nieuport IV in the new factory at Varese, the company began developing its first own design, the Macchi Parasol. This was produced to improve the downwards view from the cockpit of the Nieuport IV by raising the wing from the sides of the fuselage, where it blocked the crew's view, to a shoulder-mounted position, supported on short struts, that attached to the upper fuselage longeron. The aircraft used many of the parts of the Nieuport IV, but assembled in a different way. Production began in 1913, with 42 being built and issued to two squadrons of the Italian Army.

Macchi test pilot Clemente Maggiora set two new altitude records in the Parasol taking

a single passenger to 3750m (12,300 ft) and two to 2700m (8860ft) . Stability problems led to a number of modifications, including the fitting of an ancillar y vertical surface above the centre section of the wing. These aircraft remained in service until October 1915, when they were replaced with more modern types.

As well as these two types of aircraft, the Varese factory also produced 12 Caproni Parasols and 50 Farman Type 1914 pusher biplanes, both types being also produced in numbers by other companies. The latter were used as reconnaissance aircraft, fighters and bombers by the squadrons of the Italian Army, equipped with a Fiat machine gun in the front cockpit. The Farmans remained in service in the defensive fighter role until the end of the war because their stability and good handling characteristics made them easy to fly at night. Several were to remain in service in Libya until as late as 1922.

When the United States entered the war, the shortage of training facilities in the US and France meant that US Army and Navy pilots were trained in Italy, making extensive use of the Farmans at military flying schools specially provided by the Italian Army. By December 1915 the Varese factor y had built

Two Nieuport 11 s of 75 Squadriglia based at Verona. via Luigino Calia ro

The Nieuport-Macchi-built aircraft were moved to the flight test centre at Malpensa. some 35km south. on specially modified trucks. Alenia Aermacchi

160 aircraft and had a staff of 623, a remarkable achievement in a completely new field for the company, but this was just a precursor to what was to come.

INTO THE WAR Italy's entry into the First World War, joining the Triple Entente of France, Great Britain and Russia on May 23, 1915, was to change everything for the Macchi company. In France, Nieuport's new technical director, Gustave Delage, was producing the first of his excellent sesquiplane designs, the Nieuport 10. This aircraft had originally been designed as Nieuport's entry in the Gordon Bennett Trophy race of 1914, which was cancelled due to the outbreak of the war. By 1915, the design had been converted to become a two­seat reconnaissance machine, but the Nieuport 10 was also used as a single- seat fighter with a single drum-fed Lewis .303 machine gun mounted above the centre section of the top wing.

As with the Nieuport IVs, the first~

Alenia Ae rmacchi 15

FIRST WORLD WAR

Nieuport 10s were delivered from the French factories to both the Italian Army and the Varese factory. These replaced the earlier types in Italian service from mid-1915 onwards and 240 were built by Macchi between 1916 and 1918. They saw action in both the two-seat and single-seat form, the first Nieuport 10s being used by the 1st Squadriglia Caccia in the defence of Udine. The Nieuport 10 was also to score the first Italian aerial victories of the war against the Austro-Hungarian air forces, feats that made household names of many of the pilots. The two-seat version of the aircraft also became a trainer as it was superseded by more advanced types, g iving good service in this role until long after the war's end.

The poor climb performance and maximum speed of the Nieuport 10 in the fighter role gave rise to a smaller, lighter single-seat aircraft based on the design. Delage essentially shrank the two-seater to produce the first of one of the most successful families of First Word War fighters, the Nieuport 11. Its relatively small size meant it was often called the Bebe or baby, and like its larger forebear it was a sesquiplane, with the lower wing being much narrower than the upper. The lightweight design was powerful and agile for the time, characteristics which made it very popular with pilots. Altogether 450 were built by Macchi in 1916 before it was replaced on the production line by the Nieuport 17, which had a more powerful engine and a belt­fed Vickers machine gun mounted in the upper fuselage, synchronised to fire through the propeller.

Most of the 150 Nieuport 17s built by Macchi were constructed during 1917. The production line at Varese was unable to cope with the sheer volume of the military orders so a new plant of similar s ize was built at Cocquio, about 10km (six miles) north-west of the original plant at the far end of Lake Varese, still on the tram line between Varese

The more powerful and structurally stronger Nieuport 17 had a Vickers belt-fed machine gun mounted on the upper fuselage synchronised to fire through the propeller. via Luigino Caliaro

The Nieuport 11 was fitted with a drum-fed Lewis .303 in machine gun on a mount over the centre section of the upper wing. via Luigino Caliaro

and Laveno. As the output from both factories increased, the ground and flight test centre at Malpensa airfield was also developed, with new hangars and offices being built. The Macchi company's factor y and test facilities had more than doubled in size in just four years after its formation, its workforce having grown from 625 in 1915 to 2681 by 1917.

DEFINING A FIGHTER The experiences of Italian Army front line squadrons fighting in the mountainous northern front revealed the shortcomings of the Nieuport fighter designs. In 1916, an Italian aircraft mission to France included Captain Ermanno Beltramo, the leader of the 19th Squadriglia based at Campoformido. While in France, Beltramo met with Pierre Dupont, the designer for Rene Hanriot's aircraft company. He explained to him that a fighter on the Italian front needed to be strong and durable and have a high rate of climb due to the nature of the terrain. The introduction of new types of fighters by the Austro-Hungarian air forces also meant any new fighter had to have equal or better manoeuvrability than such aircraft as the Albatros D.II, in order to maintain air superiority.

Hanriot developed the HD.1 fighter design, the D standing for Dupont, in response to this information, but it was not taken up by the French authorities which preferred the SPAD VII as its new fighter. In Italy, it was a different

story as the strong, nimble and pleasant to fly HD.1 found favour with the Direzione Tecnica Aeronautica Militare, the Military Aviation Engineering Directorate. Given Macchi's valuable experience in producing French fighters, production of the new aircraft was assigned to the Varese factory. Like Nieuport before it, Hanriot, which was building the HD.1 for the Belgian Air Force, delivered several examples to Italy while local production geared up. Macchi was to produce 156 HD.1s in 1917 and 696 in 1918 against orders for 1300 machines. With the end of the war the remaining orders were cancelled, but around 70 aircraft were built in 1919 before this cancellation, meaning that Macchi was by far the largest producer of the aircraft.

The Hanriot HD.1 was to serve with distinction in Italy, and was the favoured mount of many Italian fighter aces, including Silvio Scaroni with 26 confirmed victories, Flavio Baracchini with 21 and Mario Fucini with 13. It equipped 16 of the 18 Italian fighter squadrons on the front line by November 1918. At the end of the war, a number of HD.1s were supplied to other countries, including Switzerland, which similarly valued the climb performance of the aircraft. When US Navy aircrew began training in Italy, many were taught to fly the HD.1, resulting in the type being adopted in small numbers by the service postwar where it was used as a trainer.

FIRST FLYING BOAT If all this development and production were not

FIRST WORLD WAR

One of the 150 Nieuport 17s built at Varese. via Luigino Caliaro Hanriot HD.1 s of 71 Squadriglia based at Sovizzo. via Luigino Caliaro

"THE HANRIOT HD.l WAS TO SERVE WITH DISTINCTION IN ITALY ... THE MOUNT OF MANY

ITALIAN FIGHTER ACES"

enough, dwing the night of May 25, 1915, an event occurred which was to radically affect the Macchi company and resulted in a new line in combat aircraft being developed. An Austro­Hungarian Lohner L flying boat suffered engine failure, which forced the crew of Lieutenant Wenzel Wosecek and Ensign Willi von Recino Bachich to land at Commacchio. Here, they encountered an Italian Customs patrol, which captured them before they had a chance to destroy their aircraft. The L type, serial number L.40, was taken to the naval air station at Porto Corsini. Examination and testing of the captured aircraft by the Italian Navy resulted in a decision to copy the flying boat, a task that was given to Macchi.

The company moved fast, developing a copy within a month of receiving the original, as well as opening a new facility on the shore of Lake Varese at Schiranna to deal exclusively with flying boat production. The workload of managing the expanded company was spilt, with Carlo Buzio taking over at Schiranna and Henri Amman becoming exclusively responsible for land planes. The flying boat hulls were built by two experienced sub-contractors, Cantieri Baglietto at Varrazze and Picchiotti at Viareggio, both of which were yacht and boat builders, and remain so today.

The new Macchi L.1 was powered by a 150hp Isotta-Fraschini V.4A engine and was successfully test flown by Lieutenant Giovanni Roberti over Lake Varese, resulting in an order for 48 aircraft in September 1915. The first of these were delivered to Italian maritime bomber and reconnaissance units based in the Adriatic, with 140 being built when production ended in 1916. It was replaced on the production line by the Macchi L.2, which had been designed to improve the performance of the original.

The wings were swept and shortened in span to improve the maximum speed and the manoeuvrability of the flying boat, and were fitted with two sets of interplane struts instead of the three of the L.l. A more powerful160hp Isotta-Fraschini V.4B engine was fitted and the L.2 was armed with a single machine gun on a flexible mount on the starboard side of the

Pierre Dupont designed the Hanriot HD.1 after meeting with the Italian Aircraft Commission. More than 900 were to be built in Italy and met with great success. via Luigino Caliaro

two-seat cockpit It could also carry four light bombs, but only 10 of this version were built, all of which were used as trainers.

THE M.3 EMERGES The next development of the flying boat line was so far removed from the original Lohner aircraft that in 1917 its initial designation of L.3 was changed to M.3 to recognise Macchi's ownership of the design. The swept, two-bay

wings of the L.2 were retained, but an entirely new fuselage, strut-mounted tailplane and very refined hull were designed. The original L.1 had a maximum speed of 105kph (65mph), which was improved in the M.3 to 144kph (90mph). The armament remained unchanged, as did the engine, but the increase in performance made the M.3 a much more viable fighting aircraft. In 1916, an M.3 was used to set a new altitude record >-

A restored Hanriot HD.1 in the colours of fighter Flavio Baracchini of 76 Squadriglia. Baracchini achieved 21 victories in this aircraft. Constance Redgrave

Alenia Ae rmacchi 17

FIRST WORLD WAR

The shortcomings of the Lohner design soon led to the Macchi L.2 with two sets of interplane struts and swept wings. Alenia Aermacchi

for seaplanes of 5400m (17, 700ft) , a height it reached in just 41 minutes.

More than 200 M.3s were built and supplied to the Italian Navy, which used them as day and night bombers, photographic reconnaissance, escort and patrol aircraft, as well as for a short time in 1917, a fighter. The M.3 also proved its value in special operations, conducting several commando missions far behind enemy lines. The performance of the M.3 meant it remained in service after the war's end, with one being used by the Italian Military Mission in Argentina, after which time it was donated to Paraguay in 1919. Interestingly, a number were modified to carry a pilot behind a two-seat passenger cockpit and used by a Swiss company for charter and air experience flights from the Swiss lakes.

The M.3 was followed by the M.5, which was an entirely new design developed by Carlo Buzio and Captain Luigi Calzavara of the Italian Navy's Engineering Division of Military Aviation. The first prototype, known as the Type M, had a single-step hull and went through a number of revisions, including a new tailplane and greatly modified sesquiplane wings which used the 'V'

fitted, and 340 of this gem of an air craft were produced, some under licence by Aeromarittima in Naples. During production, the engine was upgraded from the 160hp Isotta-Fraschini V.4B to the 190hp V.6 and the wingtip floats were redesigned, resulting in the designation M.5 Mod. The powerful and compact flying boat was considered a delight to fly, being both light and agile, and equipped five maritime squadrons as a fighter and convoy escort.

Its success was evident from the fact that the Italian Navy's first aces flew the M.5, Lieutenant Orazio Pierozzi with seven victories and Lieutenant Federico Martinego and Sub-Lieutenant Umberto Calvello with five each. The US Navy and Marine Corps airmen that trained in Italy also flew the M.5 towards the end of the war. One of them, Ensign Charles Hammann, won the first Medal of Honor awarded to a United States naval aviator when he landed on the Adriatic after one of his colleagues had been shot down during combat on August 21, 1918. Hammann picked up his colleague, and despite the unusual load and danger of attack, flew safely back to base_ The M.5 was to

interplane strut layout, similar to the Nieuport fighters. Referred to variously as the M a, M his and Ma his in these guises, the aircraft that emerged was a single-seat fighter flying boat, with a performance to match the land-based fighters of the day, with a maximum speed of 189kph (117mph) .

remain in service until the

rr~~i=~;;;~;;;;~~i~ll mid-1920s, such was the efficiency of the design.

Single or twin machine gun armament could be

The first US Navy airman to be awarded the Medal of Honor, Ensign Charles Hammann. who flew the Macchi M.S in Italy. Edifo(s collection

18 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

DEVELOPING THE BREED During 1917, an experiment with a new wing-strut layout of parallel steel tube struts resulted in the prototype of the Macchi M.6, but comparative trials against the M.5 showed there to be little advantage in the new design so only a single example was produced. At this time, Carlo Buzio brought a colleague from his pioneering aviation days

The Macchi M.3 was such an extensive redesign that it was the first of the flying boats to have a Macchi designation. Note the extensively modified tailplane. Alenia Aermacchi

The compact and stylish Macchi M.S single­seat fighter flying boat had equivalent performance to the land plane fighters of the day. Alenia Aermacchi

into the Macchi design family, Alessandro Tonini. He was to produce four flying boat designs and a landplane fighter between 1917 and 1918, starting with the Macchi M.8 of 1917. This was a development of the two-seat flying boat designs, but featured Warren truss interplane struts, sometimes called 'W' struts, which were not only stiffer than the earlier strut layout, but also did away with much of the rigging normally featured on biplanes of the time, and reduced drag.

Aside from the two-seat side-by-side cockpit, a forward gunner's position was included, fitted with a Lewis gun mounted on a Scarff ring, although the aircraft usually flew with just a crew of two, the observer manning the gun for defence or attack. A total of 57 Macchi M.8s were built, 27 of which were manufactured under licence by Fratelli Zari in Bovisio. Four squadrons of the Italian Navy were equipped with the M.8, which were used for patrol and anti-submarine duties. Several M.8s were used by the American Expeditionary Forces in Italy, both for training and for war time missions from their base at Porto Corsini. The aircraft was not to remain in service long after the end of the war, but a single example was provided to the Swedish Navy for trials which were conducted until1921, when engine failure caused the aircraft to be badly damaged.

Tonini followed the M.8 with the M.9 of 1918, which was generally similar in design but had a 280hp FiatA12 engine replacing the 170hp Isotta-Fraschini V.4B of the earlier aircraft. The wings were 0.6m (2ft) shorter and there were various other detail changes to adapt the design to the more powerful engine. Sixteen aircraft were delivered to the Italian Navy by the end of the war, with a further 14 completed in 1919. Several of the postwar M.9s were built with a four-seat enclosed cockpit, for

use as passenger and mailplanes in Switzerland by Ad Astra Aero, which had also bought a number of modified three-seat M.3s.

Aside from work on the two-seater designs, Tonini also redesigned the 'V' strut layout of the M.5 single-seat fighter flying boat, which did suffer from some problems with stiffness in the wings. This produced the M.7, of which 17 production examples were delivered to the Italian Navy, just too late to see wartime service. In 1919, Argentina and Sweden both bought two M.7s, and in 1921 Brazil bought three more. This aircraft will appear again later in this edition in a modified form.

LAST WARTIME DESIGNS The last of the wartime flying boat designs was the M.12 bomber, which was generally similar to the M.9, but had a completely redesigned fuselage with a twin-boom and

twin-fin layout and slightly longer wings of 17m (55ft 9in) span. It was powered by a 450hp Ansaldo 4.E.28 engine, and was intended to carry a crew of three in the widened fuselage but the end of the war, and the cancellation of many military contracts, stopped development after only a few had been built A civil variant with five seats and an 18m (59ft) wingspan was intended as a passenger and mailplane, but failed to attract orders due to the large numbers of war­surplus aircraft flooding the market.

The last of the aircraft types produced by Macchi in wartime was also the first original Macchi land plane fighter design, the M.14, again a product of Alessandro Tonini. The Warren truss or 'W' struts were a feature of this single-seat sesquiplane, the prototype of which made its first flight in the spring of 1918. Although the fi rst M.14 was destroyed in a flying accident in June, 10 more were built

for evaluation by the army in 1919. Powered by a llOhp Le Rhone 9] rotar y engine, the M.14 was capable of 182kph (113mph), but was produced at a time when armed forces were contracting rapidly from their wartime levels of equipment. No orders for the M.14 were received, the 10 production aircraft serving as trainers.

During the First World War, more than 11,000 aircraft were built in Italy, of which 2677 were built by Macchi, with 766 being flying boats. The company employed 2825 people at the end of the war and had undergone massive and rapid expansion to cope with the size of the military orders. The star t of the war saw Macchi operating from a single factory, by the end there were three, one dedicated to flying boat production. With the cancellation of many contracts in 1918 and 1919, the company was about to undergo an equally rapid scaling down of its operations. • Words: Tim Callaway

FIRST WORLD WAR

One Italian name has been synonymous with automobiles since its formation in 1899, when Giovanni Agnelli and a group of investors founded a company in Turin as the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino or FIAT, which changed to Fiat in 1906. What is less well known is that it also built a wide variety of tractors, railway locomotives and rolling stock, as well as aircraft and aero engines, the latter beginning in 1908.

Fiat has always been a company interested in development and diversification, as

its history clearly proves. Developments in aviation at the beginning of the 20th century attracted the firm's attention, particularly as it was already building lightweight and powerful racing car engines. In 1908, the decision was made to enter this field and the company's first aero engine, the SA 8/75, was developed from its racing programme. This was an air­cooled VS and gave the company valuable experience, which led to the S.55 and S.71 and

the four-cylinder liquid­cooled S.53. Although

these were built in relatively small numbers, they did lead to Fiat's first mass-produced aero

The Caproni Ca .33 was powered by three Fiat A.12 engines. Editor's collection

The SI A. 7B powered by a Fiat A.1 2 was a two-seat bomber and reconna issance a ircraft. Alenia Aermacchi

20 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

I

engine, the excellent A10 of 1914. This was a straight six­cylinder 9.5 litre engine that produced 100hp in its initial

versions and weighed 190kg (420lb). Between 1914 and 1915,

Fiat was to produce 1070 of these engines which powered aircraft such as

the Farman Type 1914, produced under licence by a number of manufacturers, and the Caproni Ca.2, Ca.32 and Ca.33 three-engined bombers.

The A10 was a great success, but was to lead to the definitive Fiat engine of the First World War, the A12. This was more than twice the capacity of the A10 at 21.71litres and weighed 415kg (915lb), but even its initial versions produced 245hp, which was to rise to 300hp during its development. An astounding 13,260 of these tough and reliable engines were produced between 1916 and 1919, powering 18 different types of aircraft from every Italian manufacturer, as well as the British Airco DH4 and DH9, the French Breguet 14 and the IVLA22 from Finland.

This success did not go unnoticed by Fiat's management, which decided if aero engines could bring this level of business into the company, then aircraft production was a natural extension of this. In 1916, Giovanni Agnelli and technical director Guido Fornaca at Fiat supported the foundation of the Societa Italiana Aviazione, commonly known as SIA, to build aircraft to be powered by Fiat engines. The first buildings were acquired in Turin, on the Via Madama Cristina and the Via Nizza, producing the Farman Type 1914-a development of the MF. ll, under licence, as the company's first aircraft- which was designated the SIA.5. These were followed by the Savoia Pomilio SP1, SP2, and SP3 which were modifications and developments of the basic Farman design, before the company started work on the first design of its own, the SIA.7 of 1917.

To return to the aero engine division, in 1917 it had developed what was the largest and most powerful aircraft engine in the world at the time - the 57.2 litre A14liquid-cooled V12, which produced 725hp. This performance was all the more remarkable as the A14 only weighed 800kg (1763lb) despite its huge displacement, showing just how far aero engine development had come during

FIRST WORLD WAR

The first mass p roduced Fiat aero engine. A.12. Some 13.260 of these engines were produced between 1916 and 1919.Constance Redgrave The 700hp V12 Fiat A.14 engine. Constance Redgrave

The SIA.9 was powered by the Fiat A.14. Edifo( s collection

the First World War. By the end of the war, 500 A.14s had been built

The design for the SIA.7 was formulated by two Fiat engineers, Torretta and Carlo Lerici, and was intended from the outset as a two­seat machine, with a very high performance to enable it to excel in a number of roles. The wings and tailplane were fabric-covered, but the fuselage was plywood-skinned and fitted with the 250hp Fiat A.12-1 engine which gave the aircraft a maximum speed of 200kph (124mph). The first production version was the SIA.7B1 which was intended as a bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, capable of carrying 60kg of bombs. It was fitted with a single 6.5mm Fiat Revelli machine gun on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit for defence.

Service trials were conducted by the Italian Army in November 1917, which revealed a number of shortcomings in the original design, noting particularly the poor pilot's view from the cockpit and the relative fragility of the wing structure. Despite these results, the performance was sufficient for an order to be placed, which resulted in 501 SIA. 7B1s being built. Aside from service with the Italian Army against Austro-Hungary, two of the aircraft were sent to the US for evaluation for production under licence for the US Army Air Corps.

It was not selected for production, but 19 were bought for use by the American Expeditionar y Force at Foggia, in Italy, in February 1918. One of the pilots who

assessed the aircraft in Italy was Fiorello La Guardia, who was serving as a major in the US Army Air Services, while on leave as a member of Congress, and was later to become mayor of New York. In December 1917, the shortcomings noted by the military trials were addressed with the introduction of the SIA. 7B2, which had strengthened wings and raised cockpits, as well as a more powerful 300hp version of the A.l2 engine. Another 71 of this version were built, entering service in March 1918, conducting bombing and reconnaissance missions on the Austro-ltalian front until July, when the SIA.7 was withdrawn to training units.

The SIA.9 was the last development of the design, powered by the larger 700hp FiatA.14. The increase in power came at the expense of additional weight, meaning the SIA.9 was only 5kph (3mph) faster than the SIA.7. The Italian Navy ordered 200, of which 62 were delivered by the end of the war, seeing service over the Adriatic. In 1918, Fiat dropped the SIA name, changing the company's title to Fiat Aviazione. The company continued production of the SIA.9 under the new designation of Fiat R 2, building an additional 129 of the type which were to remain in service until 1925. Fiat realised the limitations of the SIA infrastructure and sought to amalgamate with other companies to strengthen its aircraft division. As will be seen later in this issue, these were to include some famous names. • Words: Tim Callaway

The cockpit of the Farman and its derivatives, built under licence by SIA. was very open. hence the warm dress of this pilot. The Fiat A.1 2 straight six engine is clearly visible on the rear of the fuselage cupola . These a ircraft were used as bombers and reconnaissance machines. Alenia Aermacchi

Alenia Aermacchi 21

FIRST WORLD WAR

Heavy naval guns under construction at the Ansaldo Genoa works in 1914. Note the field artillery piece on the breech of the centre gun giving the weapon scale. Editor's collection

The interior of a single-seat SVA cockpit. The gun lever on the control stick has a safety cage around it to prevent inadvertent firing. Editor's collection

An early Sopwith Baby, the type first produced under licence by Ansaldo in 1916. Note the early-style cowling similar to the Sopwith Tabloid and Schneider. Editor's collection

A later Ansaldo-built Sopwith Baby with the later Pup-style cowling. Editor's collection

sal do COMPANIES ARE FOUNDED

Giovanni Ansaldo and Company SAS was 3 founded by a group of successful businessmen in Genoa in 1853 to build and maintain railway locomotives and other equipment. It diversified into new areas until it was bought in 1904 by the Perrone family, who added iron and steel manufacturing and weapons to the company portfolio. By 1916, this included aircraft, among which was the fastest and most successful Italian aircraft of the First World War.

By the turn of the 19th century, Ansaldo was largely a railway equipment company with seven factories employing more than 10,000 people, and was one of the

largest heavy engineering concerns in Europe. The expansion into new fields started with the development of shipyards, but it was after 1904, with the acquisition of Ansaldo by the powerful Perrone family, that weapons and metal production were added to the company.

These ranged from ar tillery and large calibre naval guns to battleships, with a rapid expansion caused by the outbreak of the First World War that resulted in the company employing more than 80,000 people in 1918.

Attracted by the success of other companies in the field of aviation and the size of the orders for military aircraft, the company directors decided to diversify stiU further towards the end of 1915. The first aircraft production undertaken by Ansaldo was to build the Sopwith Baby under licence, beginning in 1916. These were the floatplane variant of the Sopwith single seater, and were mostly used as shipborne and coastal reconnaissance and patrol aircraft and trainers by the Italian Navy. Ansaldo built them at its factory at Borzoli, about 5km north-west of

Genoa, giving the company vital experience in modern aircraft production techniques and standards which was to stand it in good stead considering what was to happen next.

The story of what became known as the Ansaldo SVA series (SVA standing for Savoia, Verduzio, Ansaldo) began in 1916 at the Direzione Tecnica Aeronautica Militare (The Military Aviation Engineering Directorate, or DTAM). Here, two design engineers, Umberto Savoia and RudolfVerduzio, were working on a new lightweight single-seat fighter based around the Societa Piemontese Automobili SPA.6A 205hp six-cylinder in line engine. Interestingly, they were assisted by Verduzio's apprentice, a young engineer called Celestino Rosatelli, who will feature prominently later in this story. One of the design requirements was to build a high performance aircraft with as little use of strategic materials as possible, hence the concentration on wooden construction throughout the air frame. The obvious potential of the design prompted the DTAM to request production bids from industry, a contract won by Ansaldo in 1917, which built the prototype at its Borzoli factory. It made its first flight on March 19, 1917, in the hands of Sergeant Mario Stoppani and was found to be

22 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

extremely fast and very stable. If anything, the type was a little too stable to truly succeed in fighter-type manoeuvring, but its high speed and long range made it the ideal platform for reconnaissance and bombing missions.

The SVA basic design was a conventional biplane with Warren truss interplane struts, which replaced the traditional bracing wires, reducing drag. The fuselage was plywood­skinned with angled flat sides which tapered to a triangular cross section toward the rear. A triangular fin and tailplane was fitted with relatively large rudder and elevators . The lower wing had parallel leading and trailing edges with slightly outward tapered tips. The upper wing was similar, but of greater span, and it had a pair of outward-tapering ailerons on the trailing edge of roughly half the span of the wing. TI1ere was nothing unusual about the design for tile period, except its combination of features produced a remarkably efficient and low-drag air frame, equipped witll a powerful and fuel-efficient engine. It was these two factors that gave the aircraft its impressive straight line speed and long range.

The first SVAl was produced only as a prototype, but was to be followed by 65 SVA2s, the first single-seat production version. Initial

Single-seat SVA fuselages under construction by Ansaldo. Note the wooden frame under the plywood skin. via Luigino Caliaro

deliveries began to the Italian Army in the autumn of 1917, where the majority were used as trainers while operational versions were being developed. As it became apparent that the SVA series would be built in considerable numbers, Ansaldo expanded production to include the Bolzaneto factory, some 4km furtller north from Borzoli. There were an additional 50 of tile ISVA floatplane variant built for tile Italian navy, tile 'I' in the designation standing for Idroplane or seaplane. These were built at La Spezia, some 95km

soutll-east along the coast from Genoa, and were used as defensive fighters for naval bases and as maritime patrol aircraft These early versions had a standard armament of two belt­fed Vickers .303 machine guns synchronised to fire through tile propeller and mounted on either side of the forward fuselage. In the later SVA.4 version, one gun was omitted to allow additional cameras to be carried, and tile two­seat SVA9 was completely unarmed, acting as a navigation leader for SVA bomber formations and as a trainer. >-

Alenia Ae rmacchi 23

FIRST WORLD WAR

"ITS COMBINATION OF FEATURES PRODUCED A

REMARKABLY EFFICIENT AND LOW-DRAG AIRFRAME,

EQUIPPED WITH A POWERFUL AND FUEL-EFFICIENT ENGINE. IT WAS THESE TWO FACTORS THAT

GAVE THE AIRCRAFT ITS IMPRESSIVE STRAIGHT LINE SPEED AND LONG RANGE:'

The SVA2 and the ISVA were followed by the SVA3 and 4. These were essentially the same aircraft, but the SVA3 was built by AER at its factory at Orbassano. Aside from the standard SVA3, AER also produced a number of the SVA.3 ridotto or 'reduced' in the spring of 1918. This was intended as an airship interceptor and had wings of reduced span, with several being fitted with an additional upward-firing machine gun for attacks from below in level flight. The SVA4 was the first mass-produced reconnaissance fighter version, entering service in early 1918. As production of the SVA series increased, it became obvious that the existing factories were an insufficient

The SVA.3 was produced by AER at its factory at Orbassano. via Luigino Caliaro

One of the SVA.Ss of the 87ma Squadriglia, 'La Serenissima', with their famous winged lion insignia. Note the rack below the cockpit for bombs or cameras. Edifo(s collection

production base to meet the demand for the aircraft. Ansaldo was particularly interested in establishing a manufacturing base in the Turin or Milan area, which it saw as the centre of the aviation industry of the time. The first factory it acquired was that of the Societa Italiana Transaerea (Sin in Turin, which became Ansaldo No. 3 Aeronautical Workshops in 1918.

The definitive version of the SVA series, the SVA5, was produced next, in fact the majority of the 1248 SVAs built were of this model. The major difference between this and the earlier versions was the increase in fuel capacity which gave the aircraft an additional two hours of endurance . They were also fitted with clips on the sides of the fuselage which could carry two reconnaissance cameras or light bombs. Altogether, six Italian Army squadrons were equipped with the SVA.5, deliveries beginning in February 1918. As with the earlier versions, they were initially powered by the 205hp SPA.6A, but this was replaced with the high- compression version of the engine which produced 230hp. Some of the later SVA.5s were equipped with the Isotta-Fraschini 250hp V6 engine, which raised the maximum speed from 230kph (143mph) to 240kph (150mph) making them the fastest aircraft of the conflict.

A rare air to air photograph of an SVA in flight. The

narrowly tapering but strong fuselage is evident in this

view. Alenia Aermacchi

Typical of SVA operations was that of February 28, 1918, where the long range and speed of the type was used to best effect. Its high speed meant the SVA could penetrate deep into enemy territory without the need for escort and with a high chance of success on any given mission. A flight of four SVAs of the 1st Sezione took off from Sovizzo, three carrying two 25kg (55lb) bombs, the fourth with a pair of reconnaissance cameras. The pilots were Captains Natale Palli and Palma de Cesnola, with Lieutenant Orsini and SergeantArigoni. They flew more than 250km (155 miles) over the Alps to Innsbruck, in Austria, where they attacked the rail yards and photographed the results in a mission lasting more than three hours. On May 21, 1918, Lieutenants Arturo Ferrarin and Antonio Locatelli flew a pair of SVAs on a photographic reconnaissance mission to the German Zeppelin airship base at Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, a distance of710km (440 miles), both returning safely.

Both Captain Palli and Lieutenant Ferrarin will appear again in this story. Palli flew a SVA two seater that led the SVA5s of the formation from the 87ma Squadriglia, 'La Serenissima', which made the famous long-range leaflet raid on Vienna; and Ferrarin was to successfully fly an SVA from Rome to Tokyo - both of these epic flights are covered in detail later in this issue. Although the aircraft was flown largely as a reconnaissance bomber, the SVA had a number of vict01ies in air-to-air combat. Lieutenant Michele Allasia, an ace with five victories, shot down two enemy aircraft while flying the SVA.

The SVA.6 bomber version was produced as a single prototype, as was the SVA.8, before two two-seat versions, the SVA.9 and SVA.10, were developed. As already mentioned, the SVA.9 was fitted with wings of longer span and was unarmed, acting as a formation navigation leader and trainer. The SVA.10 was similar, but powered by the Isotta-Fraschini 250hp V6 engine and armed with a single fixed forward­firing Vickers machine gun and a Lewis gun on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit. It served as an armed reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber.

The pressure on production of the new versions of the SVA series meant that An sal do was still looking for businesses it could acquire to expand the already prodigious output at its

FIRST WORLD WAR

The Ansaldo factory in July 1918 with both single- and two-seat SVA fuselages under construction. Editor's collection

four plants. In 1918, the 10,000sq m Pomilio factory on the Corso Marche and Francia in Turin was bought by Ansaldo, becoming the Ansaldo No. 5 Aeronautical Workshop. This included the attendant airfield and soon SVAs were being produced in large numbers, alongside the outstanding orders for Pomilio­designed aircraft. With the end of the First World War, Ansaldo, like all the other aircraft companies in the world, under went a massive downsizing as military orders for large numbers of aircraft were cancelled. Ansaldo concentrated its aircraft production solely in the former Pomilio factory, changing its name from the Ansaldo No. 5 Aeronautical Workshop to Aeronautica Ansaldo.

Aside from equipping the Italian Army and Navy, SVAs were also used by American Expeditionary Force units operating in Italy during the First World War. They were also to be widely exported in the postwar years, serving with the Brazilian Navy and the air forces of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay in South America, Latvia, Poland and the Soviet Union in Europe, as well as a single example supplied to the Yugoslav Royal Air Force. The Polish Air Force used the single- and two-seat SVA as a trainer at the Advanced Pilots School from 1919. The success of this family of aircraft was to continue into the 1920s with new designs for military aircraft being produced by Ansaldo and, again, successfully exported. • Words: Tim Callaway

The line-up of SVA. 9s and 1 Os in Rome. prior to the beginning of the famous flight to Tokyo on February 14. 1920. via Luigino Caliaro

A line-up of two-seat SVA.9s and single-seat SVA.Ss with a pair of Macchi built Hanriot HD.1 s. a typical combination of types in squadron service in 1918. Alenia Aermacchi

Alenia Ae rmacchi 25

The Pomilio PC suffered from stability problems in its early form.

This is a rare photograph of the type. Editor's collection

Societa Anonima Costruzione Aeronautiche Ottorino Pomilio & Co

COMPANIES ARE FOUNDED

4 Founded in Turin in May 1915, Pomilio was to build a wide variety of aircraft types in its short three-year history, mostly its own designs or developments of others. The company would produce more than 1200 aircraft before the First World War ended and it was sold to Ansaldo. The Pomilio brothers would begin again in the US, forming a new company in Indianapolis in 1918.

It is impossible to tell the story of the Societa Anonima Costruzione Aeronautiche Ottorino Pomilio & Co, or the Ottorino Pomilio Aeronautical Construction Company, to give it its

full name, without telling the story of its founder, Ottorino Pomilio. He was born in Chieti on October 8, 1997, later attending the University of Naples, where he achieved a degree in engineering in 1911. His interest in aviation led him to the Higher School of Aeronautics in Paris, where he completed a degree in aeronautical construction.

At this time, Pomilio also completed his pilot's licence and was a regular flyer of some note; in 1913 he set a new Italian height record along with a co-pilot named Pettazzi.

A Savoia Pomilio SP.3 with the observer's nose gun fitted. Editor's collection

Also in 1913, Pomilio joined the Italian Army Aviation Battalion at Mirafiori on the south side of Turin. Here he was part of the Direzione Tecnica Aeronautica Militare (The Military Aviation Engineering Directorate, or DTAM), where he worked as a designer with the rank of lieutenant. It was here he met and began to work with another of the great pioneering engineers of Italian aviation, Major Umberto Savoia.

The two designers began working on a series of developments of the single-engined Farman MF.ll and Type 1914 designs that were being built under licence by SIA, a subsidiary of Fiat as mentioned earlier. Seeing the potential of the design work and the numbers of aircraft required by the Italian

military, Pomilio founded his own aircraft factory in May 1915 on the Corso Marche and Francia in Turin, developing the flat adjacent land into an airfield to allow flight testing to take place. Meanwhile the design development at DTAM continued, the first of these innovations becoming the Savoia Pomilio SP1, which was an enlarged version of the Far man design. Like the Farman, it had a central nacelle containing the pilot, observer and pusher engine, strut-mounted on the lower of the biplane wings with the tailplane set on struts behind the wings and fitted with twin fins. Only the prototype of the SP1 was built, by SIA in Turin, but it was to serve as a development aircraft for further modification.

The Pomilio PE was a major success for the company, with more than 1000 being built. Editor's collection

Savoia and Pornilio began work on an improved version of the aircraft, the SP.2, with the new Pomilio factory building the prototype. Sergeant Almerigi made the first flight of the SP.2 on July 10, 1916, which was also the first flight from the new Turin airfield. More than 300 SP.2s were to be built by Pomilio and SIA, equipping 12 bomber and reconnaissance squadrons of the Italian Army by the spring of 1917. The aircraft was powered by a 250hp FiatA12 engine, which gave it a maximum speed of 120kph (75mph) . This disappointing performance prompted Savoia and Pomilio to produce the SP.3 in 1917. The wingspan was shortened and the weight reduced, as well as the design of the fuselage nacelle being aerodynamically cleaned up. A more powerful 300hp version of the Fiat A12 engine was fitted, all of which brought the maximum speed up to 145kph (90mph). Again, SIA and Pomilio produced the aircraft, with 350 being built

The final development of the basic Farman aircraft was the SP.4 of mid-1917. This had two 150hp Isotta-Fraschini V.4B engines mounted between the wings, a major change to the design. About 150 SP.4s were built under licence by the AER factory at Orbassano and like the other SP aircraft were used as bomber and reconnaissance aircraft However, the SP.4s

The Pomilio P.D also featured a

were also used on special operations, landing spies and saboteurs behind enemy lines.

While this development work with Savoia was going on, Pomilio was also collaborating with another of the great Italian pioneering aviation engineers, Corradino d'Ascanio. d'Ascanio did not just pioneer new aircraft designs. He had filed a patent on June 30, 1916, for a 'universal automatic clinometer for aircraft and other flying machines'. This device was to indicate the inclination of an aircraft in both pitch and roll, and is the forerunner of the modern artificial horizon, one of the most important aircraft instruments.

Together with Pomilio, they had begun work on a two-seat fighter, known initially as the C.1 and later the PC. This was a conventional single-engined two-seat biplane design with a structure of both welded steel tube and wood frame. Powered by a 260hp FiatA.12, the PC was intended for use as an armed reconnaissance aircraft, with production beginning in April1917. Its entry into service was not a happy one, as the type was discovered to be dangerously unstable when loaded. By June 1917,80 PCs had been built before they were replaced on the production line by the improved version, the PD. The engine cowling of the PC was reconfigured and a ventral fin was added, much improving the stability of the aircraft A total of 465 PDs were built before the type was improved still further.

Test pilot lieutenant Mario de Bernadi with the aircraft he first flew and demonstrated. the prototype Pomilio Gamma IF. Editor's collection

The Pomilio PE was the fully developed version of the design, which featured a new tailplane and fin of increased area which fully resolved the stability issues of the PC. It was also fitted with a 300hp version of the Fiat A.12 engine, which gave it a maximum speed of 195kph (121mph). All three versions of the design had been fitted with a single drum-fed Lewis gun on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit for self-defence, but many of the PEs were also fitted with a fixed forward-firing Vickers machine gun. The 1000-strong workforce at the Turin factory was able to produce 150 PEs per month, the type being a great success for Pomilio, with 1071 being built before the war's end, equipping around 30 squadrons of the Italian Army.

The last design produced by the Turin company was the Pomilio Gamma, a highly agile single-seat fighter. The prototype first flew in early 1918 powered by a 200hp SPA.6A engine. T rials by the Italian Army showed the type was fast and extremely manoeuvrable, but Jacked a satisfactory rate of climb. The SPA engine was replaced by a 250hp Isotta­Fraschini V6, in which form it was known as the Gamma IF with a maximum speed of 225kph (140mph) and a much-improved climb rate. A small number were ordered, but the end of the war meant the Pomilio Gamma never entered service.

In mid-1918, with the Gamma programme under way and a new version of the two seater, the PF, on the drawing boards, Ottorino Pomilio accepted the offer from Ansaldo which wished to buy his Turin factory and airfield. By the time the takeover was complete, Pomilio had built more than 1200 aircraft at the plant, production continuing under Ansaldo with a mixture of the PE and Ansaldo types. Ottorino Pomilio, along with his brothers Ernesto and Alessandro, emigrated to the United States, where Pomilio's reputation as an aeronautical engineer had been established by trials of the PE in America in 1917. During these, the PE had set a new US speed record of 210kph (130mph) over a 480km (300 mile) course. The brothers established the Pomilio Brothers Corporation of lndianapolis, producing fighter and bomber designs such as the FVlr8 and BVIA2, in 1919. • Words: Tim Callaway

Alenia Ae rmacchi 27

FIRST WORLD WAR

Major Gabriele d ' Annunzio. arc hitect of the daring raid. Editor's collection

Major Gabriele d ' Annunzio and Captain Natale Palli in the

cockpits of their SVA. an image signed August 9, 1918, the

day of a daring raid over Vienna. via

Luigino

The Flight over Vienna was an air raid conceived by Italian poet and nationalist patriot Gabriele D'Annunzio. An enthusiastic supporter of early aviation since making a flight with Glenn Curtiss in 1909, he served as a volunteer soldier then airman in the Italian forces during the First World War. He took part in a number of daring raids before organising what must be one of the greatest feats of aviation in that conflict.

Gabriele D'Annunzio was born on March 12, 1863, in Pescara, the son of the mayor, a wealthy landowner. He studied literature at the University of Rome La

Sapienza and worked as a journalist, writer, poet and playwright, including collaborating with French composer Claude Debussy on a musical play, The Mar tyrdom of St Sebastian, while living in France in the early 1900s. He was also elected to serve in the Chamber of Deputies for a three-year term, prior to this, in 1897. When he returned to Italy, he witnessed the demonstration fligh ts of Glenn Curtiss in the Cur tiss No.2, known as the Reims Racer, at an air show at the Brescia motor racing circuit in September 1909, and became one of the many passengers to make their first flight there. This eig ht-minute experience was to make D'Annunzio a staunch supporter of aviation for the rest of his life.

With the outbreak of the First World War, D'Annunzio began to vigorously campaign for Italy to join the war on the side of the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia. He supported the Italian Army as a volunteer,

par ticularly being associated with the elite Arditi shock troops, but his experience with aviation soon led to his joining the Ser vizio Aeronautico, the Italian Army's aviation division. He won g reat distinction as an observer and writer on a number of daring raids, including the Italian Navy's torpedo boat raid on Austrian shipping in the harbour of Bakar in Febr uary 1918. Although this raid had little militar y effect, D'Annunzio fully exploited the propaganda value of these actions to bolster Italian morale. During these exploits he suffered a number of wounds, including losing the sight of an eye. By the end of the war, this charismatic and swashbuckling figure had won no fewer than six medals for bravery.

In early 1917, D'Annunzio had conceived what was to be one of the greatest exploits of aviation during the First World War. The idea was to fly from Padua, in nor th-east Italy, all the way to Vienna- 500km (310 miles) -to drop propaganda leaflets to encourage the Austrians to abandon their alliance with Germany and Hungary. Given the distance, the appearance of Italian aircraft over Vienna

28 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

would severely damage Austrian morale as they would simply not expect to see enemy aircraft that far from the combat area. D'Annunizio correctly assessed the consternation this action would cause among the civilian population, and was writing a carefully worded leaflet himself to maximise the effect. However, at the time, an aircraft capable of such a long-distance flight over enemy territory was not available, and the plan was shelved for the moment. Later in 1917, the Anslado SVA series of aircraft entered service, which not only had the range, but were the fastest combat aircraft in service anywhere in the world at the time, with a maximum speed in the SVA5 model of 230kmh (140mph).

In August 1918, the 87ma Squadriglia, named La Serenissima, were based at San Pelagio airfield between the municipality of Due Carrare and Padova, and were equipped with Anslado SVA.5 single-seat fighter bombers and SVA9 and 10 two-seat reconnaissance versions. The aircraft of the squadron were distinguished by the painting of the Winged Lion of St Mark on the sides of its fuselages. D'Annunzio convinced the Comando Supremo (Headquarters) of Regio

Esercito (Royal Italian Army) that its new aircraft could carry out the flight, and star ted to plan the raid in detail. For the raid, a group of highly experienced pilots were selected. The 10 single-seater SVA.5s were piloted by Antonio Locatelli, Girolamo Allegri, Lodovico Censi, Aldo Finzi, Pietro Massoni, Giordano Bruno Granzarolo, Giuseppe Sarti, Francesco Ferrarin, Masprone and Contratti. The last SVA was one of the squadron's two seaters, piloted by Captain Natale Palli, with the now Major Gabriele d'Annunzio, himself, on board as observer.

The first attempt to fly the mission occurred on August 2, 1918, but the formation was thwarted by heavy fog. On August 8, a second attempt was abor ted due to a strong wind. Finally, on August 9, the formation took off from San Pelagio at 05.50 and headed east. They arrived over Vienna at 09.20 and flew over the Austrian capital for some time at around 800 metres (2600ft), taking photographs and dropping 50,000 leaflets on a green, white, and red card, the colours of tl1e Italian flag. These were written by D'Annunzio himself in Italian, and were rather poetic in nature, including a reminder that the flight

FIRST WORLD WAR

l eaflets flutter down over Vienna on August 9. 1918. a daring and imaginative ra id. via Luigino Caliaro

had brought "instead of explosives, the three colours of liberty". A fu rther 350,000 leaflets were also dropped, calling for the end of the alliance between Austria-Hungary and 'Prussia' as Germany was referred to, which were translated into German.

The formation flew for more than lOOOkm (621 miles), 800km (500 miles) of which was over enemy territory, an incredible achievement for the day, with only one aircraft lost. The formation returned to San Pelagio at 12.40, having flown an undisturbed return route via Wiener Neustadt, Graz, Lubiana and Trieste. The SVA.5 of Lt Giuseppe Sarti was forced to land near the Wiener Neustadt airfield due to a technical issue, Sarti setting it on fire before it could be captured.

The raid was a huge propaganda success and today is still remembered as 11 volo su Vienna (The Flight over Vienna). A fitting tribute to these intrepid aviators has recently been restored by GAYS Torino, the actual aircraft used by Palli and D'Annunzio for the raid. It is exhibited at the Gabriele d'Annunzio Museum - called 11 Vittoriale degli ltaliani - in Gardone Riviera. • Words: Luigino Caliaro and Tim Callaway

Inter-war years As has already been mentioned, Fiat had begun aircraft production in 1916 with the formation of the Societa Italiana Aviazione (SIA) in Turin. In 1918 Fiat decided to drop the SIA name, renaming the company Fiat Aviazione, but continuing the production of its two seat reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber, the SIA.9, albeit under a new name.

The SIA.9, powered by the 700hp Fiat A14 V12 engine, was the first aircraft produced by the newly named company under the

new designation Fiat R.2. These were purchased by the Italian Army and the Turkish Air Force, for whom 129 were built. TI1e shortcomings of the original design, mostly relating to the structural strength of the wing structure, were addressed by a redesign by one of the great aircraft engineers of the period, Celestino Rosatelli. Rosatelli was born on April 8, 1885, in Belmonte in Sabina near Rieti. He quickly gained a reputation for his skills in mathematics, as a result he was sent to study at the School of Engineering in Rome, from which he graduated in 1910.

In 1915 he joined the army and was sent to work at the Direzione Tecnica deii'Aviazione Militare (the military aviation engineering directorate, or DTAM) in Tmin. Here, Rosatelli was an assistant to Rudolf Verduzio, who at the time was working with Umber to Savoia on a new fighter design which would become the incredibly successful Ansaldo SVA series. Rosatelli's work at the DTAM attracted the attention of Giovanni A.gnelli,

Fiat - consolidation and expansion

Celestine Rosatelli. one of history's great a ircraft designers with one of his first creations for Fiat. the BR. Alenia Aermacchi

who, in 1918, requested that he be assigned to the project design office at the new Fiat Aviazione, an office he was quickly to become the director of. His first task was the redesign work on the SIA9, the new designation R.2 being recognition of his work as it took his initial, something that was to be a feature of his entire career at Fiat with the BR (Bomber Rosatelli) and CR (Caccia or Fighter Rosatelli) series of aircraft.

Rosatelli further developed the two seat light bomber in his next design series, the BR.1 to 4, essentially upgrades to the

successful basic R.2 design. The first of these, simply known as the BR, first flew in 1919 powered by the FiatA14 and featured a larger fin and tailplane. A small number were built for the Italian Army before Rosatelli developed the BR.l , replacing the conventional struts with a Warren truss design, redesigning the radiator and the undercarriage. About 150 of these were built, making it the most numerous of the series. In 1922, a BR was modified into the R.700, a specialised racing variant which set a new world absolute speed record of 336kph (210mph) , then was entered into the Coupe Deutsche de la Meurthe prize race on September 30.

The Fiat R.2 was a Rosatelli redesign of the SIA.9 from the First World War. Alenia Aermacchi

Fransesco Brach established a speed of 288kph on the first leg before a fuel pump failure forced his retirement from the competition. The BR seties eventually equipped 15 light bomber squadrons of the Italian Army, the air divisions of which became the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force) on March 28, 1923. The next development, the BR.2, also had a stronger undercarriage, as it was powered by the heavier and more powerful 950hp Fiat 54.4 litre A25 V12 engine. In this form the aircraft had a maxinlum speed of 240kph (140mph). This variant was also developed into the R.22 in 1926, a specialist reconnaissance aircraft of which 25 were built. The R.22 had a smaller wingspan and shorter fuselage with an all metal structure replacing

30 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

Fiat BR.3s, nearest the camera, during a parade of the Regia Aeronautica, which was formed in March 1923. Alenia Aermacchi

"CELESTINO ROSATELLI WAS EXTREMELY BUSY ATTHISTIME, ASIDE FROM THE BR SERIES HE

WAS ALSO WORKING ON THE CR.l, HIS FIRST FIGHTER

DESIGN, AND THE CR.20, HIS SECOND. "

the wooden components of the bombers. It was powered by the 570hp Fiat A.22 engine, another V12 of 27.5litres and about half the weight of the A.25.

The next major production version was the BR3, which featured yet a third new undercarriage and carried both a radio and a reconnaissance camera. Altogether 100 of these were built, the last batch being fitted with Handley-Page leading edge slats to improve low speed and approach performance. Aside from the Regia Aeronautica, 20 of these were also supplied to the 30th Squadron of the Chinese Nationalist Air Force. A further two were exported to Sweden, and one more to Hungary. The last of the developments was the BRA which was almost a complete redesign, but by this time the design was 15 years old and largely outclassed, so it attracted no orders and only the prototype was built

Celestino Rosatelli was extremely busy at this time, aside from the BR series he was also working on the CR.l, his first fighter design, and the CR.20, his second. The CR.l was unusual, in being an inverted sesquiplane design, with the lower wing being of greater span than the upper. Powered by a 320hp Isotta-Fraschini Asso V8 engine, the fighter was successful in trials and 240 were ordered. They entered service with the Regia Aeronautica's 1st Fighter Group in 1924 and equipped 12 Squadrons in total. Three )lo

INTER-WAR YEARS

The Fiat CR.l was an unusual inverted sesquiplane layout. with the lower

wing of greater span than the upper. Alenia Aermacchi

A rare shot of a Fiat CR.20 Asso in flight. 204 of this version were built. Editors Collection

Alen ia Ae rmacchi 31

The Fiat BR.l featured Wa rren truss interp lane struts and a modified undercarriage. Alenia Aermacchi

different engines were tested, resulting in the CR.2 (Armstrong Siddeley Lynx), CR.5 (Alfa Romeo Jupiter) and CR.10 (Fiat A.10) , but these were only produced as prototypes. Later in the 1930s, in-service CR.1s were upgraded with improved Asso engines of 450hp, which meant the fighter did not leave service until1937. The CR.20 was also a single seat fighter, but with an all metal structure, making its first flight on June 19, 1926. This was a major success for Fiat, with 250 of the 410hp Fiat A.20 powered initial version being ordered. This was followed by 46 of a two seat floatplane version, the CR.20 Idro, and 235 of the CR.20bis of 1930 with an upgraded undercarriage. Like the CR.1, the CR.20 was fitted with the upgraded 450hp Isotta-Fraschini Asso Caccia engine to produce the CR.20 Asso, 204 of which were built, along with a small number of two seat trainer and communications aircraft called the CR.20B. By 1933, 27 Regia Aeronautica squadrons were flying the CR.20, using it operationally in Libya and Abyssinia in 1935. The CR.20 was also supplied to the air forces of Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, Paraguay, Poland and Spain, with two being sent to the Soviet Union for trials.

In 1925, Fiat acquired SAl CM, renaming it CMASA, expanding its aviation interests into seaplanes and flying boats as is described here. The following year the company also purchased the Ansaldo aviation interests, as will be told in a separate article, making Fiat one of the largest manufacturers of aircraft in the world. >-

INTER-WAR YEARS

The Fiat TR. l was built with an a ll metal structure and an enclosed cockpit . Editor's Collection

INTER-WAR YEARS

Mention must be made at this point of another great Italian engineer, and a man who was to establish Fiat's international reputation for many years and take the company into the jet age. Giuseppe Gabrielli was born in Caltanissetta on Sicily on February 26, 1903. He went on to study at the Polytechnic University of Turin before attending the Aeronautical Institute of the RWTH Aachen University, where he was tutored by the director, the great Dr Theodore von Kflrman, a Hungarian aerodynamicist who was later to work on flying wings with Jack Northrop (see Aviation Classics Issue 19 - The Northrop F-5). During the 1920s, Gabrielli worked for Piaggio as a designer where he helped establish its aircraft division. In 1930, he returned to the University of Turin, where he became Professor of Aeronautical Construction. ln 1931, one of the founders of Fiat, Giovanni Agnelli , approached Gabrielli and asked him to join the Fiat design department. He agreed initially to split his time between designing for Fiat and teaching. This was to begin an association that brought a new designation to the Fiat company, G, which was to be associated with some of its most successful aircraft into the 1970s. His first aircraft for Fiat was the G.2, a six passenger three engined monoplane airliner, which was built in small numbers in 1932. This was used by the Fiat owned ALl airline in Italy and VARIG in Brazil, which kept its single example in service until1946. Agnelli wisely later based Gabrielli with the CMASA design team in Pisa to avoid any possible friction between him and Rosatelli in T urin. Most of the aircraft he designed in the inter­war period were built in small numbers, but his two fighter designs were to be among the best of the war. Although it first flew in 1937,

The Fiat CR.32bis was the close support fighter version with two additional machine guns and the ability to carry a small bomb load. Alenia Aermacchi

Giuseppe Gabrielli (left) was tutored by the director of the Aeronautical Institute of the RWTH Aachen University, the great DrTheodore von Karman (right). a Hungarian aerodynamicist who was later to work on flying wings with Jack Northrop. Editofs Collection

the Fiat G.50 will be covered in the Second World War section of this issue for continuity.

To return to Rosatelli, his next aircraft for Fiat was the CR.30, which first flew in March 1932 powered by the 600hp Fiat A.30RA engine. In July, two prototypes won the speed circuit contest at the International Aviation Meeting at Zurich with a speed of 340kph (211mph) . This performance resulted in an order for 121 aircraft from the Regia Aeronautica, two of which were converted into seaplanes as the CR.30 Idro. A further 55 CR.30s were built for the air forces of Austria, the Republic of China, Hungary, Paraguay and the Spanish Nationalists. A single example was also purchased by Venezuela in 1938. The prototypes were conver ted in to two seat trainers called the CR.30B, followed by a large number of the fighters as they were retired. This work was undertaken by CANSA, as was the construction of 20 more new build CR.30Bs. This was followed by a remarkable aircraft, the Fiat CR.32, a powerful, compact and very agile biplane fighter that made its first flight at Turin on April 28, 1933.

The CR.32 was powered by the 600hp Fiat A.30RA-bis V12 engine, which gave it a maximum speed of 360kph (224mph) which, when combined with its superb handling, meant the Regia Aeonautica quickly ordered the fighter in quantity, eventually placing

orders for 1080. It was built in four main variants, the standard CR.32 twin machine gun armed fighter, the CR.32bis, a close support fighter with two additional machine guns and the ability to carry a small bomb load, the CR.32ter with many detail improvements, and the CR.32quater, a radio equipped reduced weight version of which 337 were built for the Regia Aeronautica. The CR.32 saw operational service in the Spanish Civil War, some 400 being used by Italian units in the country with 131 being supplied to the Spanish Air Force.

The aircraft was the mount of many aces of the conflict and was able to fight effectively against faster and more modern monoplane fighters and bombers. In 1938, Hispano Aviaci6n acquired a licence from Fiat and built 100 CR.32s, designated the HA-132-L Chir ri. Some of these were converted to two seat C.1 aerobatic trainers and remained in service until 1953. Due to the misleading results in combat in the Spanish Civil War, at the beginning of the Second World War, the CR.32 equipped two thirds of the Italian fighter force. These saw action in East and North Africa, Greece and Crete, but by mid 1941 most had been replaced by more modern types as they were no longer a match for modern monoplane fighters.

Aside from Italy and Spain, the CR.32 was

supplied in numbers to the air forces of Austria, the Republic of China and Hungar y. Hungarian CR 32s were used against Yugoslavia in April1941, then against the Soviet Union from June 1941 onwards. In addition to these, Paraguay received five CR 32quaters in 1938, with Venezuela being supplied with nine the same year, using them until1943. The replacement for the CR32, the Fiat CR42, will be covered in the Second World War section of this magazine, as will the last bomber design by Celestino Rosatelli for Fiat, the BR 20. In 1936, with CR 32 production ending, Fiat purchased the Gabardini factory and airfield at Cameri, consolidating the Italian aircraft industry still further and readying the company for the levels of military orders and mass production that would soon come as the outbreak of the Second World War loomed. • Words: Tim Callaway

The Fiat CR.32ter had a number of aerodynamic and structural improvements over the original design. Alenia Aermacchi

Alenia Ae rmacchi 35

INTER-WAR YEARS

Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali and Industrie Aeronautiche Romeo - foundation and consolidation In engineering history, the name of Alfa Romeo will forever be associated with some of the fastest and most elegant cars ever built. What is less well known is that the name Romeo is also associated with railways and aircraft, a series of businesses all founded by one man - Nicola Romeo.

Nicola Romeo was born on April 28, 1876 in Sant' Antimo, the son of a primary school teacher. His

father was to have a tremendous influence on his lile as from an early age he ensured Romeo was well­versed in mathematics.

Automobile Factory Company) taking over the directorship and overseeing the conversion of the

He worked his way through college to obtain a degree in engineering from the Technical University of Naples in 1899, moving to Liege in Belgiwn that year, where he graduated in electrical eng ineering. On his return to Italy he worked as a representative of Belgian industrial machinery companies,

Nicola Romeo at an Alfa Romeo car race in 1934. He was to found a wide range of engineering companies. Editor's collection

factory to produce military vehicles, weapons and equipment for the First World War.

In 1918, at the end

before founding the first of his own companies - Societa in accomandita semplice Ing Nicola Romeo e Co Ong Nicola Romeo and Co Ltd) - producing heavy mining equipment in 1905. This was extremely successful, especially in the production of compressed air systems and powered mining tools.

In 1915, Romeo bought the majority shareholding of the Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (ALFA, the Lombardy

of the First World War, Romeo had bought the whole of the ALFA company, investing the profits he made back into his own company- lng Nicola Romeo and Co Ltd. This grew and diversified with the acquisition of three factories producing railway locomotives and rolling stock: one in Rome, one in Saronno and the Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali (OFM or Southern Railway Workshops) , which was situated in Naples. To reflect this, he changed the name of his

The first OFM-produced aircraft was the Ro.l . a licence-built modified version of the Fokker CV-E. Edito r's collection

holding company to Societa anonima lng Nicola Romeo e Co Ong Nicola Romeo and Co Company) as it was now managing the mining, automobile and railway companies. ln 1920, the ALFA company was renamed Alia Romeo, the famous automobile manufacturer of which his name is most often associated.

At this time, Romeo was becoming interested in the possibilities of aviation, having seen the success of other companies. To achieve similar success, by 1923 he considered the OFM Naples railway factory and its workforce suitable as an aircraft producer. The first aircraft contracts were won from Fiat, to produce aircraft parts, and later the inverted sesquiplane Fiat CR1 fighter under licence, as Fiat's factories were fully employed with other projects. Considering what was to happen later in 1969, these Fiat contracts could be seen as a premonition of things to come.

A great deal of confusion exists regarding the use of the name Industrie Aeronautiche Romeo OAR) in relation to aircraft production in Naples. Although this name was used occasionally, it was not an officially registered company name until 1934. However, the aircraft produced in Naples by OFM from 1925 onwards frequently carried the

The Ro.30 was only produced in small numbers as it was quickly replaced by the Ro.37. Editor's collection

inscription Aeroplani Romeo painted somewhere on the airframe. All the aircraft built by the company were popularly known as both OFMs and Romeos, but all were g iven the designation prefix Ro.

In 1925, Romeo began negotiations with Fokker, in the Netherlands, to build its general purpose Fokker CV-E two-seat biplane. In 1926, a Romeo-owned aircraft factory was established in Pomig liano d'Ar co, a province of Naples, under the OFM company.

The first completed CV-Es were built by OFM workers gaining vital experience in the Dutch Fokker factories late in 1926. These were modified with an improved undercaniage, ventral fin and provision for an observer's machine gun on a flexible mount In this form, known as the Romeo Ro.1, the first Naples-built versions rolled out of the new factory in March 1927. Given the nature of Romeo's business interests, it is unsurprising that the engine was a 420hp Alfa Romeo Jupiter IV engine, built under licence from Bristol, in England.

Alfa Romeo was by now establishing a fine reputation for lightweight and powerful automobile engines designed by Vittorio Jano,

so producing aircraft engines was a natural progression for the company within the Romeo group. However, by 1928, Nicola Romeo had left the Alfa Romeo automobile company to concentrate on his other concerns after financial di.fficulties had caused a division in the management This was a tremendous first success for Romeo, with 330 being built, some of the later aircraft having a third seat provided between the pilot and observers' cockpits.

In late 1927, an attempt was made to create a fighter version of the design by reducing the wingspan from 15.3m to 12.5m. Known as the Ro.1 ridotto (or reduced), this project remained as just a prototype. The improved version of the aircraft, the Ro.1bis, was powered by a 550hp Piaggio Jupiter VIII, fitted with a four-bladed propeller, of which 132 were built. The Ro.1s were to remain in frontline service until 1935, taking part in operations in Libya between 1924 and 1927, then again in the Cyrenaica region in 1931, and finally in the war in Ethiopia in 1935. After this, the type was steadily withdrawn to training units, mostly being retired by the outbreak of war in 1939. With the Ro.1

production line established, OFM turned its attention to its own first designs.

In response to an Italian Air Ministry specification for a light training and touring aircraft, issued in 1928, the company produced its next aircraft- the Ro.5, a two­seat parasol-winged monoplane. Almost ever y Italian aircraft manufacturer entered the competition, the aircraft being put for ward for comparative trials in Februar y 1929. Interestingly, there was no clear winner, 10 of the submitted projects being deemed to have met the requirement.

The Ro.5 was bought by a number of flying schools, clubs and private owners, as well as a batch being supplied to the Regia Aeronautica which used it as a basic trainer and liaison aircraft. A wide variety of engines were fi tted to the aircraft, the majority being powered by the 85hp Waiter Vega or the 80hp Fiat A 50 seven­cylinder radial. It was built in two versions, the standard open cockpit Ro.5 and the Ro.5bis, with an enclosure over the cockpits. This was developed still further into the Ro.6 with the addition of the 85hp version of the Fiat engine. 1929 was a busy year for the company; not >-

One of the three Ro.l Os built. a licensed version of the Fokker

F.VII/3m. Edifo(s collection

INTER-WAR YEARS

only were the Ro.1 and 5 in production, but OFM then built its second Fokker design under licence, the Fokker F.VII/3m tri-motor 1Q.seat transpor t aircraft. This was a high-wing cabin monoplane and one of the most successful transport aircraft of the period, used by air forces and airlines across Europe and the US, setting many distance and speed records around the world.

Known as the Ro.10, three examples were built in Naples for the two airlines Avio Linee Italiane and Ala Littoria, powered by three 215hp Alfa Romeo Lynx seven-cylinder radial engines. Again, these were licence-built versions of a British engine, the Armstrong Siddeley Lynx. Also in 1929, OFM chief designer Alessandro Tonini, who had worked at Macchi on the flying boat fighter designs, suffered some serious health problems, so Romeo hired Giovanni Galasso to work as a designer at OFM.

Galasso had studied industrial and mechanical engineering at Turin Technical University before working at the Direzione Tecnica deii'Aviazione Militare (The Militar y Aviation Engineering Directorate, or DTAM) in T urin. He then moved into industry, joining first Ansaldo then Fiat, working on the Fiat AS.1 light aircraft among others.

The Ro.41 was originally designed as a fighter. this is one of the 28 used in the Spanish Civil War a s an interceptor in the p rotec tion of Seville. Editor's collection

In 1930, after only a year, Galasso was made head of the technical depar tment at OFM, bringing a number of his former colleagues from Turin to Naples to form a new design team. The first aircraft was the Ro.25, a trainer built in single- and two-seat versions. Only the two prototypes were built in 1930, one of which was a seaplane.

This was followed later the same year by the Ro.26, a two-seat aerobatic biplane trainer which was built in small numbers, again as both a land and seaplane.

In 1932, Galasso developed the Ro.1 reconnaissance biplane design into the three­seat Ro.30, which made its fi rst flight that year. Unusually, in this aircraft the pilot was seated in front of the wings, the obser ver in a glazed cabin between the wings and the gunner in an open cockpit behind them. The Ro.30 was built in two versions, powered by either the 530hp Alfa Romeo Mercurius (a licence-built Bristol Mercury IVS.2) or the Piaggio 126-RC35 Jupiter (a licence-built Bristol Jupiter) of the same power, both being nine-cylinder radial engines. Only a few Ro.30s were built, as it was quickly replaced in production by the Ro.37. As a side shoot to their powered aircraft developments, in 1933 OFM also designed and built the Ro.35, a single-seat glider with a wingspan of 14.5m. Only one of these was produced, and given the civilian registration I-AB BB, but little more is known about it.

To return to the Ro.37 development, this was to be the major next success for the company as 294 would eventually be built for the Regia Aeronautica. Again, designed under the leadership of Giovanni Galasso, the Ro.37 was a biplane two-seat light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft intended to replace the Ro.1 in service.

The prototype made its first flight on November 6, 1933 and was powered by the 600hp Fiat A.30 V-12 engine. It carried two

The ship-based Ro.43 floatp lane was a hig h performance a irc raft. but its light structure could be easily damaged, particularly during winching operations. Editor's collection

38 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

The main instrument panel in the pilots' cockpit of an Ro.37bis. Editor's collection

Breda 7.7mm machine guns mounted in the nose and a third on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit. A bomb load of 180kg (3971b) could be carried either under fuselage racks or in a ventral magazine for small munitions.

The Ro.37bis replaced the Fiat engine with the 610hp Piaggio P.IX RC.40, a licence-built version of the Gnome-Rhone 9K Mistral nine­cylinder radial. Altogether 325 of this version of the aircraft were built, both for the Regia Aeronautica and the air forces of Afghanistan, Austria, Ecuador, Hungary, Spain and Uruguay. The largest of these overseas operators by far was Spain, who used 68 of the Ro.37bis between 1936 and 1945.

Aside from its use in the Spanish Civil War, the Ro.37 also saw operational use in the Second World War with the Regia Aeronautica, in both Nor th Africa and the Balkans, but its vulnerability to modern fighters quickly cur tailed the use of the type, the last having been withdrawn before Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943. Although the numbers of Ro.37s built were impressive, the next Galasso design -the Ro.41 - was to surpass even this, with 743 being built. Originally conceived as an open cockpit biplane fighter, it was extremely manoeuvrable but underpowered and something of an obsolete concept for the time.

The prototype first flew at Capodichino airfield on June 16, 1934 in the hands of Niccolo Lana. This was followed by the second aircraft on Januar y 31, 1935. It was tested by the Regia Aeronautica, which ordered 50, the first entering service in July. Powered by the Piaggio P.VII C.45 of 390hp, the fighter could achieve 320krn/h (200 m ph) and was armed with a pair of 7.7mm Breda machine guns. The Ro.41 was used operationally as a fighter, 28 serving in the Spanish Civil War as interceptors and as fighter bombers over Rhodes in the opening months of the Second World War. They were also used as night fighters over Tobruk in August 1940, but were quickly withdrawn as more modern types became available.

It was as a trainer that the Ro.41 excelled, its superb handling proving ideal in that role, with 30 of the two-seat variant being ordered in 1937. Eventually, 510 single-seat and 233 two- seat aircraft were to be produced, the majority serving as trainers.

The Ro.41 proved popular and reliable, so much so that it was the first aircraft ordered back into production after the Second World

An unusual formation of five Ro.43s in civilian markings. Flights like this were often made in the 1930s to promote Italy abroad. Editor's collection

War, with Agusta building 12 sing le-seat and 13 two- seat aircraft under licence in 1946, which were used as military trainers unti11950. There was an improved version- the Ro.41bis- with a larger engine and shor ter wingspan, a single example of which was produced in 1937, but such was the performance of the original that this failed to attract orders.

As production of the Ro.41 began in 1934, Nicola Romeo significantly changed the organisation of the company on October 27 by splitting the OFM railway workshop and the aircraft business, creating, or possibly just officially recognising the aviation company as Industrie Aeronautiche Romeo (IAR), a name which had been in common usage for some time.

Just after this split, on November 19, 1934, the first flight of the last design produced under the original management took place. This was the Ro.43 reconnaissance seaplane, which had been under development from the Ro.37 landplane since 1933. It was produced to a Regia Marina specification of that year for a catapult-launched reconnaissance aircraft for use on capital ships.

After comparative trials against other types, the Ro.43 was ordered into production in 1935, with more than 200 being built. The Ro.43 was

Observation Group of the Regia Aeronautica. Editor's collection

powered by a 700hp Piaggio PX R nine-cylinder radial engine, which gave it a maximum speed of 300km/ h (186mph), but this performance came at the cost of a lightweight structure. This caused structural and seaworthiness issues, particularly from damage caused when winching the aircraft back on to its launching vessel from the water. However, the type was to remain in service on board ships until June 1942 taking part in some of the most important naval actions in the Mediterranean such as the battles of Calabria in July 1940 and Matapan in March 1941. After this, the Ro.43 was used as a coastal patrol aircraft until the armistice in September 1943.

The company was to change further in 1935 when OFM was sold to Societa Italiana Ernesto Breda, a company that was founded in Milan in 1886 to produce railway equipment, but had diversified, beginning aircraft production in 1921.

Later, between 1935 and 1936, Romeo also sold JAR to Breda, which combined the two companies into a single organisation on October 1, 1936.

Giovanni Glasso remained as head of the design department of the new company, which was named Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali (Southern

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An early Ro.41 photographed during flight trials in 1937, flown by Sgt Major Mario Rugi. Editor's collection

Mechanical and Aviation Industries), often shortened to Meridionali or IMAM. The aircraft produced by IMAM will be dealt with later in this magazine.

Nicola Romeo's industrial successes had brought him many awards and national recognition in Italy. Among these, he had been invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy on May 24, 1925, and in 1929 he was named a Senator of the Kingdom.

After the sales of his companies he moved to his home in Magreglio on Lake Como, where he died on August 15, 1938, aged 62.

The value of Romeo's business and engineering contributions to European industry is incalculable, so it is particularly gratifying that his name lives on today in the excellent reputation of the Alfa Romeo car company. • Words: Tim Callaway

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Macchi-Nieuport to Aeronautica Macchi: Flying boats and light aircraft - a golden age

Although officially still known as the Societa Anonima Macchi-Nieuport, the Varese­based company had, for the last three years of the First World War, been doing far more than just producing Nieuport designs under licence. It had been building its own designs, particularly a successful range of flying boats, a line it would continue into the peacetime years.

The last of the Alessandro Tonini designs for Macchi during the First World War had been a landplane fighter, the Macchi M.14.

He had also worked extensively on developing the flying boats, but his next aircraft were a complete change, the M.l6 light sports single seater and the M.20 two­seat trainer. The M.l6 was a small 6m- (19ft Sin) span biplane powered by a 30hp Anzani 3Y radial. The fuselage was extremely deep at the front, accommodating not just the pilot and the engine, but a pronounced bulge below

The uniquely bulbous Macchi M.161ight sports single seater. powered by a 30hp Anzani 3Y radial. Editor's collection

the wing was also the attachment point for the main wheels.

The M.20 had an increased span of 8m (26ft 3in) and was 1.32m (4ft 4in) longer- at 5.75m (18ft 10.5in) - to accommodate the second cockpit. It was powered by the 45hp version of the Anzani to lift the greater load, but was other wise similar in all respects to the M.16. They were designed in response to a specification issued by the Lega Aerea Nazionale (National Air League) which sought light aircraft that were both simple and cheap to operate and capable of flying from unprepared strips.

The US Navy acquired three Macchi M.16s and used them at trials

40 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

I 1 I

I,', '~ ·' ' .. .. . . . I

The prototype M.16 first flew in 1919 and the following year set a new altitude record for light aircraft of 3770m (12,370 ft) while competing in the Coppa Mappelli, an event it won outright in 1921. More than 20 of this strange-looking machine were built for private use, despite the availability of cheap war surplus aircraft - the advertising of the time described it as the motorcycle of the sky! Three more were bought by the US Navy, which equipped them with floats and used them as test and evaluation aircraft as the M.16idro. The last vers ion, the M.16G, was fitted with a 40hp ABC Gnat II flat twin engine to boost performance. The M.20 also first flew in 1919, being supplied in small numbers to flying clubs and schools to act as a basic trainer.

While development of the light civil aircraft was going on in the Varese factory, the Macchi seaplane depar tment at Schiranna, on Lake Varese, was not idle.

Carlo Buzio and his team had achieved great success with their militar y flying boats, and with the Swiss charter flying company Ad Astra Aero interested in conversions of the M.3 and M.9 as passenger aircraft, they began to explore the commercial potential of flying boats in the civil market.

They star ted work on the first of these ­the Macchi M.18 - intending it to have an enclosed passenger cabin and open cockpit for the crew. However, the Italian Navy was looking for new seaplanes to replace its wartime aircraft, so it was as a three-seat

bomber that the M.18 first flew in 1920. With its Warren truss struts and pusher

engine, the sesquiplane design was recognisable as a development of the earlier M.9, and was initially powered by a 150hp Isotta-Fraschini V.4B six-cylinder engine. This would be replaced in production by the 250hp Asso 200 from the same manufacturer. The pilot and observer sat side by side in an open cockpit, the gunner having his own separate cockpit ahead of them in the nose.

Aside from the standard bomber and patrol aircraft, the type was also produced with folding wings as the M.l8AR to equip the Italian Navy's seaplane tender Guiseppe Miraglia. Another 20 of these folding wing aircraft were bought by the Spanish Navy for its seaplane tender Dedalo. These were used against rebel forces in Morocco and during the Spanish Civil War, over Majorca, and on coastal patrols.

The Portuguese Navy also bought eight M.18ARs in 1928, followed by the Paraguayan Navy which bought two in 1932, using them in the Chaco War (between 1932 and 1935) against Bolivia as reconnaissance and bomber aircraft- one was destroyed in an accident in 1935, the other remai.ned in service until the mid-1940s.

GREAT COMMERCIAL SUCCESS Aside from the military variants, some 70 civil aircraft were produced for a variety of charter firms such as the Swiss Ad Astra Aero, as well as the Italian Societa Incremento Turistico Aereo Roma (SITAR) and Societa ltaliana Servizi Aerei (SISA), the latter using them for pilot training for its Adriatic Sea operations.

The civil flying boat was produced in three versions: the Economico (Commercial) was similar to the military three-seat aircraft; the Lusso (Luxury) had an enclosed three-seat cabin for VIP transport; and the delightfully named Estivo (Summer) had similar accommodation for three passengers, but returned to the open cockpit layout.

The M.18 proved to be a great commercial success for Macchi, and was to begin a line of passenger flying boats. Mention must be made at this point of the work that Macchi was putting into racing seaplanes to compete in the international Schneider Trophy races.

• - - . J

These magnificent aircraft will be covered in a separate article later in this magazine. While working on the M.16 design, Alessandro Tonini also produced a two-seat reconnaissance Jandplane powered by the 320hp FiatA.12bis six-cylinder engine. The fuselage resembled the earlier Nieuport designs, but the wings were developed from the Warren truss strut braced units of the Macchi flying boats.

Known as the M.15, the prototype first flew in 1922 and two were built, serving with the 115th Squadriglia from 1922, becoming the 30th Squadriglia on the establishment of the Regia Aeronautica in March 1923. The fate of the two aircraft is uncertain, but there are no records of their existence after January 1925. At the same time as designing the M.15, in 1923 Tonini had completed a redesign of the M. 7 single-seat fighter flying boat of the First World War. This was known as the M.7ter, and featured a more efficient hull design, modified tailplane and a new wing structure, which was both lighter and stronger and of slightly reduced area.

As already noted, only 17 of the original

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M.7 had been delivered to the Italian Navy by the war's end, with two more being bought by Argentina and Sweden and three by Brazil.

The M.7ter was to be produced in much greater numbers, with more than 100 being built in two versions for the Italian Navy, the standard M.7ter and the M.7terAR, which had folding wings for use aboard the seaplane tender Guiseppe Miraglia.

By 1924, six Squadriglia of the Italian Navy were equipped with the M.7ter, which were eventually to be relegated to a training role as more modern types replaced them. Some civilian flying schools acquired ex-military aircraft, using them again as trainers for flying boat pilots, some as late as 1940. One short­Jived design that came out of the M. 7ter was the M.26, of 1924, which was intended to replace the M.7ter in the recently consolidated Italian military air service - the Regia Aeronautica. This was a very much cleaned-up development, with a 296hp Hispano-Suiza HS 42 V-8 engine giving the M.26 a maximum speed of 244kph (152mph). Only two were built, the Regia >-

The Macchi M.18 lusso (luxury) had an enclosed cabin three-seat cabin forward of the cockpit. Alenia Aermacchi

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The ultimate biplane fighter flying boat. the aerodynamically clean Macchi M.71 of 1930. Alenia Aermacchi

Aeronautica deciding on an engine upgrade to the M.7ter instead to save money and extend its service life.

The second prototype was used by the military flying boat school at Vigna di Valle as a trainer for a number of years, but it was the only M.26 bought However, the M.26 is significant, because it was the first design by a remarkable engineer, and one of the great characters of aviation, Mario Castoldi. His full story will be told in the Schneider Trophy section of this magazine because those beautiful racing aircraft are the designs with which his name is most often associated.

1924 was an impor tant year for another reason, the company finally ending its association with Nieuport, becoming simply Aeronautica Macchi. At the same time as the M.26 redesign, Castoldi was also working on the wing design for a new and much larger flying boat, the twin-engined M.24. In a

reverse of the M.18 story, the M.24 was intended as a bomber that later was produced as an airliner.

The first M.24 was a sesquiplane, powered by two 250hp FiatA.12 engines mounted between the wings in tandem -one pushing, one pulling. A large aircraft, with a span of 22m (72ft 2in), the M.24 had a crew of three -a pilot, observer and gunner in a similar arrangement to the M.18, but with the addition of a second gunner's position aft of the wings on the upper fuselage for rearward defence.

Aside from the two defensive Vickers 7.7mm machine guns, the M.24 could carry either 800kg (1874lb) of bombs or a torpedo. Early in 1925, a pair of M.24s set off from Macchi's Lake Varese factory and flew to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Leningrad before returning, a feat that impressed, firstly, the Regia Aeronautica and later the Spanish Navy into ordering the type in numbers.

The Macchi M.15 was intended as a two-seat reconnaissance and general purpose aircraft. but only two were built and the project cancelled. Alenia Aermacchi

The Macchi M.41 bis of 1929 was an incredibly sleek machine for a flying boat. Alenia Aermacchi

The sesquiplane layout was used on the Macchi M.24 and the developed version. the M.24ter. Alenia Aermacchi

TONINI'S SUCCESSOR The military version of the aircraft was later to be upgraded with the 510hp Isotta-Fraschini Asso 500 V-12 engines to become the M.24ter. In a parallel development, in 1927, the wings were modified to an equal span layout to produce the M.24bis, offered in civil and military versions with either the Isotta­Fraschini or Lorraine Dietrich engines as an option.

The civil airliner versions featured an eight-seat enclosed cabin forward of the cockpit, which was moved further aft under the engines. This was used by the Italian airlines SITAR and SISA in Mediterranean services and by Aero Espresso on its route from Brindisi to Constantinople and Athens. Before the development of the M.24bis , Macchi's chief designer Alessandro Tonini was in poor health. In 1926, he accepted a post in the design team at Romeo, in Naples,

in the hope that the warmer climate would aid in his recovery. Mario Castoldi, though a relative newcomer to the firm, was recognised for his talents and made technical director as Tonini's successor.

His work was to continue on the Schneider Trophy aircraft, but in 1928 he oversaw the development of two unusual all-metal prototypes, the M.40 and the M.53.

The M.40 was a two-seat reconnaissance floatplane, with the crew of pilot and observer in separate tandem cockpits, and powered by a 380hp Fiat A 20 V-12 engine in the nose. It was intended for use by the Italian Navy as a catapult-launched reconnaissance aircraft to equip capital ships, but after comparative trials in 1928 it was not selected for production.

The M.53 was a single-engined, single-seat floatplane designed in 1927 for a remarkable purpose. The Italian Navy's submarine Ettore Fieramosca, then under construction, was to be fitted with a watertight hangar to enable it to become a seaplane carrier.

Both Piaggio and Macchi tendered to provide the seaplane that would fit this hangar, the twin-float monoplane M.53 being the result. Powered by an 80hp Blackburn Cirr us four-cylinder engine, the w.ings on the M.53 were designed to be removed quickly and easily for stowage in the hangar. The prototype first flew on October 25, 1928. However, in 1930, the plan for a submarine seaplane tender was cancelled, the hangar being removed from the vessel in 1931. Only a single M.53 was built as a result. While work was progressing on these two prototypes, in 1927 the Italian Navy organised a competition to replace the M.7ter in service. Castoldi produced an upgraded version of its 1924 M.26 design, powered by a 420hp Fiat A20 V-12 engine and designated the M.41.

Due to budget restrictions, the competition was eventually abandoned, with only a single M.41 being built.

In 1929, the need to replace the M.7ter was resurrected, only this time the specification called for a fighter bomber. A modified version of the M.41- the M.41bis - was proposed, capable of carrying a 60kg bomb load in addition to its tw.in Vickers 7.7mm machine gun armament. A total of41 ofthe new type were built, equipping two Squadrig lia of the 88th Maritime Fighter Group between 1930 and 1938, when they were replaced by the IMAM Ro.44. Another Government competition was announced in 1928 by the A.ir Ministry, this one being to produce a light aircraft to be used as a basic trainer and tourer by the Reale Unione Nazionale Aeronautica (RUN A) national flying schools.

The comparative trials held in February 1929 attracted 10 successful entries, includ.ing the Macchi M.70. Powered by an 80hp Blackburn Cirrus II or a Col umbo S.53 four­cylinder engine, the M.70 had a maximum speed of 155kph (96mph) and was considered to be a forgiving and delightful a.ircraft to fly. It was produced in both land plane and floatplane versions, used by flying schools all over Italy as a trainer and tourer, as well as in air races such as the 1930 Circuit of Italy.

In order to facilitate its use by private owners, the wings could fold to allow easy storage, and the cockpits were large enough to allow the wearing of parachutes. These features made the M.70 popular with operators and pilots alike, but failed to attract significant orders, the little aircraft only being built in small numbers. The last development of the Macchi single-seat fighter flying boat line was the M.71 of 1930. This was as a result of the Italian Navy deciding to equip more of

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its ships with catapults to enable them to carr y reconnaissance and fire-support aircraft. Macchi began with the M.41bis design and improved the aerodynamics with a reduction in external bracing and other modification. The wings were able to fold in order to minimise the space the aircraft required aboard ship, and the structure was strengthened to take the loads of catapult launches. Powered by the 420hp Fiat A.20 V-12 engine, the M.71 could achieve a maximum speed of 256kph (159mph) and was armed with the standard pair ofVickers 7.7mm machine guns. After two prototypes were built, a production order for 10 M.71s was placed. These were to serve aboard the 'Alber to da Guissano' class of cruisers, but also saw use at coastal stations before being replaced by the IMAM Ro.44.

DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS In 1933, the A.ir Ministr y was looking to replace the Savoia-Marchett.i S.78 biplane reconna.issance and bomber flying boat with a more modern monoplane design.

Mario Castoldi began work on a ver y unusual-looking aircraft, the M.77. This was a pusher, single-engined four-seat monoplane powered by the 850hp Isotta-Fraschini Asso 750R W-18 engine.

The pilot's and observer's cockpits were in tandem and open, but the two gunners were provided with a nose and mid-upper turret in which a single Breda 7.7mm machine gun was mounted. The bomb load of up to 600kg (1323lb) was to be carried internally in side bays in the metal fuselage.

A single prototype was built and first flew in 1935, but development problems delayed its acceptance, so the competition was cancelled and the contract awarded to the CANT 2.501, which had already flown ,...

A Macchi M.C.94, airborne overTrieste harbour. Italian state airline Ala Littoria used all 12 of the

aircraft that were built. Alenia Aermacchi

Alenia Ae rmacchi 43

44 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

The almost completely unknown Macchi M.C.99 was a military patrol and bomber development of the

M.C.94 design with inline engines. Editor's collection

successfully. With a lack of official interest, the M.77 project was shelved. The Italian state-owned airline Ala Littoria had been formed in 1934 by amalgamating all of the small companies then operating, such as SISA and Societa Aerea Mediterranea (SAM). As a result, the airline's fleet was made up of many ageing types, and in 1935 it approached Macchi to produce a new airliner flying boat to replace these.

The result was another Castoldi design, the M.C.94, with the C in the designation being recognition of Castoldi's work. This was a high-wing amphibian with two 740hp Wright Cyclone SGR-1820 radial engines in pods mounted on struts above the wing. The undercarriage retracted into the leading edge of the wing, but this was only ever fitted to the prototype as it caused more problems than the weight was worth.

The 11 production aircraft were pure flying boats, with an enclosed cockpit for the crew of three and a cabin for 12 passengers. After being displayed at the first international air show in Milan in October 1935, the first aircraft entered service with Ala Littoria in 1936, operating over the Adriatic routes. Three of the aircraft were sold to the Argentinean airline Corporaci6n Sudamericana de Servicios Aereos in December 1938, but several remained in service in Italy during the Second World War.

The M.C.94 was an impressive performer, setting a number of records for aircraft in its class in 1937. These included a height record of 6432m (21,102ft) carrying a 1000kg (2,200lb) payload, and a speed record of 248.967kph (159.778mph) over a 1000km (620 mile) closed circuit with the same payload. Interestingly, a single military development of the M.C.94 was produced - the M.C.99-intended for use as a maritime patrol aircraft and bomber, and fitted with inline engines

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The Macchi M.70 was a lso produced as the M.70idro floatplane. Alenia Aermacchi

rather than radials. Very little is known about this aircraft, which did not go into production. Also in 1935, the Government had become concerned that the aircraft industry in Italy had become too centralised, too many factories in too small an area.

To this end, the Government encouraged the establishment of subsidiary companies. Macchi was to establish two - Aeronautica Umbra in 1935 and Aeronautica Sannita in 1939. These companies are detailed separately here.

With the success of the M.C.94, Castoldi began work on an expanded version of the design in 1938, to replace larger aircraft in the Ala Littoria fleet.

The result was the M.C.100, of similar layout to the M.C.94 but with a 1.42m (4ft 9.75in) greater wingspan, and three engines mounted in pods above the wing instead of two. The engines were 800hp Aifa Romeo 126RC nine-cylinder radials which gave the M.C.100 a maximum speed of310kph (193mph).

The two pilots were seated side by side in an enclosed cockpit, the wireless operator having a separate compartment further forward in the nose.

Despite only being a little larger than the earlier twin, the cabin could accommodate more than twice the number of passengers of the M.C.94, with 26 passenger seats.

On January 7, 1939, test pilot Colonel Irenaeus Moretti, assisted by a man we will hear much more about later in this magazine, Matio Carestiato, took the M.C.100 on its first flight from Lake Varese. Flight testing proved more than satisfactory, and three were ordered by Ala Littoria, including the prototype.

In May 1940, the M.C.100s began operating between Rome, Algiers and Barcelona. With the beginning of the Second World War, the three aircraft were used as transports between Italy and Libya until May 1941, when they were used on the route between Rome and Sardinia. Two were lost in accidents, and by July 1943 only the prototype remained, its fate being unclear. With the war seen as inevitable, even while the M.C.94 was being designed, Macchi was to turn its attention to other types of aircraft, expanding on its success with the racing seaplanes, which will be described later. • Words: Tim Callaway

Alenia Ae rmacchi 45

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The 1920 Rome­Tokyo record flight As already recorded in this issue, the charismatic figure of poet and writer Gabriele D'Annunzio had been responsible for initiating the remarkable leaflet raid on Vienna during the First World War, personally taking part in the flight. He was to lay the foundation for a second and equally remarkable flight in a speech at Rome's Centocelle airfield in July 1919.

One of the Ansaldo SVA.9s used on the flight. via Luigino Caliaro

After the end of the First World War, Gabriele D'Annunzio was Honorary Comandante of the 87ma Squadriglla, the famous 'La Serenissima' unit that had

flown the raid on Vienna. In July 1919 the squadron was based at Centocelle airfield near Rome, when D'Annunzio addressed the pilots and proposed an even longer-ranged undertaking- a flight

one, as he was already well aware of their skills and courage from the wartime mission. D'Annunzio had fully intended taking part in the flight along with his pilot from the Vienna raid, Captain Natale Palli, but neither airman was to do so. Sadly, Palli had frozen to death in the Alps after crashing at high altitude. By September 1919, D'Annunzio was deeply embroiled in the seizure of the city of Fiume,

now Rijeka, in Croatia. He from Rome to Tokyo. His stated aim for the flight was to "promote and celebrate the name of Italy in that far-off region, and

-------=:=::::====:;:::;;;;"! supported the intention that the

to galvanise the spirits and prestige of the numerous brave Italians living around the Orient". To this end, he enlisted the aid of]apanese fellow poet Haruki-Kichi Shimoi to promote the flightin Japan and assist with organisation there.

His choice of 87ma Squadriglla was a natural

Hand starting the SVA.9s at Seoul. Korea. via Luigino Caliaro

city become part of Italy, due to its population being mostly Italian, and led the occupation forces. This task was to occupy him until December 1920, when his independent forces surrendered, his movement having failed to gain international support outside the city.

His idea for the long-range flight was not to falter from his absence, however. Once the idea for the flight was widely accepted, support grew rapidly. The Italian aviation industry demonstrated a keen interest in the mission,

Lieutenant Arturo Ferrarin photographed in the year of his triumph. 1920. via Luigino Caliaro

judging it an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to foreign markets Italian capabilities and products.

The complex undertaking would be financed by the Italian Government, which made available 20 million Lire, an incredible figure for the period. This would finance the preparation of suppor t airstrips and the placement of spares, maintenance personnel and fuel and oil supplies along the route, as well as provide for the security of the landing sites.

To undertake the flight, the Italian 'Stato Maggiore dell'Aeronautica' (staff of the airforce) decided to use a fleet made up of 15 aircraft, four multi-engined Caproni bombers and 11 Ansaldo SVA9 two-seat reconnaissance machines. The Caproni flight was made up of a single Ca.4 triplane along with a Ca.5 and two Ca.33 biplanes, all of which were three­engined aircraft The original plan called for these aircraft to set off first- between January 8 and February 2, 1920- to be followed later by the much faster and longer-ranged Ansaldo five-ship flight, which would result in all the aircraft arriving at Tokyo at the same time. Four of the 11 SVA.9s were positioned along the route to act as spares, with two more SVA.9s flying ahead of the main formation to act as route-proving and pathfinder aircraft.

As it was to turn out, the two pathfinder aircraft were the only two crews to make it all the way to Tokyo. Weather, rough landing strips and mechanical problems took their toll

A letter of greetings carried on the flight from Rome to Tokyo. via Luigino Caliaro

The four intrepid airmen of the flight during

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the celebrations in Tokyo. via Luigino Caliaro A period map of the route taken by the flight from Rome to Tokyo. via Luigino Caliaro

of the aircraft along the arduous route. It must be remembered that many of the countries and people the aircraft were flying over had never seen an aircraft before; this was entirely new territory for aviation for much of the route with hitherto unknown conditions and the problems these could create. To put the flight in perspective, the epic crossing of the Atlantic by Alcock and Brown had occurred in June 1919, only seven months before. The England to Australia air race of 1919 was still going on, with only two of the six entries completing the flight, the second taking 206 days to cover the distance. The fact the Rome to Tokyo flight was attempted at all in 1920, let alone successfully carried out, is testament to the courage and indomitable spirit of these Italian pioneers.

The two pathfinder SVA.9s were crewed by Lieutenant Arturo Ferrarin with his mechanic Gino Cappannini, and Lieutenant Guido Masiero and mechanic Roberto Maretto. They left Centocelle airfield in Rome on Februar y 14, 1920, the intention being to fly the following route: Centocelle - Gioia del Colle- Valona ­Thessaloniki - lzmir - Aydin - Antalya - Aleppo -Baghdad- Basrah - Bushehr- Bandar Abbas - Chah Bahar- Hyderabad- Karachi - Delhi-Allahabad -Calcutta- Rangoon - Bangkok­Ubon - Hanoi - Canton - Foochow - Shanghai - Tsingtao- Peking - Mukden- Sinuiju- Seoul - Taegu - Osaka- Tokyo.

Problems did not set in for tl1e two aircraft until Delhi, when Ferrarin made a hard landing because he had arrived after dark. While his aircraft was being repaired, Masiero took off for Calcutta but suffered an engine failure on take-off, destroying the SVA.9 without injury to the crew. Once his aircraft was repaired, Ferrarin flew on to Calcutta, while Masiero and Maretto were forced to continue there by train. Later, between Hanoi and Canton, the aircraft were forced to land in

Portuguese Macao to wait for the weather to clear. When it came time to leave Canton, the rough airstrip had suffered from heavy flooding, causing Masiero to crash on take-off, again without injury. With no spare aircraft in Canton, Masiero and Maretto were forced to travel to Shanghai by boat to pick up another of the pre-positioned spare machines.

After arriving in Foochow, Ferrarin was delayed by seven days while he and Cappannini waited for a typhoon to pass, tl1en delayed a further week on being reunited with Masiero and Maretto in Shanghai as the Chinese had organised a seven-day celebration of their arrival. This delay was repeated in Tsing Tao for four days, as the Japanese, who held the city as a mandate from the Treaty of Versailles, also laid on a huge celebration, and withheld the fuel for the next leg of the flight to ensure their guests attended. After skirting yet another typhoon, a further seven days of celebrations on arrival in Peking caused yet another delay before the aircraft were allowed to continue. The perils of pioneer aviation were not all obvious ones!

The huge Caproni Ca.4 triplane bomber. one of which started the flight with the bomber formation. Edifo(s collection

The two aircraft left Osaka at 10.00 on May 31, 1920, landing at the Yoyogi Army Field at Tokyo at 13.30, successfully completing a remarkable voyage. If the celebrations at their interim stops were impressive, this was nothing compared to what awaited the intrepid aviators in Japan. A huge crowd awaited their arrival, and the Emperor ordered no less than 42 days of celebrations to mark the event. For completing all the flying stages between Rome and Tokyo, Ferrarin was awarded the title of Samurai, a singular honour.

The success of the raid represented a great triumph for both the Italian Air Force and the aeronautical industry. The two small biplanes flew for a total of 112 hours, covering 18,000km (11,185 miles) at an average speed of 160km/ h (99.5mph) . As a particularly fitting tribute, in the early 1970s the Italian national airline Alitalia named its second Boeing 747 airliner Arturo Ferrarin, the fi rst being named Neil Armstrong, a pioneer of a similarly difficult and dangerous fligh t. • Words: Luigino Caliaro and Tim Callaway

Alen ia Ae rmacchi 47

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-fighters and Fiat

The Ansaldo A.l bis Balilla had a long career despite its shortcomings

as a fighter. Alenia Aermacchi

'~==;;;;;;., ___ .., TheA.300/6had

Like the other companies at the end of the First World War , the reduction in military orders caused many problems for the Ansaldo company and the Perrone family as they attempted to revert to peacetime production. A financial cris is with its bank in 1919 added to this, but two aircraft designs were to save the company from failure - one a wartime product, the other produced soon after.

a complete internal redesign. Editor's collection

The first of the two aircraft, strictly speaking, belongs in the First World War section, but appears here, the majority of its service history having taken place after

the end of the conflict. The aircraft was the Ansaldo A1 Balilla,

designed by Umberto Savoia, Rodolfo Verduzio and Giuseppe Brezzi, the first two of whom had been responsible for the highly successful Ansaldo SVA series.

Brezzi began to revise the SVA5 design in an attempt to produce a successful fighter, something the SVA had never really been.

The lower wing was increased in span and chord, and the interplane struts revised to give greater stiffness to the wings. One interesting feature was the addition of a jettisonable main fuel tank to reduce the risk of fire. On activating a lever in the cockpit, the tank was dropped through a hatch in the bottom of the fuselage.

The prototype was finished in July 1917 and delivered to the Grosseto airfield for testing. Problems led to extensive testing and modification work, including the enlargement of the wings and rudder, so it was not until December that the type was accepted.

48 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

The modified aircraft - known as the A1bis- was sent to the 91st Squadriglia for service trials. These revealed the type was not as manoeuvrable or easy to fly as the fighters then in service, but was faster.

Production did not begin until July 1918, with 100 being ordered and supplied to the 70th, 74th, 241st and 404th Squadriglia, where they were mostly used for local air defence rather than front line missions.

Despite its lacklustre performance, 200 A1s were delivered by the war's end, 47 of which remained in service with training squadrons after the conflict.

ANSALDO A.300 VARIANTS

-A.300 - prototypes and test aircraft A.300/2 - initial production version

ordered by Italy. 70 built under licence in Poland

A.300/3- three-seat reconnaissance version. about 90 built for Italy. Spain. Belgium. Russia and Poland

A.300/4- definitive production version. 700 built from 1923. mostly for Italy. with 30 exported to Poland and a small number to Turkey

A.300/5- prototype with a French 450hp Lorraine 1 2 engine. not adopted

A.300/6- a major internal redesign of the A.300/4. improving performance with a lighter structure

A.300C - prototype airliner with a four-seater cabin filling the interplane space

A.300T - prototype civilian version. only one built

A.400 - prototype of upgraded version abandoned after the Fiat takeover

An early A.300. one of the most produced but little-known aircraft of the period. Alenia Aermacchi

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An Ansaldo A.1 bis restored to pristine condition by the Gruppo Amici Velivoli Storici (GAVS) in Turin. Alenia Aermacchi

In 1919, a Polish Army commission under General Katkovski visited the Ansaldo works in Turin -they were touring Europe to source equipment for use in their war against the Red Army in the Ukraine.

Ten A.1bis were ordered, arriving in Warsaw in January 1920, followed by an additional 25 ordered later that year. Agreement was reached for the Lublin factory in Poland to produce 100 of the A.1bis under licence, but by 1925 only 57 aircraft had been built and production was terminated after a number of accidents were caused by structural failure.

By 1927, the A.1bis had been replaced by the French SPAD 51 CL The aircraft was also supplied to the other side in this conflict, the Red Army ordering 30, of which only 18 were delivered in April1922.

The aircraft were ordered and supplied without weapons, the intention being to fit Russian guns and synchronisation equipment. These would not fit the aircraft, so kits were ordered which meant the Soviet A.1bis were not armed until 1926, by which time there were only 12 left. They began operations as unarmed reconnaissance machines in the

Kharkov region, their entire ser vice life being spent in the Black Sea area until they were retired in mid-1928.

One other country in the region bought the type - Latvia, which ordered 13 in 1921. These remained in service until the early 1930s when a lack of spare parts forced their withdrawal. Prior to this, in 1919, six aircraft were used on a tour of North America in an attempt to further sales, with four more flying as a specially marked aerobatic team in a tour of South America, but only one aircraft was bought by the Mexican Air Force in 1920. The development of the SVA and A.1 also led to the one of the most produced aircraft of the period, the Ansaldo A.300, which first flew in early 1919. Unlike the A.1, the A.300 was easy to fly and manoeuvrable, powered by a 230hp FiatA.12bis V12 engine which gave it a maximum speed of 300kph (186mph) . Originally intended as a two-seat light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, around 850 were to be built between 1920 and 1929, serving in a variety of air forces in these roles and as a fighter, transport and trainer. The A.300 was built in nine models, as listed here. >-

The A.300T c ivil transport. only one of which was built. Alenia Aermacchi

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An AC.2 on display in the superb Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle -a must see for any aviation enthusiast. Constance Redgrave

The A.300/ 4 became the backbone of the newly formed Regia Aeronautica's reconnaissance force, operating throughout Italy and seeing operational service in Libya and Eritrea. A.300s were built for Spain, Belgium, Turkey and Poland, with between 15 and 20 A.300/3s delivered to the Red Army Air Force in Russia.

In 1922, Ansaldo began building the AC.2, followed in 1924 by the AC.3, which were licence-built versions of the French Oewotine 0.1 and 0.9 fighters.

The first AC.1 was a direct copy of the 0.1 design, which was used as a basis to produce the slightly smaller AC.2 derivative. This was a single-seat parasol-winged fighter powered by a 300hp Hispano-Suiza HS 42 V8 engine -112 were built and delivered to the Regia

Aeronautica in 1925. A s ingle AC.4 was built after this, powered by the 410hp FiatA.20 engine, but was not developed.

Oewotine then developed the 0.9, powered by a 420hp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter IV nine­cylinder radial, which was not taken up in France, but 150 were built by Ansaldo as the AC.3. These were to remain in service with Regia Aeronautica in the ground attack role until1938. Utilising the Oewotine designs, Ansaldo began developing a two-seat version of the parasol fighter - the A.115, with a modified wing. Two versions were built- the A.115 and A.115bis- but were not put into production. In 1925, two prototypes of an improved design­the A.120 and the A.120bis- were flight-tested, using the Lorraine 120b and the Fiat A.20A engines, respectively.

However, in 1926, Ansaldo's aviation interests were sold to Fiat, which renamed the company Aeronautica d'Italia and used the factory as part of its aircraft division. Fiat Avio concentrated on the production of its excellent aero engines.

Under the new management, the A.120 Ady was produced, powered by a 550hp Fiat A.22T Altogether, 57 were built, mostly for the Regia Aeronautica, but two were sold to Austria and a further 12 to Lithuania, which used the aircraft until1940.

An upgraded version of the aircraft, with a new radiator and an improved rear cockpit, was known as the A.120R, six of which were built for Austria. Altogether, 77 A.120s were built, and they were the last aircraft to carry the Ansaldo name. • Words: Titn Callaway

The Ansaldo A.l20 Ady was the last type to carry the manufacturer's name. Editor's collection

50 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

The Ro.44 was a single-seat ftoatplane fighter. Editor's collection

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Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali - IMAM In 1935 and 1936, the aviation interests of the Romeo holding company - OFM and IAR - had been sold to Societa Italiana Ernesto Breda, more commonly known simply as Breda. These two companies were consolidated in October 1936 into the Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali (IMAM), but continued producing aircraft with the original Ro designation prefix.

A fter the takeover by Breda, Giovanni Galasso remained as the head of the design department in Naples, and continued developing the

aircraft he had formerly produced for Romeo.

~,;,;;;;;..... ___ --; The first prototype of the Ro.Sl . larger brethren, being an extremely lightweight air frame to achieve the required performance.

The first of these was the IMAM Ro.45, a developed version of the two-seat Ro.37 reconnaissance biplane with an 820hp Isotta Fraschini Asso XI.RC40 engine. This first flew on December 10, 1935 and had a maximum speed of 350kph (218mph), only 20kph faster than the Ro.37, which was not seen as a significant performance increase so it remained a prototype only.

The second design was also modified from an existing type; the Ro.44 single-seat floatplane fighter being developed from the Ro.43 two-seat catapult launched seaplane. The Ro.44 was intended to equip the capital ships of the Italian Navy, acting as a catapult­launched fighter to operate against spotter or reconnaissance aircraft at sea. The design itself was essentially an Ro.43 with the rear cockpit removed, the fin and rudder modified, and a pair of Bred a 12. 7mm machine guns fi tted in the nose. As such, it suffered from all the structural damage problems that beset its

Test pilot Nicolo Lana first flew the prototype in October 1936, with 51 being ordered by the Air Ministry to equip the 88th Maritime Fighter Group. This order was later reduced to 35 aircraft which were produced in two batches, starting in February 1937. Only 161 Squadriglia was using the Ro.44 when the Second World War star ted, the aircraft taking part in strafing missions over Crete and in patrols over the Aegean Sea. They were quickly relegated to seaplane training schools as their relative fragility and maximum speed of only 316kph (196mph) made them vulnerable to more modern fighters. In 1936, Giovanni Galasso began work on his first monoplane design - another fighter aircraft, the IMAM Ro.51. This was in response to an Air Minis try requirement of that year for a new fighter for the Regia Aeronautica, which included monoplane in the specification for the first time.

The initial prototype had a fixed undercarriage and first flew in 1937, powered by an 828hp Fiat A.74 14 cylinder radial engine that gave it a maximum speed of

with the sma ll fin and rudder and fixed undercarriage. Editor's

489kph (304mph) . In comparative trials against the excellent Fiat G.50 and Macchi C.200, the Ro.5l's performance was found to be lacking. The small fin and rudder were also found to give the aircraft a lack of directional stability so the prototype was returned to the company for modification.

A second prototype, the Ro.51/ 1 was produced with a retractable undercarriage, but by this time the shortcomings of the design were obvious. In an attempt to replace their own Ro.44 Iloatplane fighter with a more modern type, the second prototype was modified to have a single central float with wingtip outriggers. However, during trials on Lake Bracciano, the left wing float collapsed, dragging the aircraft into the water where it sank.

With so many other successful designs competing for the fighter competition, the Ro.51 was abandoned, the company moving on to more advanced designs that would come to fruition during the Second World War. • Words: Tim Callaway

Alen ia Ae rmacchi 51

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e Great The Schneider Trophy

ce

The Schneider Trophy was designed by E Garbard and represents the Spirit of Flight kissing the waves. Trounce

When Jacques Schneider announced his proposal for an international seaplane competition to be called the Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, he could have had little idea of what he was starting. The competition was aimed at stimulating growth and development in civil aviation, and was the seaplane equivalent of the Gordon Bennett Cup for landplanes. Although the races themselves became more about speed than technical innovation, Schneider was to fire the competitive spirits of many countries with his contest, which would produce some astounding aircraft.

Jacques Schneider was the son of a French industrialist and armaments manufacturer who had become a successful financier and businessman. He was also a keen

balloonist and had set several records in the pursuit of his interest. On witnessing the demonstration flights of Wilbur Wright at Le Mans in 1908, he became equally interested in heavier than air flight, supporting competitions and record breaking flights since a serious accident prevented him from continuing flying himself. In 1912, Schneider was a race referee at the Monaco meeting, and noticed that seaplanes were far behind land planes in development. His own experience with hydroplane aviation had led him to believe that seaplanes were the key to the future of commercial aviation, as they

could reach any major city with a por t, river or harbour without the expense of constructing airfields.

He decided to organise an international competition to encourage development of this form of aircraft, announcing the details at the Aeroclub de France on December 5, 1912. The competition rules s tated the participants had to fly at least 280km (17 4 miles) over a triangular course, a tremendous distance at the time and a real test of reliability. They would also have to successfully complete a two and a half mile waterborne navigation test. In the 1921 competition, the flying course was increased to 350km (217 miles) with only one take off allowed. After that year the entries also had to moor on the water without a crew for six hours, before flying the course with the weight of whatever water had leaked

52 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

aboard. In 1928, given the incredible challenge to aircraft designers the competition represented, it was decided to hold the contest every two years to give more time for development.

The prize would be 25,000 gold francs along with a beautiful trophy of the same value. Any country winning the event three times within five years would win the trophy outright for their national aero club. The competition would be refereed by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) and the aero club of the host nation. Finally, the winning nation would host the following year's contest. The Schneider Trophy as it came to be known soon became one of the most prestigious events in aviation, attracting entries from major companies around the world.

French pilot Maurice Prevost won the 1913 event in a Deperdussin seaplane at an average speed of 73.56kph (45.71 mph). Edito(s collection

EARLY RACES The first contest was held on April16, 1913, and consisted of 28 laps of a 10km (6.2 mile) course at Monaco. It was won by French pilot Maurice Prevost in a Deperdussin seaplane at an average speed of 73.56kph (45.71mph) . There were only three other entrants, none of whom finished the entire course. Englishman Howard Pixton won the second contest on April20, 1914, again at Monaco, flying a Sopwith Schneider at an average speed of 139.74kph (86.83mph).

The First World War meant that the contest was not run again until September 10, 1919, at Bournemouth in England. Here, 10 laps were flown of a 37km (23 mile) course, or at least that was the idea. Poor

INTER-WAR YEARS

A Macchi M.12 was entered into the 1920 race. but suffered engine problems. Edito(s collection

organisation and heavy coastal fog played havoc with the entrants, the The Macchi M.19 was intended to enter the 1920 race but a hull Supermarine Sea Lion of Vincent Nicholl sinking after colliding with a redesign meant it did not compete until 1921 . Edito(s collection floating object in the fog. Only one aircraft completed 10 laps, the Savoia S.13 of Sergeant Guido J annello of Italy who recorded an average speed of 176.66kph (109. 77mph) . However, judges decreed thatjannello did not pass one of the markers, so he was disqualified, but because of the conditions and Jannello's superb effort, Italy was to host the 1920 race at Venice.

ENTERTHE MACCHIS The 1920 Schneider Trophy was held between September 19 and 21, with the flying section of the contest taking place over 10 laps of a 37.5km (23.3 mile) course like the earlier British event. The French entered a single Nieuport-Delage NiD.29G, the Italians entered aircraft from two manufacturers. The first were a pair from Savoia, an S-12bis and an S-19, the former, flown by Luigi Bologna, winning the contest at an average speed of 172.6kph (107.2mph). The other was the first Macchi aircraft entered in the event, an M.12. As already mentioned, the M.12 was a three seat flying boat bomber built for the Italian Navy. The fuselage was wider than previous Macchi designs, and tapered back

Giovanni di Briganti flew a Macchi M.7bis to victory in the 1921 contest. Edito(s collection

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into a twin boom rear fuselage, each with a single fin, supporting the tailplane that ran between them.

Powered by a 450hp Ansaldo 4.£.28, the M.12 had a maximum speed of 190kph (118mph) which would have been sufficient to win, but the aircraft failed to complete the course due to engine problems. What made this particular race more interesting was the addition of a new rule. In order to better meet Jacques Schneider's original ambition of promoting the development of passenger seaplanes, all the entries were required to carry 300kg (660lb) of ballast to represent the weight of passengers.

The Italian designs being flying boats rather than floatplanes could carry this with ease, but the French entry, which was essentially a fighter on floats, had more difficulty in loading the weight. In the event, the French entry did not fly, leaving the field clear for an Italian victory.

The fact that the 1920 race was to be held in Italy had spurred Macchi to design new seaplanes for the competition, as the international stage the event represented was seen as an ideal opportunity to advertise its aircraft. The new ballast rule also favoured the firm's flying boat approach so it had begun

work on Alessandro Tonini's Macchi M.19, designed for the 1920 contest. After testing, a hull and rudder redesign necessitated by the powerful torque force from the engine meant it had not been ready to take part. It was finished in time for the 1921 event, again at Venice, but by the time the contest was announced the weight rule had been relaxed as it was seen as too limiting.

There were two new r ules introduced in 1921, the already mentioned six hour mooring requirement and a 5000 franc entry fee to discourage unrealistic entries. The M.19 joined a field of four Macchi aircraft, the other three being a pair of Macchi M.7bis's and an M.18. Two Savoia aircraft, the S.21 and S.22 were also entered, and a French Nieuport-Delage NiD-29SHV completed the field. The race took place between August 6 and 7, 1921, and was flown over 16laps of a 24.6km (15.28 miles) course. The Macchi M.19 was a single seat s ingle engined flying boat with a 650hp Fiat A.14 V12 engine mounted in the upper wing.

The tremendous power of this engine had already proved to be a double edged sword, and so it proved to be in the contest. On lap 12, the crankshaft broke , fracturing the fuel line and setting the aircraft on fire, pilot

Arturo Zanetti managing a safe landing on the water. Piero Corgnolino in a Macchi M.7bis also was forced to retire on his last lap, but the second aircraft flown by Giovanni di Briganti successfully completed the course at an impressive speed of 189.66kph (117.85mph). With only one more victory the trophy would permanently belong to Italy.

The 1922 competition was held on August 10 to 12 in Naples, and flown over 13 laps of a 28.5km (17.7 mile) course. This saw the entry of another new aircraft from Macchi, the M.17. Again an Alessandro Tonini design, the single seat M.l7 resembled a modified M.7 with a 260hp Isotta-Fraschini V6 mounted as a pusher in the centre section of the top wing. Two M.l7s were built, flown in the contest by Piero Corgnolino and Arturo Zanetti who finished in fourth and third position respectively, Zanetti achieving a speed of 213.63kph (132. 75mph).

Savoia had entered the S.51, an extremely streamlined design which was flown to second place by Alessandro Passaleva but was beaten by only by 5kph (3.1mph) by Captain Henry Biard in the British Supermarine Sea Lion 11 who achieved 234.51kph (145.72mph).

The two Macchi M.33s were powered by used Curtiss D-12 engines from the 1923 race. which proved unreliable but Giovanni de Briganti managed to place third. Alenia Aermacchi

The Macchi M.39 of 1926 was powered by the 31.4 litre Fiat AS.2 V12 engine. Alenia Aermacchi

54 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

With the British victory, the 1923 competition was held at Cowes on the Isle of Wight over September 27 and 28. The course laid out was much longer at 68.9 km (42.9 miles) , over which five laps had to be flown. With fewer turns to be flown, this course favoured straight line speed. Italy did not furnish an entry in this year, developing a longer term approach to the competition by developing completely new aircraft. The British and French entries were outclassed by a new contender, the United States, who entered a pair of Curtiss CR-3 biplane floatplanes. Lieutenant David Rittenhouse of the US Navy won comfortably at a speed of 285.29kph (177.27mph), his team mate, Lieutenant Rutledge Irvine, coming a clear second. The appearance of these highly specialised racing aircraft was to change the nature of the event, which was to become more about speed than any other factor from this point on. This meant that the concentrated developments associated with the event also changed, with more emphasis being placed on the most aerodynamically efficient air frame and the most powerful yet reliable engines. The load lifting and commercial aspects of the original intent were subsumed by the quest for sheer performance.

Note must be made of the 1924 event, as France, Italy and Britain were unable to complete their new aircraft in time. Instead of taking a cer tain and easy victory, the US sportingly declared the contest void for that year, preferring to postpone the competition to between October 23 and 26, 1925.

NEW APPROACHES For the 1925 competition, Macchi designed a brand new aircraft, the M.33, a departure from the former biplane designs. The sleek hulled fuselage tapered into an elegant rearward swept fin that supported the tailplane. The monoplane wing was mounted on the top of the hull, low to the water so requiring only shor t support struts to the outrigger floats. The engine was mounted in a

pod on struts above the forward edge of the centre section, below which the cockpit was positioned at the centre of gravity and lift, reducing the stresses on the pilot. The engine proved to be the M.33's undoing. The entire effort to enter the race was privately financed by Macchi, little support was forthcoming from the Italian Ministry of Aviation which was limited by its available budget.

There was also a shortage of lightweight and powerful racing engines in Italy, which meant the two M.33s built were powered by used Curtiss D-12 engines from the 1923 race. These were supplied by the US through the Ministry of Aviation, the only contribution it could make. Although their rated power was 507hp, these proved unreliable and were fitted with old fashioned flat plate radiators instead of the conformal surface radiators of the newer engines. The problems of high drag and unreliable low power were added to with the discovery of wing flutter on the M.33 at high speed. At Chesapeake Bay, a course of 50km (31 miles) had been laid out, the competitors needing to complete seven laps.

The fi rst M.33, flown by Riccardo Morselli, suffered engine ignition problems, and was unable to compete. The second aircraft was flown by Giovanni de Briganti, managed to place third at an average speed of 271.08kph (168.44mph) . He achieved this even after making an error on the course which cost him time, and never using full power to conserve his engine and prevent flutter. Second was Britain's Huber t Broad in the Gloster Ill, but the contest was won by Lieutenant James Doolittle at an average speed of 374.28kph (232.57mph) in the Curtiss R3C-2 floatplane. One more victory and the trophy would be retained by the Americans.

Most importantly this was to be the last biplane to win at the event. Supermarine had entered the S.4, and despite crashing during testing, pilot Henry Biard being rescued, it was obviously the shape of things to come for the development of the Schneider aircraft.

INTER-WAR YEARS

Arturo Ferrarin in the cockpit of one of the training M.39s with the longer wing. Alenia Aermacchi

Handling the racing seaplanes called for dedicated groundcrew, as these men recover Arturo Ferrarin's Macchi M.39. Alenia Aerma cchi

This view of the Macchi M.39 clearly shows the conformal radiators built into the upper surface of the wing. Alenia Aerma cchi

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One of the three Macchi M.52 on its launching dolly. Alenia Aermacchi Fine tuning the Macchi M.52s just prior to the 1927 Venice race.

engine, the failure of which caused all three to retire from the 1927 race. Alenia Aermacchi

Alenia Aermacchi

A shot of the Macchi M.52 in

flight showing the swept wing. Alenia

Aermacchi

The Macchi M.52 of 1927 had a shorter slightly swept wing and was lighter than the M.39. Alenia Aermacchi

The Fiat AS.3 engine of a Macchi M.52 undergoes servicing on the dockside. Alenia Aermacchi

CASTOLDI REPONDS Though the Macchi M.33 had proved disappointing, there were many valuable lessons learned from the aircraft which would not be wasted. The charismatic Mario Castoldi had visited the race in 1925 and had studied the entries with his engineers eye. As a result, on his return to Italy he began work on the next Macchi racing design, the M.39. This was as much a leap forward over the M.33 as that aircraft was over the M.7, it was a monoplane with minimum external bracing, with a close cowled nose mounted engine and twin floats. The radiators were flush to the wing surface and the floats had two tasks in addition to floatation; they contained the fuel tanks and also produced unequal amounts of buoyancy to help overcome the massive torque forces of the engine on take off.

As the course required only left turns, the left wing was slightly longer than the right, to

facilitate tight left turns and again help overcome the torque forces. To power the M.39, Castoldi formed a close working relationship with engine designer Tranquillo Zerbi, a collaboration that was to last for many years, despite the fact that Zerbi worked for Macchi's rival company Fiat. Zerbi designed the 31.4 litre Fiat AS.2 V12 engine to meet Castoldi's needs, which produced a tremendous 800hp. Small, lightweight and superbly streamlined, the M.39 design was completed in April1926 and five were built in two versions. The fi rst two were trainers, which had a longer wing and derated 600hp version of the engine to ease pilots into the tricky handling of this thoroughbred, test pilot Romeo Sartori making the first flight on August 30.

On September 21, Vittorio Centurione was making his first flight in the M.39 from Lake Varese when he crashed, sinking into the lake. Centurione's place in the team was taken

56 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

by Arturo Ferrarin, the man who had lead the Rome to Tokyo flight in 1920, despite him having no prior experience on seaplanes. He was joined by two other pilots new to the event, Adriano Bacula and Mario de Bernardi. The race took place over seven laps of a 50km (31 miles) course at Hampton Roads in Virginia on November 12 and 13. This was a competition between the US and Italy, the new British aircraft still being under development and not ready for the race.

The American entries were based on the winning air frames of the previous year, re­engined and upgraded versions of the Curtiss biplane designs, now known as the R3C-3 and R3C-4. Considering the quantum leap in propulsion and aerodynamics invested in the M.39, these were to prove insufficient to the t:1sk. Arturo Ferrarin suffered a burst coolant pipe on the fourth lap, forcing his retirement. Adriano Bacula completed the course at an average speed of 350.846kph (218.006mph),

The 1929 Macchi M.67 a lso featured a three bladed propeller. Alenia Aermacchi

only to see the Curtiss R3C-2 of Christian Schilt beat J ames Doolittle's record of the previous year and go 22kph (13mph) faster.

Mario de Bernardi took to the course in Macchi M.39 MM76, and was forced to climb during his run to cool his overheating engine. Nevertheless, de Bernardi went faster still, comfortably winning the 1926 event at an average speed of396.69kph (246.49mph). The Macchi team had won in a year they absolutely had too, or the trophy would have been won outright by the US. One wonderful piece of company legend is that the team celebrated that night with oysters and Italian wine, the wine having been smuggled into the country in one of the spare float's fuel tanks, as prohibition was still in force in the United States.

With some of the overheating problems addressed, de Bernardi took to the air over Hampton Roads on last time on November 17, again in MM76, and set a new world speed record of 416.618kph (258.874mph) over a 3km (1.9 mile) course, in front of international judges from the FAI. This was a tremendous success, and raised the hopes for the 1927 contest

ENGINE PROBLEMS The 1927 Schneider race returned to Venice, scheduled for September 25 and 26. This left the Macchi and Fiat design teams very little time to solve all the problems of the M.39 and AS.2 engine to produce another winning aircraft. With budgets tight, despite more government interest in the event, the Macchi

M.52 for 1927 was very much a modified M.39. The Fiat AS.3 had an increased displacement of 34.6 litres, but was the same height as the AS.2, achieved by shortening the connecting rods and using new mateiials to keep the weight and size within limits. The additional 200hp this engine produced was achieved at a weight gain of only 15kg (33lb) over the earlier type. Castoldi meanwhile had worked wonders on the M.39 air frame, shortening and sweeping the wing and managing to shave 60kg (132lb) off the take off weight despite the heavier engine. Three Macchi M.52s were built, all entered in the event which again was flown over seven laps of a 50km (31 miles) course. 1l1e event had become one of national piide by this time, but the support and expectations of the public and governments were a double edged sword, and the team found itself in the g lare of a media spotlight.

The Ameiican entry of the specially prepared Kirkham WiUiams racer was not completed in time, so again, the contest was a two horse race. The British entry of two Supermarine S.5s and a Gloster IVB were supported by a Gloster IVA and Short Crusader as the reserve aircraft These had full government support through the formation of the RAF's High Speed Flight and two years to prepare and test prior to the race. Massive publicity and such facilities as reduced rail fares meant that on the day nearly 250,000 spectators were present, so the pressure on the Italian team was unimaginable.

lNTER-WARYEARS

The three banks of six cylinders of the lsotta­Fraschini Asso 1 000 W18 engine gave the nose of the Macchi M.67 a distinctive shape. Alenia Aermacchi

As it turned out, the short development time of the engine was to cause all three of the M.52s to fail to complete the course. Arturo Ferrarin was forced to land off his first lap with engine problems, Mario de Bernardi off his second. Poor Frederico Guazetti frustratingly made a good showing before being forced out on the very last lap. The Supermarine S.5 of Sidney Webster won with an average speed of 453.28kph (281.66mph) . This was a disaster for the Italians, especially on their home g round, and arguments flared as engine and air frame manufacturers defended themselves against some ver y unfair criticism.

The new Under Secretary for Aviation, Italo Balbo, formed the Reparto Alta Velocita (RA V or High Speed Unit) of the Regia Aeronautica to take responsibility for future events away from the manufacturers, and the arguments finally ceased. From the controversy and publicity surrounding this event, several beneficial effects were to emerge. Firstly, the performance of the racing seaplanes had at last outstripped that of land planes, boosting both the interest in and prestige of the competition. Secondly, the Schneider T rophy would be held every two years from this point on to allow teams a more realistic time to prepare. Sadly, the main reason for this was that in 1928, Jacques Schneider died, so the event was cancelled. His dream did not, as the race would continue. His wish to develop seaplanes and

Two of the Macchi M.52s on the launching vessel at the 1927 Venice race.

INTER-WAR YEARS

flying boats had been realised, perhaps not in the way he imagined, but the contribution his races made to the development of aviation cannot be underestimated.

THE M.52R AND M.67 To demonstrate the true abilities of the M.52, on November 4, 1927, Mario de Bernardi set a new world speed record of 479.3kph (297.8mph) over a 3km (1.9 mile) course at Venice. He bettered this on March 30, 1928, flying a modified aircraft known as the M.52R. becoming the first person to exceed 500kph (300mph) with a new record of 512.776kph (318.624mph). The M.52R had smaller, more streamlined floats and other aerodynamic improvements, as well as being further reduced in weight. Encouraged by these successes, Castoldi returned to the drawing board to produce the Macchi M.67, which returned to the straight wing layout of the M.39, but included all the lessons from the M.52 and M.52R. The forward fuselage was the major change to the structure, strengthened and modified to take the three banks of six cylinders of the Isotta-Fraschini Asso 1000 W18 engine. This was a 57.26 litre engine that produced 1798hp, fitted with a three bladed propeller to absorb the power. Fitting it into the fuselage

in an aerodynamically efficient manner was to tax Castoldi's design skills, but what emerged was surpris ingly elegant. To assist with controlling the massive torque forces of this powerplant, the fuel carried in the floats was split unevenly between them. This meant that the take off swing was reduced but did mean that once airborne, the roll trim required to correct the asymmetric weight was considerable.

There were considerable technical problems with the Asso 1000 engine, fires, smoke and even explosions were not uncommon. The first of three M.67s built made its first flight on July 10, 1929, but tragedy was to occur only a month later. Captain Giuseppe Motta was making a high speed trial during which he reached 583kph (362mph) when the aircraft suddenly departed from controlled flight and crashed into Lake Garda where the test programme was being conducted. Captain Motta was killed and the M.67 was destroyed, with only a month to go before the race.

The Italian government contacted the Royal Aero Club, hosts of the 1929 event, and requested a delay to allow the technical difficulties to be overcome with the engines and aircraft, but this was declined as the organisation and facilities were all in place. It

is worth noting that while the involvement of the Italian government and the Regia Aeronautica had positive effects, there was also a downside. This was the decision to begin development of four separate seaplane concepts for the 1929 contest. This can be seen as a desire to spread the risk across a number of possible aircraft, then being able to pick the most promising from a range of designs. There is also an argument that industry pressed for this decision, a number of companies wanting to represent their country in the prestige event, which some saw as an unfair Macchi monopoly. What the decision actually achieved was to dilute the engineering effort and defocus the attention being paid to making a viable race entry.

Other than the Macchl M.67 there were three other aircraft being developed for the 1929 event. The first of these was one of the strangest aircraft ever proposed for the contest, the Piaggio-Pegna Pc.7. This had dual propulsion and no floats, sitting wing deep in the water when afloat. The 1000hp Isotta Fraschini AS.S engine powered two propulsion systems through clutched gearboxes. The pilot would engage a water propeller under the tailplane to accelerate, a pair of sharply angled hydroplanes lifting the nose. As the correct speed was reached for the air propeller to clear

the water, a clutch engaged it, disengaging the water propeller at the same time. The aircraft then accelerated to take off, because it was so clean and free of floats it was estimated to be capable of extremely high speed.

RAV pilot Warrant Officer Tomasso Dal Molin tested the aircraft on Lake Garda in 1929. The clutches never worked satisfactorily and the Pc. 7 never actually managed to become airborne, in fact several pilots refused to fly it. Plans to build a second aircraft were abandoned in 1930. Also under development was the Savoia S.65, a twin engined design. This was powered by two 1000hp Isotta Fraschini Asso 750 engines mounted at either end of the central fuselage, one pulling, one pushing, with the tailplane mounted on twin booms that led back

from the wings. The pilot sat between the two engines over the wing centre section.

The S.65 was not selected to take part in the race due to mechanical problems, then during testing at Lake Garda in 1930, the aircraft crashed, killing Tomasso Dal Molin. Lastly, Fiat had decided it no longer wished to just build the engines for the Schneider Trophy races, so it produced the Fiat C.29. This was designed by Celestino Rosatelli to be as light as possible and was powered by the 1050hp Fiat AS.5 V12 engine. The aircraft revealed some highly unstable characteristics on the water during testing under RAV commander Mario Bernasconi. TI1e floats were modified with the step being moved, but this first C.29 was lost when landing on Lake

A Macchi M.67 flies past the massive crowd on the south coast of England. Alenia Aermacchi

Garda on June 12, 1929. Fortunately the pilot, Fransesco Agello, was rescued unhurt from this incident.

The second aircraft was built with a larger tailplane and modified floats to improve its stability, but testing showed the aircraft to be slower than expected. On August 12 on its third attempt to take off on a demonstration flight, it sank, Agello, the pilot, again managing to escape. A third C.29 was built on the orders of Italo Balbo, as a spare aircraft for the 1929 race team. It was taken to the UK without being flown, and took no part in the competition. Today it is on display in the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle on Lake Bracciano.

ENGINE PROBLEMS AGAIN With the other three aircraft being unready or unsuitable for the competition, the Italian 1929 team was equipped with the two remaining M.67s and the M.52R from the previous year. A great many questions still remained about the Asso 1000 engine, a Jack of confidence in the powerplant being underlined by Italo Balbo's announcement that the team was only going to England as "a gesture of chivalrous sportsmanship". Mario Castoldi was typically more forthright, claiming the W18 engine exhibited more donkey power than horsepower. He had never wanted the underdeveloped and under tested Asso 1000 engine in the first place, the choice being forced by the Air Ministry which had divided engine development in the same way it had the aircraft.

The race was held on September 6 and 7 at RAF Calshot on the Solent, near Portsmouth. Again it was flown over the now standard seven laps of a 50km (31 miles) course, this time a trapezoid rather than the more common triangle. Like the previous year, the event was a two horse race between Britain and Italy. The three French aircraft were not ready in time, nor was th e American Mercury NR-1E. Germany had expressed an interest, but this had not progressed beyond a model.

The British entry matched the Italian team rather well, consisting as it did of two of the new Supermarine S.6s along with the previous year's S.5. The superb weather attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the south coast to witness the spectacle, the area of Southsea beach being filled with spectators as far as Calshot Castle. Some estimates say over one million people watched the race, such was the new prestige of the contest.

Alenia Ae rmacchi 59

INTER-WAR YEARS

The secret to the stability and performa nce of the Macchi MC.72. the contra-rotating p ropellers. Alenia Aermacchi

The M.67s did not fare well in the race, due exclusively to the engines. Lieutenant Remo Cadringher made a high speed start, completing one lap at a speed of 457kph (284mph). During this, his cockpit filled with smoke and fumes, so he landed as he was unable to see the course or fly safely as it was difficult to breathe. The second aircraft was flown by Lieutenant Giovanni Monti, who completed the first lap at 485.5kph (301.7mph) before his radiator burst, the steam and hot water scalding him badly on the legs, arms and shoulders . Monti landed immediately and was rushed to hospital to be treated for his painful burns. That left the older M.52R, being flown by Warrant Officer Tomasso Dal Molin who made a tremendous effort, completing the course at an average speed of 457.38kph (284.203mph). This was sufficient for second place, the event being won by Richard Waghorn in the Supermarine S.6 at 528.89kph (328.64mph).

THE LAST RACE The Royal Aero Club announced that the 1931 competition would be held on September 12 and 13, again based at RAF Calshot and flown

Warrant Officer Francesco Agello is given a hero's welcome by the other members of the RAV after _ -? his record breaking flight. Alenia Aermacchi ("-

over seven laps of a 50krn (31 miles) course, this time a new triangular one. Castoldi began work on what was to be the last of his racing seaplanes, the Macchi MC.72. Unlike the multiple designs of the 1929 contest, the Air Ministry asked Macchi to produce the only Italian entry for 1931, and gave Castoldi permission to select his own engine.

Despite the friction between the two companies at director level, Castoldi re­established contact with Fiat's engine designer Tranquillo Zerbi and they began collaborating again on the new aircraft. The aircraft was conventional enough for the time, being a twin-float monoplane with conformal oil and water radiators on the wings, fuselage and floats. It was Zerbi's engine and the way Castoldi designed the majority of the fuselage around it that was unusual. The new aircraft needed at least 2300hp, preferably 2800, with the minimum of frontal area. Zerbi's most powerful engine up to then was the 1000hp Fiat AS.5 V12 of 1929, which was used as the starting point of the development. The new engine began as a pair of AS.5s mounted in tandem driving two contra-rotating propellers. The rear engine drove the front propeller via a

Tuning and readying the MC.72 for the world speed record attempt in 1933 a t Lake Garda . Alenia Aermacchi

reduction gearbox, the front engine driving the rear propeller via a tubular shaft through which the shaft from the rear engine passed. A supercharger mounted aft of the engines boosted the fuel/air mixture into a manifold that ran centrally between the cylinder banks of both engines. In this manner, Zerbi constructed what was in effect a 50.25 litre V24 engine of only 930kg (2050lb), which was given the designation AS.6 and had 3100hp.

At a stroke, the new engine had cured the one major handling problem of racing seaplanes, the reaction to the torque forces produced by the propellers. With a contra­rotating unit, there were no torque forces to be overcome. Castoldi's slim and elegant MC.72 design first flew with the AS.6 engine in July 1931, a thorough test programme beginning at the RAV soon after. Sadly, during a test flight on August 2 in which the MC.72 reached over 600kph (375mph) for the first time, Lieutenant Giovanni Monti was killed in a crash. Altogether, five MC.72s were built with two purposes in mind, the first being to win the Schneider Trophy, the second being to set a new world speed record.

The first ambition was thwarted by gas flow and backfiring engine problems which kept the MC.72 out of the 1931 race. A second MC.72 was lost in test flying on September 10 just before the race, Flying Officer Stanislao Bellini being killed when the aircraft exploded in mid­air. Since the French Bernard, Dewotine and Nieuport aircraft were not ready either, and neither the Americans nor Germans produced an entry, this meant the British team was unopposed. The British government had withdrawn support to the competition, but a donation of £100,000 from Lady Lucy Houston enabled Supermarine to field the S.6B.

An estimated half a million people flocked to the south coast to see John Booth man complete the course at an average speed of 547.31kph (340.09mph). The third win in a row won the trophy outright for Britain, albeit unopposed, for which the British were harshly criticised internationally. However, the escalating costs in both lives and financial terms made the end of the competition something of a relief to all concerned.

60 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

Governments were becoming more interested in landplane developments in aviation as the political situation in Europe became increasingly polarised.

The second ambition for the MC.72, to capture the world speed record, became a personal interest of the new leader of the Italian Government, Benito Mussolini. He provided state funds in order to keep the programme going even after the last Schneider contest. Fiat continued to work on the engine, consulting British fuel and gas flow expert Air Commodore Rod Banks to

solve the backfiring problems once and for all. On AprillO, 1933, Warrant Officer Francesco Agello flew three passes over a measured course at Lake Garda to achieve a speed of 682kph (424mph), a new world record, but it was considered the MC.72 could become the first to break 700kph (430mph). On October 23, 1934, Agello flew the improved aircraft over the same course to record an average speed of709.202kph (440.678mph) .

This was to remain the world speed record for all aircraft until1939. Most fittingly, as a tribute to all the effort put into the Schneider

Trophy, it remains a world speed record for piston engined seaplanes to this day. While it is untrue to say the racing seaplanes directly led to the development of aircraft like the Spitfire and C.202, like RJ Mitchell, his rival in Britain, Castoldi was to learn a great deal about practical high speed aerodynamics and aircraft design from the races which was to, again like Mitchell, influence his designs for fighters in the Second World War. •

Words Tim Callaway

SECOND WORLD WAR

The Second World War Aeronautica Macchi -fighters, fighters, fighters Although this section deals with those aircraft that were prevalent in Regia Aeronautica service the Second World War, the story of several of them begins back in the 1930s. The Italian Government realised that another European war was inevitable and that the aircraft it had in service were obsolete in comparison with those of other countries. New fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft were needed, so in the late 1930s competitions were organised to produce them.

Macchi's chief designer, Mario Castoldi, had learned a great deal about high-speed aerodynamics and aircraft from producing racing

seaplanes for the Schneider Trophy. This experience was to shape the entire wartime output of Macchi, which, as in the First World War, was to produce nearly a quarter of all combat aircraft produced in Italy, all of them fighters. On February 10, 1936, the Air Ministry began a modernisation programme with a specification for a new monoplane

fighter. This called for a speed in excess of 500kph (310mph), a climb rate of at least 6000m (19,685ft) in less than five minutes, an endurance to exceed two hours and, oddly, an armament of one 12.7mm machine gun. Although the armament was later to be increased to two 12.7mm machine guns, a lack of firepower was to be the Achilles heel of Italian Second World War fighters.

This drawback was further compounded by the choice of engine - in 1932, after various failures of in line engine designs, the Air Ministry had directed all of the

manufacturers to concentrate on radial engine designs. Quite why it did this is an argument that would fill a book on its own, but the result was to hamper the development of the next generation of fighters by limiting the available horsepower. At Fiat, the brilliant engine designer Tranquillo Zerbi had been joined by Antonio Fessia to produce the A.74 14-cylinder radial engine, based on the Pratt and Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp. This became the engine of choice for the fighter competition as it was light and reliable. However, it only produced 858hp at sea level.

Designer Mario Castoldi with the C.200 prototype in May 1938. Note the A rare view into the production line of C.202s under construction. sliding canopy and clear rear fairing to the cockpit. Alenia Aermacchi Alenia Aermacchi

FIGHTER COMPETITION Given these limitations, the five aircraft that competed for the contract were of surprising quality. As mentioned earlier, development problems with the Aeronautica Umbra AUT.18 and IMAM Ro.51 were to discount them at an early stage, and the Reggiane Re.2000 was considered unsuitable. This left two aircraft in the competition - the Fiat G.50 and the Macchi C.200. The C.200 won the comparative trials held at Guidonia airfield in June 1938, but the G.50 was easier to build and slightly more manoeuvrable, so both were ordered into production as it was realised the G.50 could be in service sooner. Macchi received an order for 99 of the new fighter shortly after this, the first aircraft being built in June 1939, with SAl Ambrosini at Passignano sui Trasimeno and Breda in Milan also producing C.200s under licence.

The prototype of the C.200 had first fl own on December 24, 1937, piloted by Giuseppe Burei, from Lonate Pozzolo airfield near Varese. The Fiat eng ine gave the C.200 a maximum speed of 504kph (313mph) and an excellent climb rate of 15.3 metres per second (3030ft per minute) . From the star t, the aircraft proved to be a superb handling machine at all speeds. Castoldi had incorporated a novel flap system into the C.200, in which the aile rons drooped as the flaps were lowered, giving the aircraft excellent slow speed- and short fi eld-performance.

Ingeniously, the left wing was 21cm (8.5in) longer than the right, to counteract the torque from the engine. However, fur ther flight trials were to reveal one serious flaw. As the pilot tightened a turn, the C.200 had a tendency to flick, usually hard to the right to inverted, often entering a violent flat spin as a result. This flaw cost the lives of two pilots flying the early version of the fighter. Production was halted for investigations, the culprit being discovered in the narrow, high-speed constant section profile of the wing. Sergio Stefanutti, the chief designer at licence builder SAl Ambrosini, was conversant with the research findings of NACA in the US and Messerschmitt in Germany, and knew that variable profiling was the solution to such unwanted aerodynamic effects. He simply stuck shaped sheets of plywood to a C.200

wing to alter the section, flight testing the aircraft until a satisfactory tapered profile was found, the changes mostly being made to the leading edge.

OPEN COCKPITS This new wing went into production and the C.200, now named Saetta or Thunderbolt, became the best fighter in Italian service as a result. Although designed with an enclosed cockpit, pilots did not like this feature as the fighter was not fitted with a radio, the normal hand signals being difficult to do under a canopy. The cockpit was redesigned with side windows but an open top. Later production aircraft did have radios fitted, but the noise in the open cockpit made them difficult to use. A total of 397 C.200s were built by Macchi, with 556 by Breda and 223 by SAl Ambrosini. These 1176 fighters served mostly in Greece, North Africa and the Mediter ranean, par ticularly over Malta, although 4 Stormo also took part in operations over Yugoslavia in April1941. As their usefulness as a fighter diminished in the face of improving opposition, the C.200 found a new lease of life as a fighter bomber, the C.200CB being able to carry 320kg (710lb) of bombs, or two drop

tanks for long-range escort missions. The C.200 was, like the Hawker Hurricane,

an odd mix of tl1e old and the new, its complex construction initially slowing production as it was a steep learning curve for the factory workforces. Two problems that were never satisfactorily solved were the lack of armour plate and armament. Some late production C.200s were fitted with the wing from its replacement, the C.202, with a pair of 7.7mm Breda machine guns, but the added weight reduced the performance.

In August 1941, four Squadriglia of 51 C.200s were sent to the southern Russian Front in suppor t of Italian ground forces. These were to remain in combat until January 18, 1943, when the units returned to Italy. Here, the cold of the open cockpits was a real limitation, but the C.200s acquitted themselves well against the Russian air force, claiming 88 victories in the 17 months of their deployment. However, the introduction of newer Russian fighters proved the C.200 was too limited in performance, an experience being repeated in other theatres. As early as January 1938, the Air Ministry had asked Macchi to produce a replacement, the result being the C.201 witl1 simplified structure to ease production and

Alenia Aermacchi 63

SECOND WORLD WAR

A fully restored C.200 at the Aermacchi factory. This aircraft is now on d isplay at the USAF Museum at Dayton, Ohio. Alenia Aermacchi

intended for the 1000hp Fiat A.76 engine. The prototype flew on August 10, 1940, but due to problems with the development of the A. 76, was powered by the A. 7 4. The cancellation of the A. 76 programme also led to the cancellation of the e .201.

One other update was proposed, by Breda, powered by a 1180hp Piaggio P.XIX radial engine. In tests, this only proved to be 31kph (19mph) faster than the standard e .200, so it was dropped. The e.200 soldiered on to the end of the war, several operating after the armistice at the Fighter School of the eo­Belligerent Air Force in 1944. The National Republican Air Force, based in northern Italy, also had a few e.200s, but by 1944 a lack of spares forced its withdrawal from both forces. During the Second World War, the e.200 flew more operational missions than any other type in Italian service. It was a real workhorse, remaining in production for more than the initially intended year, only because of production problems with the engine for its replacement, the e.202. Late-production e.200s were often built with e .202 parts- its production being held up - just to keep fighters flowing to the front line units.

ENTER THE C.202 The development of the replacement of the e.200, the Macchi e.202, began on May 9, 1939, when the Italian Air Ministry signed a licence production agreement with Daimler­Benz for state-owned Alfa Romeo to produce the DB601A and B as the RA.1000 Re.41. This agreement was tacit acknowledgement that the earlier decision to concentrate only on

A late model C.200 in factory-fresh finish, with the open cockpit and opening side windows for ease of access. Alenia Aermacchi

radial engines in Italy was incorrect. Aside from technical data and drawings, 15 complete engines were supplied to Italy, these being split between Alfa Romeo, Reggiane, Fiat and Macchi. Mario eastoldi took the new engine, and in Januar y 1940 redesigned a new fuselage around it, to which were added the wings and tailplane of the e .200.

Only seven months later, on August 10, 1940, the prototype e.202 took to the air for the first time, piloted by the great test pilot Guido earestiato. Imme diately, it became obvious that this new aircraft was equal in performance to any fighter then flying, with the excellent manoeuvrability of the e.200, but with a maximum speed of 600kph (373mph) . Immediate production orders followed the testing at Guidonia, such was the enthusiasm of the report. Altogether, Macchi produced 390 e .202s, deliveries beginning in May 1941, with the first of 649 of the fighter from Bred a appearing in July that year. SAl Ambrosini was only to build 67 e.202s as it was busy with e.200 production and converted to the new type later.

The e.202 addressed many of the problems of the e.200, its enclosed cockpit being fitted with a reliable radio, larger self­sealing fuel tanks in the wings and fuselage gave an increase in range to 765km (475 miles) and armour plate was fitted as standard. Although the armament was increased in the Serie VII production batch with the addition of two 7.7mm Breda machine guns mounted in the wings, the additional weight of these meant they were seldom fitted, as the small-calibre machine

production batch, Serie Ill, with the wing­mounted MG151 cannon and cylindrical oil coolers under the nose. Alenia Aermacchi

64 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

The prototype C.202 first flew on August 10, 1940, piloted by the great test pilot Guido Carestiato, seen here with the aircraft. Alenia Aermacchi

gun was ineffective against the modern armoured aircraft they encountered. Pilots preferred to keep the high roll rate and stick with the pair of nose-mounted 12.7mm machine guns. Aside from the lack of armament, the only other problem with the e.202 was in its unreliable oxygen system, a failure that is thought to have caused a number of accidents.

INTO SERVICE Named Folgore, another word for Thunderbolt, it was first used over Malta in September 1941. A number of variants were produced, and these are listed separately. In May 1942, a small number of e.202s were sent to Russia to bolster the e .200 units operating there, but were withdrawn in January 1943 after limited success. In North Africa, e.202s proved superior to the Hurricane and P-40 and an equal match for the Spitfire Mk.V. After a long campaign, the Italians withdrew to T unisia, where many aircraft were destroyed on the ground by fighter bomber attacks on May 8, 1943. The surviving C.202 units were increasingly forced onto the defensive, intercepting the massive bombing raids that ranged over Italy, and after the Allied invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943, were further harried on the ground by attacks on their airfields. By the time of the Armistice in September, only around 100 e.202s were still serviceable.

The eo-Belligerent Air Force used e.202s on escor t missions after the Armistice, but only over the Balkans, avoiding the terrible situation where Italian pilots may have been forced to fight one another. Some were also

The second Orione prototype, the C.205N/2 with the two wing-mounted 20mm MG 151 cannon. Alenia Aermacchi

SECOND WORLD WAR

used by the National Republican Air Force and by the Luftwaffe, who employed them as instructor trainers at Orange in France and at Garz on the Baltic coast. The Macchi and Breda factories were heavily bombed by four groups of B-17s in a raid on Milan and Varese on April 30, 1944, effectively ending the production forced by the German occupation of northern Italy. Prior to this, in] anuary, 16 of the aircraft produced by Breda had been supplied to Croatia, which used them to intercept Allied raids crossing its territory. These were followed by a further s ix C.202s and four of its replacement, the C.205, all of which did not last long in service due to massive Allied air superiority. Many of the C.202s fighting with the Co-Belligerent Air Force were to remain in service with the newly formed postwar Aeronautica Militare Italiana until 1948.

A side view of a Mocchi C.202 Folgore of 356• Squodriglio, 1 • Gruppo. Keith DraycoH

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER The last fighter produced by Macchi in the Second World War was the C.205, named Veltro or Greyhound. This development came about because of an agreement in 1941 for Fiat to produce the 1475hp Daimler-Benz DB605A under licence as the RA.1050 RC.58, which Fiat needed for its G.55 fighter programme. A single C.202 was fitted with the new engine and flown on April19, 1942, again by the redoubtable Carestiato, achieving a maximum speed of 640kph (400mph). Initially known as the C.202bis, this aircraft was redesignated the C.205V and 1200 were ordered as it was clearly equal to any of the current Allied fighters, but production was limited by the availability of the engines.

The C.205V was armed with the two 12.7mm and two 7.7mm machine guns of earlier variants, but after the first production batch of 100 aircraft, the wing-mounted machine guns were replaced by two Mauser MG 151 20mm cannon, so at last the Macchi fighter had the firepower it required. The cannons had been intended from the star t, but delivery problems had delayed its introduction, some of the early aircraft being retrofitted with them in the field. The C.205V was only meant to be an interim measure while the real production variant, the C.205N Orione, was under development. This had a much-modified longer fuselage with a redesigned cockpit and the wing was increased in both span and area to improve high-altitude performance.

Armed with a single 20mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and four 12.7mm

The orig inal C.205N Orione prototype with the extended wing. modified fuselage and four

machine guns, two in the cowling as before and two above the wing roots, the prototype made its first flight on November 1, 1942. The second prototype, the C.205N/2, differed in having two wing-mounted 20mm cannon replacing the two fuselage-mounted machine guns, and fi rst flew on May 19, 1943. The increase in weight poorly affected the C.205Ns performance, so the rival Fiat G.55 was chosen for mass production and only the two prototypes were produced before the Armistice. Macchi did begin work on a lightweight prototype with a larger wing called the C.206, but this was destroyed in the bombing raid that ended all production. Altogether, Macchi produced 264 C.205s, including the four prototypes, the first entering service in February 1943, operating in support of supply flights to Tunisia.

These aircraft were to fight in the defence of Italy up to the Armistice, when only 66 of the 177 delivered were still airworthy. Six of these were used by the eo-Belligerent Air Force, and 29 by the National Republican Air Force, as well as a few of the aircraft produced after that time. These were also used as interceptors by II.]G 77 of the Luftwaffe, before all of the Veltros were replaced by Bf 109s after the April1944 bombing of the factories ended production and the availability of spare parts. As previously mentioned, four C.205Vs were also supplied to Croatia, two of them being lost in action on June 30, 1944.

The C.202 and 205 story has an interesting ending.

In 1948, the Royal Egyptian Air Force ordered 42 C.205s, 31 of which were actually C.202s with the DB.605 engine. They were to serve in Egypt until 1951, taking part in the first Arab-Israeli war, and ending its operational career over the same desert they had begun it, seven years earlier. Perhaps the best testament to Macchi's Second World War fighter came from Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown, the commander of the Captured

nose-mounted 12. 7mm Bredo machine guns Another Serie Ill C.202, but in the now with a 20mm cannon firing through the standard mottled desert scheme. propeller hub. Alenia Aermacchi Alenia Aermacchi

Enemy Aircraft Flight and a superb and highly experienced test pilot. He said: "One of the finest aircraft I ever flew was the Macchi C.205. Oh, beautiful." • Words Tim Callaway

MACCHI C.202 VARIANTS

C.202 - Standard fighter- with or without two 7.7mm Bredo machine guns in the wings.

C.202AS -With sand filters for use in North Africa.

C.202CB -With underwing hardpoints for bombs or drop tanks for use as a fighter bomber.

C.202EC - Five a ircraft for trials with two 20mm cannons in underwing pods. Severely affected performance.

C.202RF - Photo reconnaissance version with fuselage-mounted cameras. very few built.

C.202D - Experimental prototype with radiator moved forwards under the nose.

C.202 AR.4 - One aircraft modified as a controller for radio controlled flying bombs. a project similar to the German Mistel concept, but little is known.

C.202bis - Modified with the DB605 engine to become the prototype C.205V. Aside from 261 production 205Vs. Aeronautica Sannita modified around 25 C.202s to C.205V standard after the Armistice.

A C.202 from the Serie Ill production botch of 140 built by Macchi between June 1941 and April 1942. Note the cutouts in the headrest sides to improve the pilots rearward view. Alenia Aermacchi

Alenia Aermacchi 65

SECOND WORLD WAR

Fiat Bombers, fighters and transports As already mentioned, the Italian Air Ministry was seeking new aircraft for the Regia Aeronautica, organising competitions to generate the best designs. Fiat in Turin was one of the first winners of these new contracts, producing the BR.20 bomber, but this was to be followed by two new fighters and a large three engined transport.

The last bomber design by Celestino Rosatelli for Fiat was the BR.20 Cicogna or Stork. This twin engined twin finned monoplane was one of the most

modern bombers of its day when it first appeared. The BR.20 first flew on February 19, 1936, in Turin and was a response to a 1934 requirement for a new medium bomber for the Regia Aeronautica. Powered by a pair of 1000hp Fiat A 80 RC 41 18 cylinder two row radial engines, the BR.20 was capable of 430kph (270mph) , an impressive performance that won the bomber competition. The first of

the 233 standard BR.20s built entered service in late 1936 and were followed by a pair of specially stripped down BR.20As built for the 1937 Istres to Damascus Air Race, in which they finished sixth and seventh. The sole BR.20L was a long range version built for record breaking flights. It flew from Rome to Addis Ababa nonstop at an average speed of 390kph (240mph) in 1939. In February 1940, an improved bomber version, the BR.20M began to enter service, with 264 being built in total.

THE BR.20 AROUND THE WORLD The first BR.20s to see action were the 13 sent to Spain in 1937 with the Aviazione Legionaria. Only four of these aircraft were lost in two years of fighting the Spanish Civil War, the remaining nine were handed over to the Spanish Air Force at the end of the war. ln February 1938, the f1rst of 82 BR.20s were delivered to the Japanese Army Air Service and took part in bombing raids against Chinese cities in late 1938 and early 1939. By September 1939, the Japanese had begun replacing the BR.20s in service with the Mitsubishi Ki-21.

During the Second World War, the BR.20 was to operate over France and Great Britain, taking part in the Battle of Britain during October and November 1940. They were used in North Africa, over Malta and in Albania, the Balkans and Greece. Least known is their use in Russia, where a small number were sent to support Italian Army units fighting on the Eastern Front between August 1942 and April1943. The BR.20bis was a redesign of

the bomber in an attempt to improve its operational performance. This was powered by a pair of 1250hp Fiat A82 RC42 engines and the airframe was aerodynamically cleaned up. Armament was also improved, and the Regia Aeronautica ordered 98 in March 1943. By July, only 15 had been built when production was halted due to the heavy Allied bombing of the Turin factory.

ROSATELLI'S FIGHTER The success of the Fiat CR.32 in ser vice meant that Celestino Rosatelli's proposal for an upgraded version powered by the 840hp Fiat A74 engine was accepted with alacrity. The CR.42 Falco was the last fighter designed by Rosatelli , its clean and efficient airframe able

The long range BR.20L, named Santo Francesco and commanded by

Maner Lualdi, made a nonstop !tight from Rome to Addis Ababa in 1939.

Alenia Aermacchi

to reach 441kph (274mph) and its light wing loading giving the type tremendous manoeuvrability. The prototype first flew on May 23, 1938, after the first flights of many of the monoplane fighters being developed. It was a delight to fly, a true thoroughbred, and represented the pinnacle of biplane fighter development, but it really belonged in another era. Amazingly, the little fighter was to remain in both production and service for almost the entire war. Over 1800 were to be built in day and night fighter and fighter bomber versions, with about 40 two seat trainer conversions being carried out by Agusta and Caproni and a single floatplane being produced by CMASA

After the Armistice in September 1943, Germany took control of aircraft production in Italy and ordered 200 night g round attack valiants from the Turin factory. Only 150 of these were built before the factory was captured by the Allies. The CR42 entered service with the Regia Aeronautica in May 1939 and was used in France and during the Battle of Blitain as well as over Malta in 1940. CR42s were also used in East Aflica, the Western Desert and Iraq as well as in the defence of Italy as a night fighter. As already mentioned, the Luftwaffe used the CR.42 and also supplied them to Croatia. Prior to the war, the type was also exported to Sweden, Hungary and Belgium, the latter two using them in combat. For an anachronism, the CR.42 did remarkably well, and was a fitting success for a great designer.

GABRIELLI'S FIGHTER In Aplil1935, while bomber work was going on in Tulin, at the CMASA subsidiary works in Pisa, Giuseppe Gablielli began to design a new fighter. With the announcement of the new fighter competition on February 19, 1936, two prototypes were built. The first flew on February 26, 1937, in the hands of chief test pilot Giovanni de Bliganti. A low wing monoplane with an enclosed cockpit, the G.50 was capable of 470kph (292mph), just under the performance required by the competition. The ease and speed with which the G.50 could be built and its excellent manoeuvrability meant that the Air Ministry ordered it into production in September 1937, before the comparative tlial had even taken place. Two early pre-production aircraft were lost in crashes, one sadly killing de

Bligante when he failed to recover from a high speed dive on October 20.

Despite these losses, the advantages of the G.50 were deemed to outweigh its drawbacks. It was recognised that the aircraft would spin far too readily, but this was accepted as part of the handling.

The fighter was armed with a pair of 12.7mm Breda machine guns in the upper nose cowling firing through the propeller. Like the C.200, the enclosed cockpit of the G.50 did not find favour with the pilots, who took to flying it with the canopy locked back, so from the second batch of 200 aircraft, the G.50 was produced with an open cockpit. In 1938, the Regia Aeronautica requested a two seat trainer version of the fighter, known as the G.50/B, the fi rst five of which were built in Tulin in the summer of 1939. After 1939, production moved from Tulin to CMASA's factor y in Pisa, where 252 G.50s and 106 G.50/Bs were built, 426 having been built in Tulin prior to this. One of the two seat G.50/Bs was converted into a photo reconnaissance prototype, and another was fitted with a hook for earlier use aboard the Aquila, but like Germany's Graf Zeppelin, the carrier was never finished.

The first G.50s to see operational service were the 13 sent to Spain in 1938 with the Aviazione Legionalia, which were used in the last months of the Spanish Civil War then handed over to the Spanish Air Force. After Italy entered the war on June 10, 1940, the

Fiat BR.20 bombers on the production line. Alenia Aermacchi

G.50 units operated over France, then took part in the Battle of Britain from bases in Belgium. This highlighted the obsolescence of the fighter, as it was too short ranged to operate over England, and on the few occasions enemy aircraft were sighted, the G.50 was too slow to intercept them. The longer ranged G.50bis was available by the time the units returned from Belgium, this type having more success in North Aflica where it was used as a fighter bomber until 1942. G.50s also took part in operations over Greece and the Balkans in 1940 and 1941, but they were gradually withdrawn after that. By the time of the Armistice in September 1943, only four were in service with the National Republican Air Force in the north and a handful with the Cc-Belligerent Air Force in the south.

OVERSEAS SERVICE Other than Spain and Italy, the G.50 was also used by Finland, which purchased 35 in 1939 and used them in both the Winter War and the Continuation War against the Soviet Union before finally withdrawing them in rnid-1944. In June 1942, Croatia had been supplied with nine single seat and a two seat aircraft for use against Partisan forces in the Balkans. These were followed by another identical batch in June 1943, then 25 G.50s captured by the Germans after the Armistice in September. By 1944, these were mostly operating as trainers, a role they continued in after the war as part

A sideview of Fiat CR.42 13-95/MM.5701 of 18 Gruppo 95 Squadriglia flown from Belgium by Sergente Pilota Pietro Salvadori on November 11. 1940. Forced down by a broken oil pipe over Orford Ness. Suffolk. the aircraft was captured intact by the British and is now on d isplay in the RAF Musuem. Hendon. Keith DraycoH

Alenia Ae rmacchi 67

The late model Fiat G.SObis had increased internal fuel tanks for longer range. Alenia Aermacchi

The prototype of Celestino Rosatelli's masterpiece biplane fighter, the Fiat CR.42. Alenia Aermacchi

of the Yugoslav Air Force, making them the last operational examples of the type.

THE CENTAURO ARRIVES In 1941, a single G.50 was fitted with the Daimler-Benz DB601 engine which gave it a maximum speed of 570kph (354mph). However, Gabrielli was already working on an entirely new design, the Fiat G.55, so the G.50V as it was known, was used for testing various equipment for the new fighter. The G.55 Centauro was based around the 1475hp Daimler-Benz DB605A that was being produced under licence by Fiat as the RA1050. The prototype first flew on April 30, 1942, armed with a single 20mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and four 12.7mm Breda machine guns in the engine cowling. This armament proved difficult to service, so in production aircraft the two lower machine guns were deleted and two 20mm MG151 cannon were mounted in the wings instead.

As well as this standard armament, a bomber interceptor version was built with five ofthe MG151 cannon, produced in small numbers after the Armistice. A single torpedo bomber aircraft called the G.55S was also produced, as were three G.56 versions powered by the 1750hp DB603A. The handling of the G.55 proved to be superb, with orders for 2400 quickly placed. By the Armistice, 35 had been delivered. One was with the eo-Belligerent Air Force in the south, the rest with the National Republican Air Force.

Production continued in Turin, with 164 having been built before the Fiat factories were heavily bombed on April 25, 1944 and all manufacturing was dispersed. Building parts in small factories and assembling them in T urin enabled another 148 to be built before the factory was captured by the Allies, who

found another 37 complete and 73 incomplete aircraft on the premises. The G.55s proved to excellent fighters, a match for the latest Allied aircraft, but only 148 G.55s were ever delivered to front line units. A lack of spare parts and slow production meant they were gradually replaced in the National Republican Air Force with the Bf 109.

POSTWAR PRODUCTION After the war, the stock of parts and partly built airframes were used to build 49 G.55A fighters and 25 G.55B two seat trainers, both prototypes flying in 1946. The newly formed Aeronautica Militare ltaliana and the Argentine Air Force purchased these aircraft, demand outstripping supply of the DB605 engine and its spares. The 19 Italian single seat and 10 two seat aircraft were converted to be powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin starting in 1948, the new aircraft being designated as the G.59-1A and -1B respectively when they entered service in 1950. With no wartime production parts left, a Syrian order for 26 single seat and four two­seat aircraft were all new build air frames, designated G.59-2A and -2B. The last developments of the fighter and trainer were fitted with bubble canopies and known as the G.59-4A and -4B, with 30, of which 10 were two seaters, being purchased by Italy in 1950. A planned development, the G.61 with a 1700hp Packard Merlin never got beyond the project stage.

TRIMOTOR TRANSPORT While his concentration in the mid-1930s was understandably on corn bat aircraft, in 1939 Gabrielli had begun work on the three engined, 14 seat Fiat G.12 civilian airliner for the Fiat owned Avio Linee Italiane (ALO. The initial version of the G.12 was powered by

three 770hp Fiat A. 7 4 engines which gave it a maximum speed of 396kph (246mph) and a useful range of2300km (1430 miles). The prototype first flew on October 15, 1940, the first two examples, known as G.12Cs, operating on the Milan to Venice and Vienna to Budapest routes. Their excellent performance led to the development of the G.12T military transport. This could carry 22 troops and equipment and about 50 were built, the first flown in May 1941.

The need to be able to communicate with their East African possessions meant that a single example of the long range G.12 Gondar was produced next, followed by three G.12GAs with long range fuel tanks. Two amazing aircraft were constructed after this, the G.12RT and the G.12RTbis. These were ultra-long range versions intended for direct communication with j apan, the RT possessing a range of 8000km (4970 miles), the RTbis 9000km (5590 miles). As many as 22 G.12Ts were impressed into service by the Luftwaffe after the Armistice, but prior to that 12 had been supplied as military transport aircraft to the Royal Hungarian Air Force, the first being delivered on November 21, 1942.

After the war's end, an 18 passenger commercial airliner termed the G.12CA was produced, powered by Alfa Romeo 128 radial engines. This was followed by four 22 seat airliner versions, the L, LA, LB and LP, all powered by different engines and produced in small numbers for airlines such as the newly formed Alitalia. On May 5, 1947, a G.12 made Alitalia's first commercial flight from Turin to Rome. In all, between 1941 and 1950, 104 examples of the G.12 were built for both military and civilian use.

• Words Tim Callaway

The Fiat G.SS was an elegant design and a very high performance fighter. Alenia Aermacchi

The prototype of the G.SSB two seat t rainer, built in 1946 from the stock of parts and partly built airframes. Alenia Aermacchi

68 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

I Ground attack, fighter and liaison

The Ro.57 prototype was powered by a pair of 840hp Fiat A.74 radial engines and was armed with a pair of 12. ?mm machine guns. Editor's collection

After the failure of the Ro.51 in the fighter competition, in 1939 Giovanni Galasso began work on a twin engined ground attack and reconnaissance

aircraft called the Ro.53. This was never built, but instead became a floatplane concept named the Ro.55 before finally developing as a twin engined low wing heavy fighter and dive bomber, the Ro.57. Powered by a pair of 840hp Fiat A.74 radial engines,

the Ro.57 had a maximum speed of 501kph (3llmph) and first flew in 1939. Initially intended as a fighter, it was armed with a pair of 12.7mm machine guns. It was decided to develop the aircraft as a dive bomber and increase the armament, but the necessary modifications for this role delayed its production until1942.

With an additional two 20mm cannon in the nose, the Ro.57bis could carry a 500kg (llOOlb) bomb on the centreline and had

SECOND WORLD WAR

dive brakes on the wings. Around 60 were built, entering service with 97 Gruppo in 1943, but seeing limited use prior to the Armistice. A single aircraft was developed as the Ro.58 heavy fighter, with twin 1175hp Daimler-Benz DB601 engines which gave it a maximum speed of 605kph (378mph). With its twin finned tailplane and rear gunner, it was similar in concept to the Messerschmitt Bf 110. It first flew in May 1942 and was armed with five forward firing 20mm MG 151 cannons, three in the nose and two in the belly. Service trials showed that development was required, so the Ro.58, while an excellent aircraft, came too late to go into production.

While the development of the twin engined fighters was going on, IMAM also responded to a Regia Aeronautica requirement for an artillery observation, battlefield reconnaissance and liaison aircraft, similar to the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. The Ro.63 was powered by a 250hp Hirth HM508D V8 engine, which gave it maximum speed of 203kph (126mph) , better than the Storch. The deeper fuselage could carry up to four people yet the Ro.63 had similar short take off and landing capabilities to the smaller but similar German aircraft. The prototype first flew in June 1940 and 150 were ordered, but only six were built due to a shortage of the engines. These were sent to North Africa where they operated alongside the Ro.37 and other older reconnaissance aircraft, but by 1943, only one was left In 1948, plans to produce the aircraft again were abandoned due to a lack of facilities.

• Words Tim Callaway

Alenia Aermacchi 69

Postwar rebuilding Fiat- transports, jets and licences With the war over, the massive task of clearing the rubble and rebuilding production facilities, hangars and airfields could begin. As already mentioned, Fiat was busy building G.55 and G.59 fighters and trainers and G.12 trimotor transports in the immediate postwar years but more was to come from the Turin factory as the G.212 was developed and the firm's first jet aircraft were devised.

With the success of the G.12 trimotor transport, in 1943 Giuseppe Gabrielli had begun work on a more powerful replacement, the

G.212, essentially a stretched version with a redesigned tailplane and a wider, longer fuselage. The programme was delayed by the war, so the prototype did not make its first flight until January 20, 1947. It was powered by the same three 860hp Alfa Romeo 128s as the earlier aircraft, but its extended fuselage could carry 30 passengers over the 22 seats of the G.12. Nine were purchased for the Fiat owned airline Avio Linee Italiane (ALO in 1948 and used on routes out of Milan.

Three were also purchased by Saide, an Egyptian airline that used them on routes along the coast of North Africa from Cairo to Tunis from 1950. These were commandeered by the Egyptian Air Force in 1957 and used for prisoner exchange flights after the Suez Crisis. There were also sales to Cie Air Transport in France and Desert Arabian Airlines in Kuwait, the latter buying an ex­ALl aircraft. The last customer for the aircraft was the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI), which bought 12 of the G.212AV version for use as a training aircraft. Known as the 'flying classroom', this had stations down the fuselage for pupils and instructors to work together, as well as a gondola under the fuselage, to allow the training of navigation, bomb aiming, photo reconnaissance and other aircrew specialisations. The G.212s were rolling off the production line alongside the G.12s, the last of both types being built in 1950.

FIRST JET At the end of the Second World War, Giuseppe Gabrielli began work on his first design for a jet aircraft, the prototype of a two seat trainer intended as a replacement for the Fiat G.59. Powered by a de HaviLiand Goblin of 1600kg (35271b) thrust, the first Fiat G.80-1B made its maiden flight on December 9, 1951. Four more pre-production G.80-3Bs were built, the aircraft handling weLl but being ver y heavy for the power available, so the type was rejected by the AMI for its trainer requirement. With the announcement of a NATO competition for a standard jet trainer, Fiat developed the G .82, a lengthened version of the original design

powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene of 2445kg (53901b) thrust.

This first flew on May 23, 1954, and was fitted with wing tip tanks to extend its endurance. The G.82 had a pair of Browning 12.7mm (0.5in) machine guns in the nose and could carry 340kg (750lb) of weapons or drop tanks on two under wing pylons, or up to six rockets on underwing mounts. Five G.82s

70 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

A remarkable image showing the trainers, including the G.59 and its intended replacement, the G.82 jet. in production by Fiat in the early 1950s. In the background are two of the G.212 three engined transports. Alenia Aermacchi

were built, but the NATO competition was cancelled as the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star was available cheaply and in large numbers through the Mutual Defence Assistance Programme (MDAP). The five G.82s were used by the AMI's flight test centre and the flying school at Arnendola for several years before being retired. A fighter bomber and night fighter version were planned, as well as

A Fiat G.212CP of the Fiat owned a irline Avio Linee lta liane in 1948. Alenia Aermacchi

the G.84, powered by the Allison J-35, but none were built.

POSTWAR REBUILDING

The first jet fighter operated by the Aeronautica Militare Italiana was the de Havilland Vampire, the aircraft initially being supplied from the UK A licence production agreement was reached between de Havilland and the Italian Government to build the Vampire FB Mk.52a and the more powerful de Havilland Goblin Mk.3 engine. A total of 155 aircraft were built under licence in Italy, Fiat building the wings and tailplanes, Macchi the fuselages and Alfa Romeo the engines. Fmal assembly took place at both Turin and Varese, the companies c<r<>perating for the first time. Production began in 1949 and later included 29 of the Vampire NF Mk.10 two seat night fighter. A number of the single seat aircraft were later exported to Egypt, which was supplied with 49 from both Italy and Britain in 1954.

A close up of the front of a G.82, showing the nose mounted twin Browning 50 calibre machine guns and the under fuselage a irbrake. Alenia Aermacchi

In 1951, Gabrielli also designed a new two seat radial engined trainer to replace the North American T-6 Texan which first flew in early 1952. This was produced in small numbers for the AMI, powered by the 570hp Alvis Leonides as the Fiat G.49-1, or the 610hp Pratt and Whitney R-1340 Wasp as the G.49-2. This was a low wing all metal monoplane with two sliding fighter style bubble canopies for each of the two tandem cockpits separated by a central fixed canopy. This won a production order over the similar Aermacchi MB.323. A very clean design, the G.49-2 was capable of 370kph (230mph) and remained in service throughout the 1950s.

THE F-86K By the early 1950s, it was clear that NATO countries needed a high performance interceptor to meet the threat of the growing Soviet jet bomber force. The North American F-86D Sabre was the aircraft of choice, but the Hughes E-4 fire control system was considered to sensitive a technology to export. A simplified North American MG-4 fire control system was devised for use with an armament of four 20mm M-24Al cannon rather than the F-86D's h igh velocity aircraft rockets, but the APG-37 radar mounted in the nose blister was retained. The new aircraft was powered by the same engine, the General Electric ]47-GE-17B with afterburner.

Known as the F-86K, a licence agreement with Fiat was signed on May 16, 1953, for the company to assemble the aircraft from US supplied parts under the MDAP. Two US built

A line-up of AMI Fiat built F-86Ks. 10 of the 221 built in Turin for number of NATO air forces. Alenia Aermacchi

The Fiat G.82 showing the underwing pylons and rocket mounts along with the fixed tip tanks. Alenia Aermacchi

YF-86K prototypes were supplied to the AMI, along with 63 Fiat assembled aircraft. The fi rst two of these were delivered on November 2, 1955, the first unit to receive them being 6 Gruppo of 1 Stormo at Istrana. A further 62 F-86Ks were built by Fiat for the French Armee de I' Air, 88 for the West German Luftwaffe, six to the Netherland's Koninklijke Luchtrnacht and four for the Royal Norwegian Air Force.

Altogether Fiat built 221 F-86Ks, the last being delivered to the AMI in October 1957 which used them until the Lockheed F-104 Star fighter began to be introduced in 1964, but the last did not leave Italian service until July 1973. The exped ence of working on these licence built aircraft was to stand Fiat in good stead, as will be covered later, as it was about to produce a remarkable and successful jet fighter bomber. • Words: Tim Callaway

The Fiat G.49-1 was powered by the Alvis leonides and won a small production order for the AMI over the Aermacchi MB.323. Alenia Aermacchi

Alen ia Aermacchi 71

POSTWAR REBUILDING

Aeronautica Macchi The MB-308 of 194 7

The Macchi MB.308 is rightly considered one of the most important projects of the Italian aviation industry after the Second World War. In fact, it was the first touring aircraft completely conceived and built in Italy postwar and was to become the backbone of the resurgent Italian light aviation.

T he aircraft was designed by Ing. Ermanno Bazzocchi, who in 1945 had replaced the famous Ing. Mario Castoldi as the technical designer of Macchi. The MB.308

was derived directly from a prewar project, the PM.1, developed in 1938 by C.N.A.(Compagnia Nazionale Aeronautica) in response to a request of a light aircraft for touring and training.

Any further development was blocked by the war, but after the end of the conflict Ing. Bazzocchi resurrected the former project. He designed a new aircraft of wooden construction, maintaining the general outlay of the PM.1, with cantilever high wings with flaps and a side by side cockpit with upward swivelling doors. Ing. Bazzocchi adopted a tricycle landing gear layout for the prototype and used the original CNA 60hp engine intended to be fitted to the PM.1, driving a fixed pitch two-blade propeller.

The prototype was quickly built and was ready to be presented at the Milano Fair of September 1946, but its exhibition was prohibited by the Allied Control Commission. This setback did not hinder production, with the prototype, I-FABR, making her maiden flight on January 19, 1947. This took place at

Macchi's airfield at Venegono, at the hands of the factory's famous test pilot Guido Carestiato. It was soon decided to use a new engine on production aircraft, the Continental 65hp, fully compatible with the mounts and easily available as military surplus in Italy. This engine was later replaced on the production line by the more powerful Continental C-85 of 85hp.

1l1e Macchi MB.308 demonstrated very good overall flying and handling characteristics, ideal for initial pilot training and touring. Macchi built 133 production examples in total, in addition to these a further 46 MB.308Gs fitted with a 100hp engine were built in Argentina. Oddly, the first of these aircraft was not built until1959, when the production of the MB.308 in Italy had already ceased. The Aeronautica Militare was without doubt the major operator, purchasing 80 aircraft. T his s izeable order definitely helped in the rebirth of Macchi as a quantity aircraft producer, more along the lines of its prewar successes, when the Italian factory was world famous for producing the racing floatplanes and the fantastic Macchi MC.202 and 205 fighters.

Starting in 1950, the Aeronautica Militare began to phase out its Macchi MB.308 fleet,

72 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

donating at least 40 'Macchinos' (as it was affectionately known by pilots, the 'little Macchi') to the new Aeroclub D'Italia. Here, it became the cornerstone of the new civilian flying schools of Italy, and gained the reputation as a very good 'founding father' of Italian light and private aviation.

MACCHI MB.308 - 1-NCOM Of the 182 aircraft built, today only less than 10 are sti ll flyable, geographically spread among Argentina, France, Spain, Germany and of course Italy. Of these flying aircraft, two are based in Italy, but currently only one has a full airworthiness certificate, D-EJCH, which carries the period markings and registration of I-NCO M.

The aircraft is owned by And rea Rossetto, a young Air Traffic Controller based at Padova in Northern Italy. This MB.308 is a very famous and popular aircraft at major air shows in Italy, instantly recognisable in its bright all red livery.

Famous Italian photographer Luigino Caliaro of Aviation Classics met with And rea before a flight from the airstrip near Padova where he maintains his beautiful restored aircraft, to learn the particular histor y of his Macchi. Andrea told us:

'This Macchi MB 308 has a long and proud history, as it was built in 1948 by Macchi, but it was not purchased, as were most of the other 'Macchinos', by the Aeronautica Mili tare. Instead it was purchased from new by the Industria Cortometraggi Milano (The Milan short-feature film industry), then famous for its newsreels. The firm was also known by the acronym IN CO M, and the abbreviation was happily chosen as the aircraft's orig inal registration.

'The INCOM factory was created in 1938 by Sandro Pallavicini, and after the war inaugurated an illustrated magazine in which information, news analysis and entertainment assumed various modalities of expression which were complementary to the "La Settimana IN CO M" cinema newsreels. In the first years of the postwar period, still in the absence of television, the combined film newsreel and illustrated magazine, in the cinema and on the news stand, was considered a winning business strategy, one of the first 'multimedia' companies.

'The Macchi MB.308, I-NCO M, was the per fect tool for the company to introduce to Italian newsreels beautiful aerial images of natural sites and the historic cities of Italy. The MB.308 was modified by adding, on the right cockpit door, a small circular door to allow the use of a fi lm camera. It was intensively used for aerial filming, documentaries and to participate in several air rallies, such as the Giro Aereo di Sicilia. The aircraft took part in air shows, but was also used for social and >-

small circular window. now covered over. for use by a film camera. Luigino Caliaro

POSTWAR REBUILDING

The fin and tailplane with its restored manufacturer's markings. Luigino Caliaro

Alenia Aermacchi 73

POSTWAR REBUILDING

The MB.308 possess excellent handling and manoeuvrability. Luigino Caliaro

Clifton Harvey chose to apply a former military livery, silver with a blue lightning bolt and the new registration D-EJCH to the MB.308 after he purchased it in the late 1980s. Via Luigino Caliaro

I-NCO M, along with several other MB.308s and other types, seen at the 'Milan Meeting' in 1949. Via Luigino Caliaro

74 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

sporting events around Italy that needed aerial footage.

"With the widespread introduction of television in Italy, INCOM suffered an economic cris is that led the company to sell the aircraft to Luftbildverlag H. Ber tram GmbH in 1957. This was a photo mapping company based in Munich owned by Hans Bertram, the founder of L TU, the first postwar German airline. The aircraft was registered as D-EJUP and has the distinction of being the first private German aircraft authorised by the Allied Occupation Commission after the Second World War. It flew for around 10 years from its home base in Munich on aerial photographic missions, until technological progress relegated it to a dark corner of a hangar.

"In the late Eighties, an Englishman named Clifton Harvey noticed the Macchi hanging from the ceiling of the hangar and decided to buy it. He worked for 12 long years to return the Macchino to the sky, and he chose to apply a former military livery, s ilver with a blue lightning bolt and the new registration 0 -EJCH. In May 2005 I heard that Mr Harvey had decided to sell the aircraft and I luckily was able to purchase it. At the same time, together some Italian fri ends and aviation enthusiasts, we created the Historical Aircraft Group with the Macchino proudly representing one of the oldest aircraft of our group.

''When I purchased the aircraft its full history was not known, but thanks the original identification plates still in the cockpit, these allowed me, after an extensive historical search, to discover the origins and the real history of this stunning aircraft. I decided immediately to restore the Macchino back to its beautiful original red livery. Thanks to the support of many friends I was put in touch with the director of Istituto Luce, who enthusiastically helped me in the historical research, locating an original film of the delivery of the MB.308 to Societa INCOM. Even in black and white, on the film I found many details of the paint scheme and insignia, that, along with some

photographs that I found, permitted me to reproduce the exact livery.

'The restoration took around three years, as I completely disassembled and restored each part. I had to remove all the silver paint and verify all of the wooden structure; I paid particular attention to the restoration of all of the main components, and I was able to locate all the original instruments fitted on the aircraft type. The engine was completely overhauled and after three long years and more than 2000

AERMACCHI MB.308 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Wing Span lOm Length 6.45m Height 2.17m Wing Area 13.72sq m Empty Weight 400kg Useful Load 220kg MaxWeight 620kg Max Speed 205kph Cruise Speed 165kph Landing Speed 65kph Range 600km Takeoff Distance llOm Landing Distance 55 m Climb to 1 OOOm 5 minutes Ceiling 5000m

The original manufacturer's plates gave several c lues to the origins of the aircraft. Andre a Rossetto

man hours, on April 20, 2008 I started the engine and took this beautiful aircraft back into its element. This success was the best way I could repay the many people and friends that supported and helped me in the project. I am very grateful to the LBA (the German aviation authority), that allowed me to restore the aircraft to its exact original configuration, including the conspicuous I-NCO M marking of the former Italian registration, while conserving the German registration D-EJCH."

The entire wing can be removed in one piece. which facilitated its restoration. Andrea Rossetto

In 2009, this aircraft was recognised as the best aircraft restoration project, worldwide, completed that year by an enthusiast, by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) . The FAI awarded the 'Phoenix diploma' for "the magnifice nt job in restoring the aircraft to its original configuration upon leaving the Varese factory in 1948". In addition, Andrea won the silver medal the same year at the World Air Games.• Words: Luigino Caliaro

The wooden fuselage completely stripped during its restoration. Andrea Rossetto

The owner reproducing the original registration on the fuselage. And rea Rossetto

Alenia Aermacchi 75

A-ermacchi built a ll the fuselages for the 155 de Havilland Vampires made in Italy under licence. Note the line of M .41 6 fuselages in the background. Aermacchi were very busy in the 1950s. Alenia Aermacchi

Aeronautica Macchi Trainers, lights and licences The immediate postwar period saw a great deal of change at Varese. As already covered, Ermanno Bazzochi had taken over as chief designer and produced the MB.308, a superb light aircraft that was to invigorate private aviation and flying schools around the country. This idea was developed into a twin engined aircraft and was followed by licence production of two very different types before Aermacchi introduced the MB.323.

The Bazzochi designed MB1 Macchitre was a three wheeled truck with a useful load of 1 .5 tons. Developments of this tough vehic le were to remain in p roduction for nearly 30 years. Alenia Aermacchi

I n the postwar years, Ermanno Bazzochi's firs t design work for Macchi, or Aermacchi as it was now widely

known, was a 750cc engined three wheeled vehicle called

the MB1 Macchitre, which was part of the company's

diversification policy to survive in the chaos of the period. This was later upgraded

with a 973cc air-cooled diesel engine by the newly formed Bremach

company, a contraction of Brenna and Macchi. The developed versions of this light truck were to remain in production for nearly 30 years and the now independent

76 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

Bremach produces trucks and specialist militar y and emergency vehicles.

The Aermacchi company also built motorcycles, a very successful enterprise, particularly on the race track. The motorcycle division was based in the Schiranna plant that had previously built seaplanes on the shores of Lake Varese. During the early 1960s, 50% of the motorcycle division was purchased by Harley-Davidson, which bought the business outright in 1974, winning a number of road racing world championships before selling their interest to Cagiva.

LIGHT TWIN Alongside the vehicle developments, Bazzochi designed the successful MB.308 as already described, and began work on a twin engined

The MB.320 had an all wooden airframe and only sold in limited numbers, but those built served for many years with g reat reliability. Alenia Aermacchi

executive aircraft, a six seat light transport called the MB.320. Powered by a pair of 185hp Continental E185 flat six piston engines, the prototype first flew in May 1949. Built entirely of wood, the MB.320 entered a market full of cheap war surplus transports and the new all metal American light aircraft, so only ever sold in small numbers, despite being capable of 322kph (200mph) and a pleasure to fly.

Three MB.320s were sold to East African Airways, which used them between the cities of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. These three were eventually sold to a charter company, which used them for small scale passenger and cargo services in the same countries. A number were sold to private and corporate owners throughout Europe, which resulted in a plan to manufacture the MB.320 in France, as the Lignel VEMA-51. This never came to fruition, although the small number of MB.320s built are sometimes referred to as VEMA-51s in error.

As already mentioned, Aermacchi built the fuselages for the 155 de Havilland Vampire FB Mk.52a and NF Mk.10s produced under licence in Italy, sharing the final assembly of the aircraft with Fiat. This production was to give the company valuable expe1i ence with jet aircraft,

A rare photograph of a line-up of Aermacchi built Vampire FB Mk.52a's in Egyptian Air Force markings. Forty-nine were supplied to Egypt from Italy and the UK. Alenia Aermacchi

experience Ermanno Bazzochi was to put to good use in 1953 at the beginning of the MB.326 project. In 1951, this initial licence production was followed by 180 examples of the Fokker S.ll two seat piston engined trainer.

Powered by a 190hp Lycoming 0-435 flat six piston engine, the M.416 as it was known in Italy had an all metal wing with a welded steel tube fuselage covered in fabric aft of the engine cowling. Built be tween 1951 and 1958, these were to serve with the Aeronautica Militare ltaliana (AMO as their basic trainer up to 1960, after which a number of M.416s were supplied to University Squadrons and second line Flight Training Centres. The surviving air frames were supplied to civilian flying clubs around the country at the end of their military service, the big side by side cockpit trainer proving popular with instructors and pupils alike.

THE MB.323 To act as an advanced trainer for pupils to transition onto after the MB.416, in 1951 Aermacchi began development of a powerful radial engined trainer. Designated the MB.323, this was a sleek low wing monoplane with a long sliding bubble canopy that

Aermacchi built 180 Fokker S-11 basic trainers as the M.41 6 for the AMI. Alenia Aermacchi

covered the tandem two seat cockpit that first flew in 1952. Powered by the reliable 610hp Pratt and Whitney R-1340 Wasp, the MB.323 had a maximum speed of374kph (232mph) and was armed with a single 7.9mm machine gun in the port wing for gunnery training. The AMI evaluated the trainer against the Fiat G.49, which was a very similar aircraft, both of which were intended as replacements for the North American T-6 Texan as an advanced trainer. The Fiat design was chosen and produced in small numbers, so only one of the MB.323 was ever produced.

In the early 1950s, Aermacchi began its first association with American aviation giant Lockheed. Negotiations between the two companies resulted in Aermacchi setting up an overhaul and maintenance centre for the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer, which was being used by the USAF in Europe and many NATO air forces. The Aermacchi centre provided deep maintenance, inspection and upgrade services to the Europe-wide fleet of aircraft and proved extremely successful. This initial co-operation between the two companies was to result in the international sales support of the Alr60 in the US as well as a number of other collaborative programmes, which will be covered later in this magazine. • Words: Tim Callaway

a rep lacement for the North American T-6 advanced trainer. Alenia Aermacchi

Alen ia Aermacchi 77

After the end of the war, Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali or IMAM returned to its mechanical roots so to speak, with the reintroduction of railway, tram and bus construction. to keep the production lines employed. It also developed an aerobatic trainer project which was never built. Breda, which owned IMAM, transferred its interest in the company ~ to IRI, a state owned industrial manufacturing concern shortly after the war's end.

I RI was the Istituto per la Ricostruzione lndustriale or Institute for Industrial Reconstruction. This was a state owned and managed concern that oversaw the rebuilding of Italian industry after the

Second World War, with great success it must be said. In 1948, !RI formed Finmeccanica as a subsidiar y holding company for all its mechanical, automotive and aerospace concerns. IMAM was made a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, the Naples based aircraft and railway manufacturer being merged into a new company called Aerfer. This was officially formed on July 26, 1955, the name being a

An Ambrosini S.7 single seat trainer in service in the Second World War. Editor's collection

contraction of Costruzioni Aeronautiche e Ferroviarie, or Aeronautical and Railway Constructors. This company continued the manufacturer of buses, trams and railway rolling stock, but also began production of a remarkable series of jet aircraft.

To trace the story of the aircraft produced by Aerfer, we first have to go back into the history of another company. SAl Ambrosini was based at Passignano sui T rasimeno and had produced the Macchi C.200 and 202 under licence during the war, as well as a number of fighter and other designs which were not adopted. In 1939, chief designer Sergio Stefanutti had also produced the SAI.7, a single seat racing aircraft which had set a new speed record on August 27 of that year by reaching 403.9kph (252mph) in a lOOkm closed circuit. The Regia Aeronautica had been interested in a two seat SAl. 7 as a possible trainer for fighter pilots, and ordered the fi rst batch of 10 in 1943 as the SA!. IT. After the war, the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI) purchased 145 SAI.7s, mostly two seat

78 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

versions as trainers. A few were also sold privately as touring aircraft.

Two air frames were re-engined as the Supersette (Super 7s) in the early 1950s, but despite setting a new speed record, no further interest was forthcoming in the type and only the two were built. Meanwhile, a third postwar S.7 air frame was utilised to form the basis of a brand new research aircraft. The piston engined fuselage was retained, but a new wing and tailplane were added, the wing leading edge being swept at 45°.

In this form, the aircraft was known as the S.7 Freccia (Arrow) and first flew on January 5, 1953. After successful flight trials , the piston engine was removed from the nose and a small T urbomeca Marbore turbojet replaced it. The air intake for the jet was in the nose of the aircraft, the exhaust under the fuselage, which meant a shield had to be positioned between the exhaust and the tailwheel to protect it. In this form the aircraft was renamed the Sagittario (Archer or Sagittarius) and could reach a speed of 560kph (350mph).

The Aerfer Sagittario 2 as a redesign with a nosewheel undercarriage, seen here at the Paris Air Show in 1957. Ruth AS

The second Sagittario 2 is on d isplay at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare d i Vigna di Valle. Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle

The test flights provided a great deal of aerodynamic data regarding swept wings and jet designs.

Sergio Stefanutti began work on an improved nosewheel version of the design, the intention being to eventually produce a supersonic jet fighter for the AMI. This next step in the project was built by Aerfer in Naples as the Sagittario 2, powered by a Rolls­Royce Derwent IX turbojet with 1635kg (3600lb) of thrust Unlike the first Sagittario, this was an all metal aircraft designed from the outset as a jet The Derwent was mounted in the nose and exhausted half way along the underside of the fuselage, giving the air craft a maximum speed of 1050kph (652mph). Sleek and efficient, two were built, the first flight being made on May 19, 1956, by Constantino Petrosellini, a test pilot from the AMI's experimental flight test centre.

The air frame was extremely clean aerodynamically, and on December 4, 1956, Lieutenant Colonel Giovanni Franchini made the Sagittario 2 the first Italian aircraft to fly supersonically when he reached Mach 1.1 in a dive from 13,725m (45,000ft). The fighter was armed with two 30mm Hispano Suiza HDD-825 cannons and could carry a range of missiles and ground attack weapons on two

underwing hard points, but only the two were built. The second prototype, MM.561, is on display today in the Museo Storico dell'Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, Italy.

The Sagittario 2 was not considered either fast or powerful enough, so further development was undertaken. The next version, the Ariete (Ram or Aries), was identical to the Sagittario 2 except it had a retractable intake mounted behind the cockpit in the upper fuselage, which fed a second jet engine mounted under the tail. This was a Rolls-Royce Soar RS.2 turbojet which produced 818kg (1800lb) of thrust and was intended to be used to boost performance on take off, in the climb or in combat. The combination of thrust from this and the Derwent IX gave the Ariete a maximum speed of 1125kph (700mph). Only one was built, MM.569, the second aircraft being cancelled due to budget cuts. The Ariete first flew on March 27, 1958, but the flight test programme proved the aircraft still d id not have the performance the AMI were seeking in an interceptor, so no more were built.

There was one more attempt to produce a viable interceptor from the design. In 1958 work had begun on the Aerfer Leone (Lion or

Leo), another dual powerplant version of the fighter, but this time with a rocket motor replacing the second jet engine. A more powerful Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 12 was to replace the Rolls-Royce Derwent in the nose, and a de Havilland Spectre rocket motor was to be mounted in the tail. However, in 1960, the Italian government was more interested in acquiring the Raytheon MIM-23 Hawk air defence missile, which was to be built under licence by the newly formed Selenia. The budget was diver ted to the missile programme and the Leone was cancelled when the prototype was about 80% complete.

Aerfer was to continue in aviation, working on studies for a rocket powered unmanned supersonic interceptor called the AE 140 W030 in the late 1950s, to carry its own radar and missiles and be directed from the ground. It also built structures under Ucence for other manufacturers, such as fuselage sections for the Douglas, later McDonnell Douglas, DC-9 airliner. In 1967, Aerfer collaborated with Aermacchi to produce the AM.3, which will be described later. Finally, in 1969, Aerfer was merged with the electronics and avionics manufacturer Salmoiraghi and the Fiat aircraft division to produce a new company, Aeritalia. • Words: Tim Gal/away

Alenia Ae rmacchi 79

Early Fiat G-91 R/1 s on the production line at the Turin plant. Alenia Aermacchi

e success Fiat and the G.91 Licence production of the F-86Kfor a number of NATO air forces in the 1950s gave Fiat experience with producing swept wing jet aircraft. This was to be put to good use in the development of one of the most successful European fighter bombers of the jet age, the Fiat G. 91 and its many variants. This was to be produced in large numbers for three NATO air forces, but was also to be evaluated by two others.

Work on the Fiat G.91 design began when NATO's Supre me Headquarters Allied Powers Europe issued a specification

calling for a Lightweight Strike Fighter called NATO Basic Military Requirement No. 1 or NBMR-1. A number of companies responded, Fiat with a new design from Giuseppe Gabrielli that was tailored to the requirement. In order that only realistic programmes would be submitted to NATO, the full proposals had to be delivered within eight weeks of the requirement being announced.

The terms of the specification were exacting, intending to produce a simple, small attack aircraft that could operate from grass

80 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

strips or roads in the event of major airfields being destroyed. The use of basic weapons and avionics and an ability to operate with minimal suppor t equipment were included as part of this dispersed operational capability, along with a maximum take-off distance of llOOm (3610ft). The aircraft was to be subsonic with a range of 560km (340 miles) to include a 10 minute loiter over a target. Twin 20 or 30mm cannon or four 12.7mm machine guns were to be carried for strafing and armour was to be provided for the pilot and fuel systems.

Given the detailed nature of the requirement, it is surprising that no fewer than seven aircraft were submitted for appraisal. These were; the Northrop N-156

(see Aviation Classics Issue 19-The Northrop F-5), the Dassault Mystere XXVI (that would become the Dassault Etendard IV), the Sud Ouest Barodeur, the Breguet Br 1001 Taon, the Folland Gnat, the Fiat G.91 and the Aerfer Sagittario 2, the last of which has been covered earlier in this magazine. The head of the NATO Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development reviewing the designs was Dr Theodore von Karman, the Hungarian aerodynamicist who had been a tutor of Gabrielli's when he was at

An atmospheric view of the first pre­production aircraft delivered to the Frecce Tricolori as the Fiat G.91 PAN. Alenia Aermacchi

A side view of a Fiat G.91 R/3 of Jagdbomber Geschwader (JaboG) 49 of the Luftwaffe. Keith Draycott

the Aeronautical Institute of the RWTH Aachen University.

After an 18 month selection process the Breguet and Fiat designs were selected to be produced as prototypes, the result being announced on June 30, 1955, but divisions were beginning to weaken the NATO resolve for common equipment. Shortly after this initial selection, it was decided that the Dassault design would also be included in the evaluation which led to the French eventually developing the Etendard IV for the Aeronavale. Additionally, the British had already decided that the Hawker Hunter could be best modified to meet the RAF's need for a ground attack aircraft. Meanwhile the G.91 prototype was first flown on August 9, 1956, by Fiat chief test pilot Riccardo Bignamini and an intensive test programme began. This revealed a number of problems with the initial design, not least of which were severe vibrations. These vibrations were caused by cumulative aerodynamic effects on the airframe, which were strong enough to destroy the prototype on February 20, 1957, when its fin detached on a low level test flight.

The G.91 programme had started with a seven month lead over the Dassault lival, and a year over the Breguet entry, but the redesign required caused a five month delay while the aerodynamic problems were ironed out. The second aircraft had a larger tailplane and fin, modified canopy and the addition of a ventral fin which, along with

•

JET SUCCESS

some other minor refinements, cured the vibration problems. The much changed second prototype first flew in July 1957, and flight testing resumed.

Two more examples of the modified design were built and sent to the French Centre d'Essais en Vol at Bretigny sur Orge for the evaluation trials in September 1957. These aircraft, like all subsequent G.91Rs and Ts, were powered by the simple and reliable Bristol Orpheus turbojet with 2268kg (50001b) of thrust. The choice of this engine was just one of the factors that scored highly with the judges at the competition, as it met the criteria for ease of maintenance in the field under wartime conditions. After an impressive showing at the trials the Fiat G.91 was declared the winner in January 1958.

Prior to the results of the competition being revealed, the Italian Government had already realised the qualities of the aircraft and ordered it into production for the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMO, although this first batch of aircraft were considered pre­production machines. Designated G.91PAN, they were modified with smoke generation systems and went on to serve for many years as the mount of the Italian nation aerobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori. The team received these aircraft in 1963, replacing its North American F-86E Sabres with the type.

The G.91PANs did not have the cameras mounted in the nose nor all of the military

avionics, so were lighter than >-

Alenia Aermacchi 81

A pair of ex-luftwaffe Fia t G.91 R/3s of the Portuguese Air Force. SDFA-AH

the production aircraft, the team using them up to 1981 when they were replaced with the Aermacchi MB.339PAN. Prior to this, trials aircraft were sent to the 103 Gruppo of the 5th Air Brigade in August 1958, then equipped 14 Gruppo of the 2nd Air Brigade in 1961.

With initial production under way, evaluation of the Fiat G.91 took place for the air forces of Austria, Norway and Switzerland and the United States Army, which used a G.91R/1 and R/3 in fast forward air controller trails against the Northrop F-5. The USAF restricted the Army to rotary winged aircraft so the trials were dropped, but the USAF itself also tested the G.91 as a potential expor t aircraft for the Mutual Defence Assistance Programme (M OAP) . It was under the terms of the MDAP that the US agreed to part finance the supply of the G.91 to France, Germany and Italy and to fully finance the aircraft for the Turkish Air Force.

This agreement was reached at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in May 1958 in which 50 G.91s were to be initially ordered for each country. This was later extended to include 50 aircraft for Greece, but some of these orders were to be cancelled as the production lines started to roll.

As it turned out, both the Turkish and Greek orders were cancelled and the French decided to pursue their own programme, leaving just Italy and Germany as the initial customers for the G.91. Greece did receive four aircraft for trials, but did not pursue the programme beyond this stage. Production began in Turin and in southern Germany, at the Fiat and Dornier factories, Dornier having become part of Flugzeug-Union Siid, along with elements of Messerschmitt and Heinkel.

The G.91s produced by this group were the first aircraft to be built in Germany since the war's end. This licenced production of the G .91 was one of the factors that had attracted Germany to the programme in the first place as it would assist in re-establishing the aerospace industry there. Altogether 294 single seat and 22 two seat G.91s were built in Germany for use by the Luftwaffe, production ending in 1972. An additional 144 single seat and 44 two seat aircraft were built in Italy for

the Luftwaffe, as well as 17 4 for the AMI which joined the pre-production aircraft already in service. This construction of the 756 aircraft took until 1977 to complete, the production lines remaining open for 19 years, a major success for Fiat. Nine major variants of the G.91 were produced in that time, and are listed here.

Production of the two seat version began almost alongside the single seater and was a response to a need for an advanced trainer for the type, the only difference being a slightly longer fuselage. The AMI, as already noted, received its first G.91s in 1958, equipping three groups in the ground attack and tactical support roles. The last G.91R sor tie in the AMI took place on April 9, 1992, the aircraft being replaced by the AMX.

The Luftwaffe received its first G.91s in 1961, five Fiat built aircraft being evaluated by the test unit Erprobungsstelle 61 and Waffenschule (Weapons School) 50. Subsequent deliveries went to equip four light attack wings which were to use the G.91 until 1982, the last being replaced by the Dassault/ Dornier Alpha Jet in the tactical support role. One last air force used the G.91 in number, that of Portugal. The deal came about because the Luftwaffe needed a more southern training base with better weather. The Portuguese Air Force offered Beja Air Base in return for G.91s, a deal the Luftwaffe was more than happy to make as it was operating a mixed fleet of its own G.91R/3s and the R/ 4s that had been intended for Greece and Turkey.

Even though these R/ 4 aircraft were concentrated at Waffenschule 50, the aircraft were still sufficiently different to cause maintenance problems. A first batch of 40 G.91R/ 4s was supplied in 1966, with a second group including seven T /3 two seat trainers following in 1976. As the Luftwaffe replaced the G.91 in the early 1980s, more aircraft were supplied until a total of 70 R/3s and 26 T /3s were in Portugal, but some only as a source of spare parts. The G.91 was not withdrawn from the Portuguese Air Force until 1993, making them the last front line operator of the type.

The last major version of the G.91 design

was sufficiently different from the earlier models to warrant describing separately. The original powerplant of a single Bristol Orpheus turbojet had limited the weapons payload of the G.91 to 680kg (15001b) of weapons in the R/3 version, a capability found disappointing by some. In order to address this more power was required, so the rear fuselage of a G.91T was modified to accommodate a pair of General Electric ] 85-

GE-13A turbojets with afterburner. These were mounted side by side and produced 1850kg (40801b) of thrust each which enabled the G.91Y, as it was known, to carry 1814kg (4000lb) of external stores - a significant increase.

Despite being based on the longer fuselage of a two seat G.91, the rear cockpit was not fitted, instead it was replaced with additional fuel tanks that increased the range of the

The cockpit of Fiat G.91 R!l at the Aeronautical Technical Institute in Udine. SCD Bob

The range of ground attack weapons that could be carried by the G.91 R/3 was impressive and was latet acfded to by the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile for self defence. SDFA·AH

G.91Y over its single engined brethren. The airframe was lightened through internal structural modifications and automatic leading edge slats were fitted to improve manoeuvrability. The only other improvements were in the avionics, more sophisticated systems allowing a higher degree of night and all weather operations than the earlier aircraft. Flight test with three pre-production aircraft revealed that elements of the aerodynamic problems which beset the early G.91 had returned, necessitating a redesign of the rear fuselage to raise the tailplane.

These modifications took time, resulting in 20 pre-production aircraft being ordered, the first one flying in July 1968. Altogether 67 G.91Ys were delivered to the AMI, 45 of them full production versions, the last ones being delivered in 1976. By this time, Fiat Aviazione, Aerfer and avionics manufacturer Salmoiraghi had merged to form Aeritalia, which is why the Fiat G.91 is often referred to as the Aeritalia G.91. The G.91Ys were delivered to 1 Gruppo of 8 Stormo and 13 Gruppo of 32 Stormo who used the aircraft until the early 1990s when they too were replaced by the AMX.

The Fiat G.91 represented a major success for Italian industry. The winning of a NATO competition against French, US and British rivals was no small achievement, the 19 year production run of the G.91 giving Fiat then Aeritalia a sound financial base with which to develop their next designs, the most successful of which was to be a very different aircraft indeed. • Words: Tim Gal/away

Alenia Ae rmacchi 83

JET SUCCESS

Aeronautica Macchi The Aermacchi MB.326 The next aircraft to be produced at Aeronautica Macchi, or Aermacchi as it was now known, was a tremendous success for the company, selling worldwide as a military jet trainer. The designation of the type was MB.326, a tandem two seat aircraft widely considered as a delight to fly, which was to see service as far afield as Brazil and Australia.

T he MB.326 began life in the 1950s when Ermanno Bazzocchi realised that the development of advanced interceptors and other large military aircraft was

beyond the facilities of the company at that time. However, the light military jet trainer arena was both lucrative and wide open, a truly excellent aircraft was yet to be fielded. Bazzocchi realised that any such aircraft would need to be cheap and reliable, yet at the same time robust enough to withstand student handling and of a high enough performance to be a meaningful introduction to the advanced aircraft the students would later fly. It was to these exacting and contradictory requirements that he applied himself in 1955, deciding early on that a single engined light aircraft was the way to achieve the performance, with a strong wing for high G manoeuvring and a short but sturdy undercarriage capable of taking a pounding. The engine chosen to power this was the Armstrong Siddeley Viper, a

Legendary chief test p ilot Guide Carestiato with the prototype Aermacchi MB.326. Alenia Aermacchi

reliable, efficient yet relatively cheap turbojet that had been intended only for target drones until its cost effectiveness had been realised. This combination of eng ine and extremely clean, aerodynamically efficient air frame made its fi rst flig ht in the experienced hands of chief test pilot Guido Carestiato on Decembe r 10, 1957.

Tests at the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMO showed the new aircraft to have exactly the combination of qualities the service was looking for, being selected over the Fiat G.82 which was a much heavier aircraft. Production orders followed quickly, in 1958 and 1960, with the first ab initio training course beginning at the Scuola Volo Basico lniziale Aviogetti (SVBIA or Initial Jet Basic Flying School) based at Lecce-Galatina in 1962.

This was alongside a conventional T-6 course, which demonstrated the efficiency of the new aircraft and its training system. Altogether 122 MB.326s of various versions and six pre-production aircraft were delivered to the AMI, racking up an impressive 400,000

flight hours over the next 22 years before they were replaced by the MB.339 between 1981 and 1984. The second order came from Italian airline Alitalia, which wanted to acquire versions of the trainer equipped with civil navigation systems to train pilots for the latest airliners. Four of these aircraft, designated MB.326D, were supplied to the airline.

In 1966, the MB.326 set a number of world records for aircraft in its class, including climb to height, altitude, endurance and speed records, but it was in the expor t field that the new trainer brought Aermacchi its greatest successes. The MB.326 was to be produced in both single and two seat versions as a trainer and a light ground attack aircraft, with a total of 762 built both by Aermacchi and under licence in Australia (97), Brazil (182) and South Africa (251). The last Embraer built examples were not retired from the Brazilian Air Force until December 10, 2010. The full story of this remarkable aircraft and its use by 16 nations will be told in a later issue of Aviation Classics, but its use in the Falklands War by Argentina is

84 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

covered later in this magazine. In this significant year for Aermacchi, one

of the most iconic aircraft produced by the company has returned to the sky thanks to the efforts of Renzo Catellani, a civilian aviation enthusiast and dedicated owner of Aermacchi MB.326E I-RVEG. He is also President of the Museo Volante Vola Fenice, which is also home to a] et Provost (I-PROV), a Mudry CAP-10 (F-GKJD and a Cessna L-19 Bird Dog (I-EIAW) in I talian Army markings, all of which are regularly flown.

Renzo is also member of the HAG (Historic Aircraft Group) an Italian association that brings together owners and enthusiasts to support historic aircraft. The great Italian photographer Luigino Caliaro went to the Vola Fenice hangar at the Reggio Emilia airport on behalf of Aviation Classics to meet Renzo on April10, 2013. Renzo told him the story behind the restoration of I-RVEG before they flew this exclusive photo sortie with the MB.326, a real celebration in this, the 100th anniversary year of its manufacturer. >

The Aermocchi MB.326E was on armed trainer variant for the AMI. Lulglno Callaro

THE HISTORY OF AERMACCHI MB.326 1-RVEG

Aermocchi MB-326 (construction number 6172/19) MM.54168 was delivered to the Scuola Volo Basico lniziale Aviogetti (SVBIA or Initial Jet Basic Flying School) based at lecce-Galatina in March 1962. Here it was given the individual code number 68. In 1975 the aircraft was upgraded by

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Aermacchi and to become The immaculate Vola Fen ice Aermocchi MB.326E in front of an MB.326E, an armed their hangar at Reggio Emilio airport. Luigino Callaro version of the trainer. This upgrade included provision for a minigun pod. a gun camera, upgraded avionics and a TACAN navigation system. After the upgrade the aircraft returned to the SVBIA with the new individual code 70.

When the MB.326 started to be replaced by the new MB.339. a number of the training school machines were delivered to become liaison aircraft

for the front line units. In this role MM.54168 was assigned to 609th Squadriglia of the 9th Stormo in 1985, with the individual code 9-01. Here it remained for a year, before being assigned to 606th Squadriglia liaison of 6th Stormo. a Tornado lDS unit based at Ghedi in Northern Italy.

The Macchi flew with the code b-43 for a couple of years, before its

retirement. probably in 1989. After that it was bought by a private aircraft collection that displayed it in open storage on the small airfield of Delta land at San Possidonio until 2006, when Vola Fen ice bought the aircraft with the intention to restore to flight conditions. As you can see from the images here. in this it has succeeded brilliantly.

Alenia Aermacchi 85

JET SUCCESS

Renzo said: "Everything began with my passion for history and aircraft This passion lead to the creation of the Museo Araba Fenice, dedicated to military history generally, then later to the specific museum flight section known as the Vola Fenice. The first aircraft we acquired were the remains of a Saiman 202, a trainer and liaison aircraft used by Regia Aeronautica during the Second World War that I hope will be restored to flight condition in the future.

''This was followed by the Bird Dog, a former Italian Army aircraft, and the Cap 10 that was used by Armee de L'Air in France. After these, I got the opportunity to purchase the wreck of a Fiat G.91R and G.91, as well as the Aermacchi MB.326. Because of this, I decided to organize the activity of Vola Fenice to restore to flight condition some of the aircraft that marked the history of the AMI.

"Considering this, and the types of aircraft this entailed, I got the opportunity to buy a Jet Provost, which I did in order to build some jet flying experience. The first project was to restore to flying condition the MB.326 and my technical team started to work on the aircraft in 2007. The airframe, externally seemed quite good, but when we started to disassemble the various components we discovered that corrosion had badly damaged several parts. This fact meant a lot of very hard work for my specialists, as we have to consider that the MB.326 was exclusively a military aircraft and that it was retired from AMI almost 20 years ago.

''This meant we had some problems in finding original spare parts and components. Thanks to the support of many others in small

Early production Aermacchi MB.326s in service with the AMI's SVBIA or Initial Jet Basic Flying School based at Lecce-Galatina. Alenla Aermacchi

Four of the 87 Aermacchi MB.326Hs operated by the Royal Australian Air Force. Alenla Aermacchl

The Vola Fen ice team. From the left Giorgio Pellicciari. team pilot. technician Dario Pizzolato. Roberto Marzi, Renzo Catellani and Valter Mocchi. Not present in the photo the other technician Riccardo Mosc a. Luigino Caliaro

restoration workshops, factories and friends, we solved all the problems that we encountered along the way. Many components were by necessity built brand new, following the specific technical drawings. ln particular I have to thank the invaluable suppor t of my friend Albino Panigari, as without his help this project probably would not have survived.

''The main source of the success of the project was the exceptional skills of my technicians, all former air force or aviation industr y specialist engineers. They were able to lead the project in many ways, the revision of the batteries, the electrical and hydraulic systems and also the complete refurbishment of the engine.

''The first flight of the MB.326 after restoration, on July 6, 2012, followed by the enthusiastic comments of test pilot Sergio Cominitini, delighted me and my team, making the last five years of hard work all worthwhile. Another important success for us recently is the fact that the organizer of Air Power 2013 has officially invited the Vola Fen ice MB.326 to participate. This is a very important European air show held at Zeltweg in Austria and our aircraft has been invited as

The front cockpit of the immaculately restored Aermacchi MB.326E of Museo Volante Vola Fenice. Lulglno Caliaro

a distinguished guest flight performer. "Another important day for me personally

was April4, 2013, when I was able to perform my first solo fligh t in the MB.326, for me the proper crowning achievement of a dream begun years ago. I would also like to thank specifically my technical team who support all the Vola Fenke projects on a daily basis. These are Dario Pizzolato, Valter Mocchi, Riccardo Mosca and Roberto Marzi, as well as all the friends and aviation enthusiasts that contributed to the success of the project."

Given the simply stunning condition of the aircraft, all of us at Aviation Classics wish Renzo and the tean1 at Vola Fenice well for the future, and look forward to their future projects. • Words: Tim Callaway and Lttigino Caliaro

The Aermacchi MB.326E of Vola Fen ice displays its remarkably clean lines in flight on April 10. 2013. Lulglno Callaro

Alen ia Aermacchi 87

JET SUCCESS The Aermacchi AM.3C featured a 340hp Piaggio built Lycoming engine and four underwing hardpoints for a variety of light weapons. Alenia Aermacchi

Aeronautica Macchi Props and joint production • While the development and production of the many variants of the MB.326 was ongoing, Aermacchi entered into a licence agreement to produce the Alr60, a light utility transport. This was to later be developed into a military observation and utility aircraft known as the AM.3.

I n the late 1950s, designer AI Mooney of the Lockheed Corporation had produced a single engined high wing utility aircraft designed to operate from rough strips and in undeveloped

areas with a minimum of ground support. The rugged airframe had a strong tricycle undercarriage that could be easily converted to skis or floats for 'bush' flying. This was the AL-60, designed to take seven passengers or up to 454kg (1000lb) of cargo. The first of two prototypes made its maiden flight on September 15, 1959, but Lockheed decided that the American utility aircraft market was insufficiently strong to make production in the US a profitable concern. Initially it was decided to produce the aircraft in Mexico as a joint venture called Lockheed-Azcarate, who built 44 of the type called the lASA-60, 18 for the Mexican Air Force in 1960. A small number of AL-60s were also assembled in Argentina by Kaizer as the L-402.

The first Aermacchi Lockheed AL-60 built in Italy, 1-NASH. Alenia Aermacchi

However, in 1961, Lockheed's earlier experience of working with Aermacchi on the T-33 overhaul centre in the 1950s had resulted in the US manufacturer purchasing a shareholding in the Italian company. This led to an agreementfor Aermacchi to build the AL-60 under licence. Two versions were produced, the AL-608 with the original nosewheel, and the Aermacchi produced AL-60C with a tailwheel undercarriage, the first Italian manufactured aircraft flying on April 19, 1961. These proved successful, particularly in the African market, with 85 of the AL-60Bs, also known by the name Santa Maria, being sold. The AL-60C was also produced as the AL-60C-5 Conestoga for the Central African Republic and the AL-60F-5 Trojan for Rhodesia, who purchased around 10 for air policing and communications work. The engines fitted to these variants ranged from 250hp to 400hp units from Continental and Lycoming, the 400hp Lycoming 10-720 powering the AL-60F-5 which was sold to Canadian civilian operators. Altogether around 100 AL-60s were built in Italy.

The last variant was the AL-60C-5 with a 340hp Piaggio built Lycoming engine, which was built under licence in South Africa by Atlas Aviation as the Atlas C4M Kudu. The first Kudu flew in 1974 with around 40 being built for the South African Air Force (SAAF) . When these aircraft started to be retired from military service in 1991, they found a new role in operating as skydiving platforms and local transport aircraft.

88 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

The AL-60 was used as the basis for the design of a new aircraft, jointly produced between Aermacchi and Aeritalia, to provide a utility and observation aircraft for the Italian Army to replace the Cessna L-19 Bird Dog. Initially known as the MB.335, it utilised the AL-60 wings, strengthened to carry a variety of light armament. A new fuselage with a tailwheel undercarriage had extensive cockpit glazing for the best possible crew visibility. The pilot and observer sat in tandem but had dual controls, the rear cabin being able to accommodate a third seat, a stretcher or cargo. Designated AM.3, the Aermacchi built first prototype flew on May 12, 1967, with the second prototype built by Aerfer, now part of Aeritalia, flying on August 22, 1968.

The Italian Army selected the SIAI Marchetti SM.1019 as its observation aircraft, but Aermacchi continued development of the AM.3. A more powerful engine was fitted to the first prototype, the 340hp Piaggio-built Lycoming GS0-480-B1B6, in which form the aircraft was known as the AM.3C. The SAAF ordered 40 of this version in September 1970, naming the aircraft Bosbok and using it extensively in military operations in Angola between 1975 and 1989. Here it proved effective as a forward air controller, liaison and observation aircraft, serving with both 41 and 42 Squadrons before the last were retired in 1992. Three more AM.3Cs were sold to Rwanda, and a single ex-SAAF aircraft is still used by the National Test Pilot School at Mojave in California. • Words: Tim Callaway

A Fiat F-1 04S Starfighter of 12 Gruppo 36 Stormo based at Gioia del Colle. Keith DraycoH

JET SUCCESS

From the Starfighter to Aeritalia Lockheed was involved with Aermacchi as already covered, acquiring shares in the company in 1961. It had also entered into a licence production agreement with Fiat Aviazione to produce the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter in the same year, an aircraft that would be developed further and remain in service until 2004.

The initial F-104Gs for the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMD were built by Lockheed, the first one flying on June 9, 1960. The production line at Fiat

geared up rapidly, its first example flying on October 1, 1962. The F-104G was an upgraded version of the original interceptor design intended as a multi-role fighter bomber. The air frame and undercarriage were strengthened, with a larger fin and increased internal fuel tanks. The avionics suite was greatly upgraded too, including an infra-red sighting system, the Autonetics NASARR F15A-41B radar, which now included both air to air and ground mapping modes and the first inertial navigation system fitted to a fighter, the Litton LN-3.

The AMI were to be equipped with 105 F-104Gs, 24 of the two seat training TF-104G and 20 RF-104G reconnaissance aircraft These last aircraft were fitted up to three KS-67 A cameras in the cannon bays. The Fiat production lines were to produce 164 F-104Gs and TF-104Gs as well as 35 RF-104Gs, supplying both the AMI and other nations. The fi rst F-104Gs in Italian service became operational in March 1963. 1n their first five years of service, 23 F-104Gs were lost in a variety of incidents, so the decision was taken to find a new aircraft to bolster the fighter Squadrons .

The AMI was to operate the F-1 045 from May 1969 to October 2004. the last Starfighter operator in the world. Alenla Aermacchl

The AMI evaluated a number of aircraft to reinforce its fighter units, but on January 26, 1966 the Fiat proposed F-104S was selected. The F-104S was to be the ultimate development of the Lockheed fighter, able to carr y radar guided missiles such as the AIM-7 Sparrow due to the ugraded NASARR R-21G/H radar which had a continuous-wave mode for Semi-Active Radar Homing (SARH) missiles. The new type also had an additional pair of hard points, bring ing the total for the aircraft to nine and effectively doubling its potential weapons load.

The first F-104S was modified from a Fiat F-104G to act as a trials aircraft, flying on December 22, 1966. The fir st full production F-104S flew on December 30, 1968, the type entering service with 22 Gruppo of 51 Stormo in May 1969. Essentially, the F-104S was produced in two versions, one able to carry the Sparrow, in which case the M61Al Vulcan 20mm cannon was deleted, tl1e second retaining the cannon and able to carry seven 227kg (SOOlb) or 340kg (750lb) bombs in the ground attack role. The two equipment levels were interchangeable to a degree, so exactly how many of each type were produced remains unclear. However, it is known that 246 F-104Ss were built, not only for the AIM but for the T urkish Air Force as well, the first of 40 being supplied in 1974.

1n November 1969, Aerfer and Fiat Aviazione were merged to form Aeritalia, which is why the Fiat built aircraft are often referred to as the Aeritalia F-104S, as they were to undergo two midlife upgrades in 1986 and 1998. The fi rst of these was applied to 147 existing aircraft and was known as the Aeritalia F-104S-ASA. The Fiar R21G/M1 Setter radar was added, a modern frequency agile system with a look down/shoot down mode, along with a new weapons delivery computer. This made F-104S-ASA compatible with both the Selenia Aspide and AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles.

In 1989, a second upgrade was applied to 49 F-104S-ASAs and 15 TF-104G two seat trainers to create the F-104S-ASA/M. These aircraft had an entirely new navigation system with GPS, TACAN and a Litton LN-30A2 inertial navigation system. All ground attack equipment was deleted and an infra-red search and track ORSD sighting system was added, along with new cockpit displays. These were intended to remain in service until the introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon, the last unit equipped being 10 Gruppo of 9 Stormo at Grazzanise. These were the last F-104 Starfighters in ser vice anywhere in the world, the last being retired at a ceremony at Practica di Mare on October 31, 2004. • Words: Tim Gal/away

Flags trainer

Three AMI MB.339CDs showing the type's flexibility with d ifferent armament fits for ground attack. air-to-oir and clean for flying training. Lulglno Callaro

The MB.339, the Frecce Tricolori and the Fuerza Aerea del Peru

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The MB.326 had proved to be a reliable and successful trainer for the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI) since it entered service in 1962, so in September 1972 Aermacchi was approached by the air force to provide a study for a replacement aircraft.

A ermacchi's study for the replacement took two separate forms, the first being seven brand new designs

under the designation MB.338. The second approach was a modified version of the MB.326 air frame and engine, designated the MB.339. Comparative assessment of the proposals by the AMI showed that the MB.339 concept could not only meet the original requirement to replace the MB.326, but would also be able to replace the trainer versions of the Fiat G.91T then in service. It would be an extremely cost effective solution as spares and support for the engine were already in place.

The major changes to the air frame centred on the cockpit, with its raised rear seat for the instructor to give a clear view over

redesigned. To offset the side area of the larger forward fuselage, a larger fin had to be fitted with two small angled ventral fins, but aside from these changes the rest of the air frame was essentially an MB.326.

Due to the evolutionary rather than revolutionary nature of the MB.339 design, the prototypes, designated MB.339X, were quickly completed, the first flying on August 12, 1976. From the outset, the aircraft was intended to operate as a weapons as well as a flight trainer, this giving the MB.339 secondary light ground attack and limited air-to-air capabilities. A wide variety of weapons could be carried, including the two DEFA 30mm cannon, two 12.7mm or four 7.7mm machine guns in under wing pods, air-to-ground unguided rockets, bombs and the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.

A 1978 advertisement for the MB.339 stressed the cost effectiveness of the training system. Luigino Caliaro

the pupil's head, which required the forward fuselage to be extensively

The first deliveries of 107 MB.339As built for the AMI began in 1979. Like the MB.326 before it, the MB.339 quickly attracted export orders, the first of these

90 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

One of the reasons why the Aermacchi MB.339 is such a successful trainer, this is the view from the instructor's rear cockpit. raised to clear the pupil's head. Luigino Caliaro

being 10 trainer and light ground attack aircraft ordered by Argentina in 1980. These aircraft took part in the Falklands War, and their exploits in that conilict will be recounted later in this magazine.

This first South American order was followed in 1981 with 16 being delivered to Peru, the full story of which will be told later in this article. Nine countiies were to operate the MB.339 other than Italy, with over 220 of the type being built. Aside from the Argentine aircraft, the six MB.339CEs purchased by Eritrea in 1997 have seen combat, being used between 1998 and 2000 in ground attack missions against Ethiopia in the war of independence.

Upgrades to the avionics and engine have resulted in repeat orders from a number of customers, a process that is likely to continue for many more years as the air frames are proving extremely reliable and hard-wearing. Aside from the avionics, the weapons capabilities of the MB.339s have been extended to include up to two Raytheon Maverick air-to-ground missiles, the Matra Magic air-to-air missile and the MBDA Mk.2A Marte air-to-ship missile. This makes the trainer a potent yet affordable combat

aircraft, increasing its cost effectiveness. The most recent upgrade customers have been Malaysia in November 2009 and the United Arab Emirates in 2010. The UAE Air Force already operated the MB.339A, but acquired a specialist version designated the MB.339NAT for their newly formed AJ Fursan national aerobatic team, this aircraft having similar equipme nt to the MB.339PAN operated by the Frecce Tricolori. The complete list of the variants and current customers are included here.

One civilian operator is the US defence contractor Draken International, which uses nine former Royal New Zealand Air Force MB.339CBs to provide airborne adversary support, flight training, threat simulation, electronic warfare support, aerial refuelling, research, and testing facilities to the US armed forces. The digital cockpit of the current generation of the MB.339 is representative of the current generation of combat aircraft, as are the capabilities of the new avionics suites. Consequently, it is likely the MB.339 will remain in service for many years to come, and represents another great success in the trainer field for Aermacchi. • Words: Tim Callaway

The MB.339CD is equipped for air-to-air refuelling for training and long endurance operations. Lulglno Callaro

AERMACCHI MB.339 VARIANTS

MB.339X -The prototypes. two built.

MB.339A - 107 delivered to the AMI in three trenches from 1979 to 1995, 72 still in service. 1 0 built for launch export customer Argentina in 1980, stored in 1983 after an arms embargo. Four built for Ghana and five for Dubai.

MB.339PAN - 21 new build aircraft and conversions from MB.339As for the Frecce Tricolori, no tip tanks and smoke generators added.

MB.339RM -Three radio and radar calibration aircraft built for the AMI. Later re-converted to MB.339A standard.

MB.339AM - 13 built for the Royal Malaysian Air Force beginning in 1983.

MB.339AN - 12 built for the Nigerian Air Force beginning in June 1984.

MB.339AP- 16 built for the Peruvian Air Force beginning in November 1981 . Eight remain in service.

MB.339K Veltro 11 - One built, ftying on May 30, 1980, single-seat attack version.

MB.339B- One built. Trainer version with 1996kg (44001b) thrust Viper 680-43 engine.

MB.339C- Trainer version with digital avionics. sub variants listed below:

MB.339CB - 18 trainers built for the New Zealand Air Force from March 1991 . Powered by the Viper 680-43 with a laser rangefinder. radar detection. AIM-9L Sidewinder and AGM-65 Maverick capability. Since 2012 nine of these are in use by Draken International. a US defence contractor. while eight are in storage at RNZAF Base Ohakea.

MB.339CD - 30 built for the AMI with upgraded avionics and controls but the original 1815kg (40001b) thrust Viper 632-43 of the MB.339A. 12 Nigerian MB.339ANs upgraded to MB.339CD standard from July 2006.

MB.339CD Batch two - 14 AMI trainers upgraded from October 2008 with embedded weapons delivery simulation. digital maps, night vision goggles and new air combat instrumentation pod.

MB.339FD- Export 'full digital' version of the MB-339CD.

MB.339CE - Six FDs built for Eritrea with the Viper 680-43.

MB.339CM - Eight MB.339CDs for the Royal Malaysian Air Force beginning in November 2009.

MB.339NAT- Seven built for the United Arab Emirates Air Force Aerobatic Team. AI Fursan (The Knights). in 201 0.

MB.339 T-Bird 11 (Lock heed T-Bird 11) -Version built to compete in the US JPATS competition.

Alenia Aermacchi 91

TheFrecce Tricolori The official aerobatic team of the AMI is the 313th Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, better known worldwide as the excellent and exciting Frecce Tricolori. The name literally means Tri-coloured Arrows, a fitting appellation as the both the aircraft and the

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smoke trails they generate are in the red, white and green colours of the Italian flag. ~ .. ~.~~:m . .::! ~~~~i.:

The team was formed in 1961, but was not the first Italian military aerobatic team. Like those of many other air forces, Italian squadrons formed their own

display teams, the 1st Wing in the 1920s being the first of these in Italy. Teams like the Cavallino Rampante (Prancing Horse) and Lanceri Neri (Black Lancers) existed for many years before the AMI decided to form a single central team to represent the air force to the public and the world. From its formation until 1963, the team was equipped with the Canadair F-86E Sabre, which was followed by the Fiat G.91PAN. The team flew these until1981, when they were replaced with the Aermacchi MB.339PAN. PAN stands for Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale, or National Aerobatic Team.

The excitement of a Frecce Tricolori display is hard to communicate effectively in words, but it is telling that it is the only non­Russian organisation to ever be awarded the Russian Silver Medal for Aeronautical Merit I have two favourite stories about the team. The charismatic and enthusiastic public relations officer for the Red Arrows for many years, Squadron Leader Tony Cunnane, had an excellent answer when asked, as he often was, who the best aerobatic team were. His reply was 'The Patrouille de France are the best team with eight aircraft, the Red Arrows the best with nine, and the Frecce T ricolori the best with 10!" But I best remember the Frecce Tricolori for its display at the Southend Air Display in 2000.

I was commentating the air display, and as usual had handed over to the team commentator for the Frecce Tricolori's display. Standing on the commentary point with me was one of the best test pilots this

country has ever produced, at the time flying the Eurofighter Typhoon for Britain and at the show as a member of the Flying Control Committee, the ever genial John Turner. The Frecce show was superb, stylish and dramatic, but the finale consisted of the team performing a bomb burst and disappear ing in all directions, only to individually turn around and race back into the centre point of the display, crossing over from all points of the compass in a breathtaking exhibition of split second timing and pure flying skill.

I have never been so excited in my life, and this is after having visited or worked at air displays since my first in 1966. I looked across at John, and like me, he had a large tear rolling down his cheek, face flushed with excitement. He smiled and said: "I have suddenly been reminded why I do this. How absolutely fantastic."

I don't ever remember a display leaving me feeling like that before or since. There have been amazing displays of historic

aircraft and superb aerobatics, but these have evoked different emotions. There is something utterly visceral about a Frecce Tricolori display, combining speed, elegance and sheer excitement in a way few ever emulate. Nicely done, gentlemen, nicely done!

The images here are all from Luigino Caliaro, taken from inside the display to give a pilot's eye view of why the team has the reputation it does. • Words: Tim Callaway

A side view of Aermacchi MB.339AP. FAP 452 from Base Aerea Capitan Renan Elfas Olivera near Pisco in the current training scheme. Keith Draycott

Peruvian MB.339s The Aermacchi MB.339 became the first modern advanced trainer of the Peruvian Air Force and

after more than 30 years, they are the last examples of the model in service in Latin America.

The Peruvian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea del Peru or FAP) started to develop its plans to buy a new advanced trainer and close support aircraft in 1979, when

FAP Colonel Oscar Gagliardi Kindlimann, commander of Grupo Aereo 51 received the order to study a replacement for the Lockheed T-33 of Escuadr6n Aereo No. 513. The types analyzed were the British Aerospace Hawk, the Dassault­Breguet/ Dornier Alpha Jet and the Aermacchi MB.339A, and a team was sent to the United Kingdom, France and Italy to evaluate the three models. On April1, 1980, the team arrived to London to test the Hawk and two days later went to France, where the Alpha Jet was tested. On April 8 and 9 the same was done with the MB.339. Because of its better manoeuvrability, security and being closer to what the FAP was looking, the Aermacchi MB.339A was selected. The purchase decision was delayed for some time until it was finally taken in a hurr y in 1981 when the country had a border conflict with Ecuador over the Falso Paquisha area.

The first aircraft started to arrive to Peru in 1982, the 16 examples starting their service career at Base Aerea Las Palmas in Santiago

de Surco district, to the southeast of Lima. They were hurried into service with the Grupo Aereo No. 51, the basic and advanced training group of the Fuerza Aerea del Peru. As they joined Escuadr6n Aereo No. 513, they replaced the T-33s, which were all retired by 1979. During that period, the pilots went

FAP 456 at Base Aerea de Pisco, their new base. Lewis Mejia

94 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

FAP 485 and 487 at Lima on December 2006 with the latest paint scheme. during the graduation of the new officers of the FAP. Lewis Mejia

directly from basic trainers to fly the Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter, not an ideal situation.

The serials given to these aircraft were allocated out of sequence and were FAP 452, 456, 467,468,473, 477,479,480, 481,482, 484, 485, 486, 487, 495 and 496. This batch of aircraft were designated MB.339APs by Aermacchi. The first in1pression of the Peruvian pilots confirmed it was a good aircraft and negotiations began to assembly a series of the MB.339K Veltro single seat defence fighters, but budget restrictions ended that project.

THE DIABLOS ROJOS Once the unit was operational, it star ted training the new pilots that would go on to fly not only the Su-22s but also the Mirage 5P and from 1984, the new Mirage 2000. Also in 1984, General Commander Cesar Enrico Praeli decided to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Sistema de Cooperaci6n de !as Fuerzas

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DEFA 552 30mm gun on a pod on FAP 480. Lewis Mejia FAP 456 with Matra 70mm rocket launchers. Lewis Mejia

Aereas Americanas (SICOFAA, American Air Forces Co-Operation System), which took place in Lima. To do this he decided to create an aerobatic team, equipped with the MB.339s, called the Escuadrilla Acrobatica Los Diablos Rojos (Red Devils Aerobatic Team). The name was chosen because the planes were painted on red and white.

The display by the team during the anniversary was a total success, so they were allowed to perform other displays, both at Lima and over other cities in the country. Unfortunately, in February 1985, two of the aircraft were involved in a midair collision over Pisco, which occurred when they were performing a 'mirror' manoeuvre. Both pilots ejected safely, but the aircraft were destroyed. One year after that, the escadrille was dissolved.

CRISIS In the second half of the 1980s, the Peruvian economy was in serious decline. By 1987 the FAP had to cease a!J payments still owed to Aermacchi for the planes. As a result, the provision of spares also ceased, considerably affecting the operational status of the aircraft. By the end of the decade, only two were still operational, and this was only achieved by cannibalizing the others. It was around this

time that the aircraft also received a new camouflage scheme of brown and light brown uppers and light grey undersides. In 1990, as part of the defence cuts decided by the new government of president Alberta Fujimori, the aircraft were placed in storage at the Servicio de Mantenimiento (SEMAN-Pertl), the main engineering workshops of the FAP.

RECOVERY After more than a decade in storage, in 2001 the training system began to be reactivated. This process started with two aircraft which were recovered to the standard they had been operating in 1982. A third aircraft was selected and also returned to operation, receiving upgraded cockpit LCD displays and other improved avionics under Proyecto Cuarzo (Quartz Project), but no more aircraft were modernised beyond this. Thirteen reconditioned aircraft received a camouflage of light brown, green and light green on the upper surfaces and light gray on the undersides.

In 2004, Grupo 51 and its three squadrons, equipped as they were with the MB.339s, Tucanos, Zlins and Schweizer 300cs was moved to Base Aerea Capitan Renan Elias Olivera near Pisco, some 400km to the south of Lima. This happened because of increasing

The FAP 487 in August 2010. during the Festival Aerodeportivo at Arequipo airport. Lewls Mejla

FAP 485 and 487 at Base Aerea La Joya. Lewls Mejla

limitations and flight restrictions being imposed on flying training in the Lima area, due partly to the growth of the city and partly to the increase of the commercial flights from ]orge Chavez International Aiport. In 2006 the paint scheme on these aircraft was replaced again, on some aircraft in two tones of light grey, while others returned to the red and white paint scheme used in their first years.

The MB.339s operated near Pisco as part of the Escuadron Aereo No. 513 unti1 2007, when they were sent to Base Aerea Coronel Victor Maldonado Begazo, an airfield in the middle of the desert that makes up much of the south of the country, near La]oya in Arequipa. Here the MB.339s became Escuadron Aereo No. 411, a unit that had previously flown the Mirage M-5P/ DP. The unit's mission was now to support the training of pilots that would go on to fly the Mirage 2000.

After three years in this role, in December 2010 the MB.339s returned to Pisco and the Escuadron Aereo No. 513 to recommence their advanced training role. In November 2012, the third MB.339 to be lost in FAP service was destroyed in an accident over Pisco, but the pilots managed to eject safely.

During their service life the FAP MB.339s were armed with Matra 70mm rocket launchers and gun pods. The pods could carry two MAG 7.62mm machine guns each, or a single 12.7mm machine gun, or a DEFA 552 30mm cannon. In the early 2000s they were also tested to carry and release 250kg (551lb) bombs. These were intended to be used in combat against the guerrillas in the Ene and Apurimac River Valleys, but they finally decided to use Cessna A-37 Dragonflys in this role.

At the moment, about eight aircraft from the 13 survivors remain in operation, while the others have been returned to storage. Currently, the Peruvian Air Force is looking for a replacement for them and studying the various aircraft available, especially the Yak-130. • Words: Lewis Mejia and Santiago Rivas

Alenia Aermacchi 95

Over the Falklands Part Ill The mice that roared: Argentine Aermacchi MB.339As in the Malvinas War

During the early days of the Falklands/Malvinas crisis, 1 • Escuadrilla de Ataque deployed detachments of MB.326s and MB.339s to four naval a ir stations a long the Argentine coast. The nearest MB.326 carries rocket pods, while the MB.339 in the centre is loaded with a pair of Mk.81 2501b bombs. Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive

When British Commandos and Paras went ashore from 11 troopships in San Carlos Water to repossess the Falkland Islands on May 21, 1982, the first Argentine warplane to attack an escorting Royal Navy (RN) warship was not a Fuerza Aerea Argentina (FAA) Dagger (see Aviation Classics Issue 17: Dassault Mirage III/5) or an Argentine Naval Aviation (Comando de Aviaci6n Naval Argentina or COAN) A-4 Skyhawk, but a small, simple light attack jet, originally produced as a trainer by the Italian aeroplane manufacturer Aeronautica Macchi, or Aermacchi.

The fact that this simple 'little' warplane could get inside the overlapping defensive arrays of the warships' surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and elude the Sea

Harrier (SHARs) on combat air patrol (CAP) nearby to deliver a surprising and defiant (if not particularly damaging) blow against a modern NATO frigate is a measure of the courage and audacity of its dauntless pilot, Teniente de Navio Lt Guillermo Owen Crippa. The fact that this doughty light attack jet could escape destruction by several ships' sophisticated arsenals of missile and cannon weaponry is a tribute to the fact that Aermacchi has even imbued its trainers with the genes of its classic warplanes.

ENTER THE AERMACCH MB.326GB Following five decades of operating primarily American aircraft, in 1968 COAN canvassed the international aviation scene looking for a replacement for its retiring Grumman F9F-2B Panther jet fighter-bombers of 1° Escuadrilla

Aeronaval de Ataque (1st Naval Air Attack Squadron). After considering the BAC 167 Strikemaster, Fiat G.91T.3, Fouga CM-170/ 175 Magister/Zephyr, and Hawker Hunter FGA.ll/T.8, the service selected the MB.326GB, Aermacchi's recently upgraded jet trainer with a light ground attack capability. Bought at a cost of $358,500 each, six were acquired in late 1969, with two others following three years later. Six pilots journeyed to Italy in October to qualify on the new jet, completing training at Lecce-Galatina (near Brindisi) in April, the first COAN aircraft (s/n 0613/coded 3-A-101) flying the very next month. Following the training of nine more pilots, and the acceptance of the first six examples, on March 5, 1970, 1° Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque formally made the transition to the Aermacchi trainer. At the time, the unit was a component of 3a Escuadra Aeronaval at Base Aeronaval (BAN) Comandante Espora, Bahia Blanca.

In the meantime- while the new pilots were training in Italy- in October 1968 the

96 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 100 YEARS YOUNG

squadron had temporarily converted to 20 Sud-Aviation-modified T-28 Fennecs, bought from the French Armee de I' Air in 1966-67, 12 of these former USAF T-28As being further modified by Hamilton Aviation for aircraft carrier operations as T-28Ps (P for 'Portaaviones' or 'aircraft carrier-capable') . In 1970, when the squadron transitioned to the MB.326GB, the Fennecs were passed to the reconstituted 2° Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque (which had been disbanded with the retirement of its Vought F4U-5 Corsairs four years prior [ 1]), but the unit's mission of advanced flight and weapons training was established during this period.

The squadron's primary purpose was to take Escuela de Aviaci6n Naval (Naval Aviation School, or ESAN) graduates from the service's pilot training programme at BAN Punta lndio, where they learned to fly the Fennec- and later the Beech craft T-34C

[ 1] See Aviation C lassics Issue 12: Chance Vought F4U Corsa ir.

Turbo-Mentor- and teach them to fly modern jet aircraft. Additionally, the MB.326GB's enhanced g round attack capabilities permitted basic weapons and tactics training to be taught, resulting in a fighter transition programme similar to the RAP's IFF (Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals) or the USAF's 'lead-in fighter training' (LIF1) .

Unlike the RAF's Hawk T.1 and the USAF's AT-38B however, the MB.326GB possessed a real combat capability with six weapons hard points beneath the wings, an Aeritalia­made fixed reflector weapons sight, and strengthened airframe. Powered by the 3360lb (1524kg) thrust Rolls-Royce (RR) Viper 20 Mk.540 turbo-jet, the MB.326GB could carry 4000lb (1814kg) of weapons, including a pair of podded Browning-Colt AN/ M2 .50-calibre (12.7mm) machine guns and four LAU-10 (four Sin Zuni/ Mk.24), LAU-32 (seven 2.5in FFAR) or Matra 122 (seven 68mm SNEB) rocket pods, four Mk.81 250lb (113.4kg) low-drag general purpose (LDGP) bombs or two Mk.82 5001b (226.8kg) LDGPs.

With this capability, the unit began preparing its graduates to join the newly established 3° Escuadriiia Aeronaval de Ataque y Caza which acquired 16 refurbished ex-USN Douglas A-4B Sky hawks , beginning in 1971. Because it provided the transition between basic pilot training and the combat unit, on January 31, 1972, 1° Escuadriiia was

Established in 1919, the Argentine naval air arm's first Aermacchi products were two Aeronautica Nieuport-Macchi M. 7 single-seat fighter seaplanes (#1 seen here) and a pair of two-seat M.9 reconnaissance flying boats donated by the Italian Air Mission. Santiago Rivas

The Macchi M.7s and M.9s (#2 seen here) were based, along with 12 Curtiss HS-2L flying boat trainers and six Curtiss-designed PN-5-L reconnaissance seaplanes, at the navy's flight school at Puerto Militar de Bahia Blanca, later Puerto Belgrano. Santiago Rlvas

One of 1 • Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque's two Grumman TF-9J Cougars in 1962. The squadron a lso operated 24 F9F Panthers. In COAN service, the carrier-capable F9Fs were strictly land-based fighter-bombers because the Argentine navy aircraft carriers - ARA lndependencia and Veintic inco de Mayo (formerly HMS Warrior and Venerable, respectively) -could not launch the heavy. under-powered first generation carrier jet. Author's Collection

transferred to the 4a Escuadra Aeronaval at BAN Punta Indio to be eo-located with the ESAN flight school.

THE MB.339A ARRIVES Argentina had been the first nation to acquire the MB.326GB and, likewise, it was the launch customer for the export version of Aermacchi's vastly improved follow-on version, the MB.339A. The company's 'second generation' trainer / light g round attack jet retained its predecessor's overall configuration, mating the single-seat MB.326K attack variant's stronger wing and empennage with the more power ful (40001b/ 1814kg thrust) RR Viper 632-43 single­spool turbojet engine. The major, and visually, the most obvious, change was the taller

forward fuselage housing vertically staggered ejection seats, and a commensurately enlarged vertical stabiliser.

The more robust air frame was naturally heavier, so even with the more powerful Viper turbojet, the MB.339A's weapons load was reduced to 35001b (1590kg), with much of this being used by the pair of enlarged Macchi gun pods, these containing a 30mm DEFA 553 cannon and 120 rounds of ammunition each. The weight restriction limited the other four stations to a pair of Matra 155 (12 x 68mm) or LAU-10 (four Sin HVAR) rocket pods, or two Mk.81/ Mk 82 bombs. To aim the cannon and rockets more accurately, both cockpits were equipped with the Alenia-built Saab RGS 2 gyro-stabilised weapons sight, the rear ,..

Alenia Ae rma cchi 97

Initially the COAN's MB.326GBs - known as the MC.32 in Argentine service - were painted in a light gull grey-over-white reminiscent of the USN scheme from the 1960s.

The 1 o Escuadrilla de Ataque's first M B. 326GB was 4-A-1 01 which made its debut flight on June 16. 1969. Seen here mounting the underwing pod, containing a Browning-Colt AN/M2 .50-caliber (12. ?mm) machine gun, this jet was lost in an accident on October 20, 1982. Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive

cockpit's weapons aiming capability being afforded by the 13in (33cm) higher instructor's seat, allowing him to see over the top of the student.

COAN ordered 10 MB.339As in August 1980, and they were delivered by the end of the year, expanding 1 o Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque in both size [2] and capability. The next year was spent training pilots on the new variant, and developing new maintenance processes, due to the extensive systems differences, compared to the MB.326GB.

"LAS MALVINAS SON ARGENTINAS"-"THE MALVINAS ARE ARGENTINA'S" On April2, 1982, Operaci6n Rosario successfully resulted in Argentina's possession of the Falkland Islands (lslas Malvinas to the Argentines), but as the month wore on it became increasingly obvious that the British were committed to repossessing the islands, by force if necessary.

Correspondingly, the Argentine Junta began building up its military defences on the islands. Located 400-450 nautical miles (740-833km) from the nearest mainland bases, Army General de Brigada (Brigadier General) Mario Benjarnin Menimdez and his Guarnicion Militar Malvinas (Malvinas Military Garrison) were responsible for defending the islands, deploying eight infantry regiments and two artillery groups,

totalling 9804 soldiers. Fixed-wing air support for the ground forces initially consisted of a dozen Fabrica Militar de Aviones (Military Aircraft Factory, or FMA) lA 58A Pucaras (Grupo 3 de Ataque) stationed at Base Aerea Militar (BAM) Condor, the FAA's name for the small, rough, and soggy 1350ft (411m) airstrip at Goose Green. These were to provide CAS for the widely scattered outlying army units on East Falkland/ lsla Soledad.

While the FAA's (two each) Boeing 707 and C-130H Hercules transports (from Grupo 1 de Transporte Aereo, forming the provisional Grupo Aereo Exploraci6n y Reconocimiento 1) provided long-range maritime surveillance and accurately reported the approach of the RN's Task Group (TG) 317.8, COAN's two Lockheed SP-2H Neptunes (2a Escuadra Aeronaval's Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Exploraci6n) were expected to provide mid-range reconnaissance around the islands. However, these elderly patrol aircraft were increasingly unreliable mechanically so a short-range (coastal) r econnaissance capability, based on the islands, was required.

To meet this need, on April 24, two armed T-34C-1 Turbo-Mentor trainers [3] (4° Escuadrilla de Ataque) were flown to the Malvinas, joined by two more, three days later. These were stationed at the 2100ft (640m) grass airstrip on Pebble Island (lsla de Borbon, north of West Falkland) at Estaci6n Aeronaval (EAN) Calder6n and covered the

northern - and most likely- approaches to the islands.

To provide a local maritime strike capability and perform reconnaissance east/ south-east of the islands, the Turbo­Mentors were followed by two 1° Escuadrilla MB-339As (4-A-113 and -116). Led by squadron commander Capitan de Corbeta Carlos Alberto Molteni, and shepherded by one of 4a Escuadra's four Beechcraft B200 Super King Air (4-G-43), the two MB.339As were flown to Stanley Airport, renamed 'BAM/EAN Malvinas' by the Argentines. The B200 also transported three additional Aermacchi pilots, allowing Molteni to establish a viable combat detachment.

The Aermacchi was the only Argentine jet warplane capable of operating from the island's austere 4250ft (1,300m) long runway, however, there were no taxi ways or dispersal areas and tl1e small paved apron was always crowded with the many transiting transport aircraft. The soft, wet soil bordering the few paved surfaces made parking problematic, so the two MB.339s were positioned on wooden platforms adjacent to the south side of the runway, at its east end. This allowed quick reaction take-offs to the west and the jets' weapons were stored nearby, permitting rapid re-arming. The squadron's maintenance personnel stored its limited tools and spares in a small Nissen-hut hangar near the apron.

Molteni was plainly aware of his

During an interim period, 1968-<>9. 1 o Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque operated 20 Sud Aviation T-28 Fennec armed trainers. This example carries the French-built 2M Type 20 machine gun pods, each containing a pair of .50-cal Browning AN/M2s. leaving two stations beneath each wing available for bombs or rockets. Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive

MB.339A 4-A-1 02 in flight over Buenos Aires Province. This aircraft was lost during the Malvinas conflict when it crashed during a test flight from BAN Punta lndio on May 29. 1982 - both crewmen ejected safely. Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive

detachment's limitations and capabilities. As he later related, [4] "We began improving our attack tactics, trying to reduce our disadvantages and increase our advantages. I decided that a very low attack with 127mm/ 5-inch rockets and 30mm guns would be best. We would cause damage over a smaller area, but with much greater effect. We would attack in open formation, almost line abreast''.

Molteni discounted using Mk.81 or .82 'iron bombs' because the MB 339A's weapons delivery system released all the weapons simultaneously (no 'ripple' releases) while the aircraft maintained a stabilised -and thus dangerously predictable to anti­aircraft gunners- approach to the target. Even duelling against a modern British warship with rockets and guns might be considered suicidal, but the Aermacchi's 30mm DEFA 553 cannon and 5in (127mm) HVARs would be effective against weakly defended troop transpor ts, landing craft and other RN auxiliaries.

Meanwhile, on the mainland, 1° Escuadrilla de Ataque deployed its MB.326s and the remaining MB.339As to four other bases, providing daily coastal reconnaissance patrols and local anti-ship capabilities. The l a Arsenal Aeronaval at Punta Indio brought the Aermacchi fleet to a high level of serviceability, the unit's nine operational MB.339s and all seven MB.326s being deployed as outlined in Table 2.

Arriving a decade later. the MB 339As­known as MC.33s in COAN service - were initially painted in the white-over-orange colours of Italian training aircraft. 4-A-1 15 was the aircraft that eventually made the rocket/strafing attack on HMS Argonaut. Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive

"WAR IS HELL..:' For 1 o Escuadrilla de Ataque, the announcement that the Malvinas War had begun occurred at 04.46hrs on May 1 with the famous, but tactically ineffective, Black Buck One radar-bombing attack by Avro Vulcan XM607. [5 ] None of the 20 Mk.17 lOOOlb general-purpose (GP) bombs that missed the runway came anywhere near the MB.339A's parking spaces. The follow-up raid at 08.25hrs by five Sea Harriers (SHARs) from HMS Hermes (800 Sqn) was more effective. Although they missed the two exposed COAN attack jets, some of the SHARs' dozen cluster bombs set the squadron's fuel dump and maintenance ,...

[2] By this point one MB.326GB (4-A-104) had been lost in a fatal accident on April 21. 1979.

[3] Primarily these were armed with two 7 .63mm 'mini­gun' pods and two MATRA 122 (68mm) rocket pods. When mobilised for war. ESAN's 15 T-34C-1 armed trainers became the COAN's 4° Escuadrilla de A toque.

[4] Some portions of this account are from Santiago Rivas's excellent Wings of the Malvinas (Hikoki Publications. 2012) and are used with his permission.

[5] See Aviation Classics Issue 7: AVRO Vulcan.

- . .... ,.-- - -~ - . . . """"' ...... _.---~ ~ ---~

. --- . -- -. .

'Operacion Rosario' was such a surprise to units not directly involved in the landings that 1 o Escuadrilla de Ataque's initially deployed four of its MB.339As- along with a pair of MB 326GBs - to BAN Rio Grande while still painted in their training colours. During April the jets were rotated back to BAN Punta lndio to be camouflaged. Juan Carlos Clcalesl· Hernan Casciani Archive

GUARNICION MILITAR MALVINAS (FALKLANDS MILITARY GARRISON) Componente Aereo (Aviation Component) Fixed Wing Units - as of May 1. 1982

BAM/EAN Malvinas (Stanley Airfield) Detachment from COAN/l o

Escuadrilla Aeronaval de A toque 2 x Aermacchi MB.339As

Detachment from Prefecture Naval Argentina (Coast Guard) 2 X Shorts se. 7 Skyvan 3M (Note 1)

EAN Calderon (Pebble Island airfield) Detachment from COAN/ESAN (4° Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque) 4 x Beechcraft T-34C-1 Turbo-Mentors (Note 2)

BAM Condor (Goose Green airfield) Detachment from FAA/Grupo 3 de Ataque ("Escuadron Pucar6 Malvinas") 12 x FMA lA 58A Pucaras (Note 3)

NOTES

1. One Skyvan (PA-54) was badly damaged by RN bombardment on the night of May 3/4. 1ater destroyed during the final artillery bombardments on June 12/13: the other (PA-50) was destroyed at EAN Calderon on May 15 during a commando raid by D Sqdn/SAS Regiment.

2. All four T-34Cs were destroyed or damaged beyond repair (DBR) at EAN Calderon on May 15 during a commando raid by D Sqdn/SAS Regiment. One example (#411) was confiscated and taken to the UK where it resides at the Fleet Air Arm Museum. Yeovilton .

3. Three Pucaras (A-506. A-517 and A-527) were destroyed or DBR during a Sea Harrier attack on BAM Condor on May 1. after which seven aircraft were flown to EAN Calderon where six were destroyed (A-502, A-520. A-523. A-529. A-552 and A-556) on May 15 during a commando raid by D Sqdn/SAS Regiment. That afternoon. four reinforcements were flown in from the mainland. On the morning of May 21. five Pucaras (A-509. A-511. A-516. A-531 . and A-533) were operational at BAM Condor while two others (A-513 and A-528) were unserviceable at BAM Malvinas.

Alenia Aermacchi 99

Once British forces were ashore and the RAF No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron established its forward operating location (FOL), Harrier GR.3s raided BAM/EAN Malvinas frequently, damaging two Aermacchis. 4-A-116 was cannibalised - note removal of right main tyre - to keep two others serviceable. Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive

Aermacchi 4-A-112 was also damaged by RAF Harriers, the bomb blasts spinning the aeroplane about, blowing out the canopy and dislocating the right flap. lt, too, was cannibalised to keep others flying. Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive

(6] See Aviation Classics Issue 11 : The Hawker Siddeley /BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier.

[7] HMS Brilliant and Yarmouth

[8] The injured sailors were Master at Arms 'Connie' Francis, hit in chest; Leading Seaman 'George' Peel, hit in face and would lose an eye; and Able Seaman 'Skip' Dallaway, hit in foot above the ankle.

hangar on fire, destroying the unit's spare parts supply.

While the FAA's Stanley-based AN/TPS-43F radar of the Grupo 2 Vigilancia y Control Mreo (Grupo 2 VyCA; known as 'Radar Malvinas') tracked a number of contacts, mostly RN helicopters on various diversion and special forces insertion missions plus the SHAR CAPs, there was no sign of approaching British warships until the destroyer HMS Glamorgan and

DEPLOYMENT OF 1 o

ESCUADRILLA AERONAVAL DE ATAQUE AERMACCHIS IN THE MALVINASIFALKLANDS WAR

a s of 1 May 1982

Base Aeronaval Comandante Espora, Bahfa Blanca 3 x Aermacchi MB.339As 3 x Aermacc hi MB.326GBs

Base Aeronaval Almirante Zar, Trelew 2 x Aermacc hi MB.326GBs

Base Ae ronaval Contraalmirante Quijada, Rio Grande 4 x Aermacc hi MB.339As 2 x Aermacchi MB.326GBs

Estac i6n Aeronaval Malvinas, Pue rto Argentina 2 x Aermac chi MB.339As

two Type 21 frigates arrived to bombard the airfield parking area, anti-aircraft (M) gun emplacements, and the Grupo 2 VyCA radar. Once again, damage was minimal -and none done to the 1 o Escuadrilla detachment- and in this case the RN task group was attacked by three FM Daggers (Grupo 6 de Caza) which inilicted superficial damage on one frigate. [ 6]

The 1 o Escuadrilla's first opportunity- and first combat mission - occurred two days later when Radar Malvinas detected 'a possible landing ship' 60 nautical miles (111km) south south-east of the islands, and the unit's two MB.339As were sent out to investigate. Led by Molteni, the pair flew beneath a 90().ft (275m) overcast for 100 miles (160km), with only three miles (4.8km) visibility amidst rain or fog. Returning to base, conditions were so bad that during his turn on to finals Teniente de Fragata (Lt. Ug]) Carlos Benitez caught his left wing on the off-shore rocks and crashed about half-a­mile short of the runway. Benitez was killed

and Aermacchi 4-A-113 was destroyed in the crash.

Following several aborted attempts, two more MB.339As (4-A-112 and -115) were ferried to BAM Malvinas, on May 15, shepherded by a Beech B200 (4-G-44) carrying additional spares and support equipment. TI1e worsening winter weather precluded flight operations for the next five days.

During the three weeks from the fi rst impact of Black Buck One's bombs to the arrival of Commodore Michael C Clapp's TG 317.0 in San Carlos Water (SCW), Menendez's Componente Aereo ('air component', commanded by FM Brig Gen Luis Castellano) had been steadily depleted by SHAR bombing attacks and Special Air Ser vice (SAS) raids. The COAN's 4° Escuadrilla detachment had been completely destroyed and, of the FAA's original contingent (see Table 1), only seven Pucaras remained, two of them unserviceable at BAM Malvinas.

Additionally, the harsh Antarctic winter

While 'Black Buc k 1' accomplished nothing but announc ing the start of the fighting. the subsequent SHAR attac k set fire to the 1 o Escuadrilla's fuel dump ( left) and maintenance hangar (right). Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive

100 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

Mid-May 1982: Aermacchis 4-A-11 2 and -115 on their wooden 'hard stands'. LAU-1 0 rocket launchers loaded. alongside the east end of the runway at EAN Malvinas/Stanley airport. ARA Teniente de Navio Guillermo Owen Nearest the camera. 4-A-11 2. p ilot in cockpit. is about to launch on a dawn patrol. Santiago Rivas Crippa. Nicolas Kasanzew via Santiago Rivas

weather was beginning to have a deleterious effect on the MB.339As. Condensation inside the Aermacchis' wings badly affected electrical circuits, and as the winter worsened freezing moisture rendered some components inoperative. The sub-zero temperatures were particularly draining on the aircraft batteries, so much so that they would not hold a charge sufficient to start the Viper engines. Eventually, the batteries were removed and stored in a warm shelter until an opportunity, or need, to fly arose.

" ... AND GETTING SHOT AT IS A REAL SON OF A BITCH" Beginning at 22.00hrs on May 20, 1982, the 11 troopships (SS Canberra, two other civilian personnel ships, two large assault ships, five smaller landing ships, and one Royal Fleet Auxiliary [RFA]) ofTG 317.0 entered SCW and dispersed to their assigned assault beaches. HMS Plymouth, a rather dated Type 12 frigate, accompanied Canberra to provide naval gunfire support (NGS) for 3 Para's (3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment) landing at Green Beach, near Port San Carlos, and close­in M defence for the large passenger liner.

Five other escorts and RFA Fort Austin remained in San Carlos Strait, the two- to five­mile (3-8km) wide waterway separating East and West Falkland, mounting anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrols and defending the anchorage against Argentine fighter-bomber attacks. The 'cork in the bottle' at the

northern entrance - the 3,200-ton Leander­class (Batch 10 frigate HMS Argonaut­conducted ASW searches for the Argentine navy's last operational submarine, assisted by four Sea King HAS.5 helicopters (826 Sqn) from Fort Austin.

As Air Engineering Mechanic Tim Court, the electrical/weapons and radio specialist for the Argonaut's Lynx helicopter (nicknamed 'Jason', naturally), recorded, 'The sun rose gradually to give us a bright, clear, sunny day, just what we really didn't want or need. As it got lighter we slipped between the islands -this was too quiet for my liking".

At 07.10hrs the arrival of Clapp's amphibious force was spotted by the 62-man Argentine army detachment (Equipo de Combate Gi.iemes/'CombatTeam Eagle') at Port San Carlos. Many helicopter movements were observed and three Pucanis were launched from BAM C6ndor to intercept them. However, two of these were soon shot down by a SHAR and an SAS-fired Stinger man-por table air defence (MANPAD) missile. About the same time two MB.339As were scrambled from BAM Malvinas on an armed reconnaissance, also with orders to attack any helicopters encountered. One Aermacchi failed to start, forcing Lt Owen Crippa to take off alone at 10.04hrs. Crippa flew west, cleared the army's inner defensive perimeter, then angled north-west for Foul Bay, cruising at 300 knots (555km/ h) and 500ft (152m). Going 'feet wet' he flew out over the water, roughly

paralleling the rugged coastline, headed south-west. Approaching San Carlos Strait, he spotted HMS Argonaut near Fanning Head, patrolling a two-mile 'box' in the strait's northern entrance and, looking down the narrow waterway, could see two more frigates [7 ] guarding the southern opening.

He also spied the Argonaut's Lynx, which had just been scrambled on an 'Air Raid Warning Red' due to the Pucaras, believed to be in bound from the south. 'Jason' carried a crude, Heath Robinson-style 'Exocet decoy' fabricated from deck plating and it deployed to the north, just in case the Pucaras threat was a feint.

Manoeuvring to engage 'Jason', Crippa discovered that he was conveniently aligned to attack the Argonaut instead. Rushing to attack, he initially forgot to arm his weapons, but reacting quickly, Crippa unleashed all eight 127mm rockets in a single salvo- they flew harmlessly over the frigate - and strafed the helicopter hangar.

As Court related, there was "a roar and whooshing noise (the rockets passing overhead) and a hammering sound across the hangar roof, very loud and fast, followed by a flash of red and a large splash to port (the rockets impacting the water), and a brief glimpse of something turning away from the ship". The 30mm cannon shells damaged the aft Gunnery Direction Platform and the flying splinters wounded three sailors [8 ], damaging the area around the aft Seacat SAM launcher. >-

HMS Argonaut's aft Gunnery Direction Platform and Seacat SAM launcher. seen here shortly before Crippa's strafing attack. The three sailors wounded in the attack were all 'upper deck gunners (small arms)', manning such weapons as the 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) seen behind the Seacat. Pete Bennet

Another view of Aermacchi 4-A-116 damaged at EAN Malvinas. Note the bulldozer to the left, which was used to create the fake 'bomb crater' on the runway which successfully fooled British intelligence (through US 'spy satellites') into believing that the airfield was unusable. Note also the Pucar6 and Port Stanley /Puerto Argentine in the right background. Santiago Rivas

Sub-lieutenant (S/Lt) John Davies was also on the Argonaut's flight deck that morning, chatting with 'Jason's' second pilot, S/LtJohn Hopkins, when he spotted the Aermacchi approaching, later recounting "I remember shouting 'f*** me, that's no Sea Harrier!' just before the MB.339 opened up with rounds passing just over our heads. The aircraft looked as if it would belly flop in to the sea as it pulled out of the attack run - it didn't and I watched as it climbed over the cliffs heading east- not much daylight between it and the ground over whkh it flew".

In addition to three Shorts & Harland GWS 22 Seacat launchers, Argonaut mounted two single-barrel manually aimed 40mm Bofors M guns, but Crippa's attack was so sudden none of these were able to react fast enough to engage the speeding Aermacchi. Sweeping over the surprised Argonaut, Crippa turned into sew to avoid the two frigates at the far end of the strait, being equally surprised to see what he called "the entire British fleet!"

As he swept along the north shore of the inlet, low and fast, Plymouth's 4.5in gun turret

[9] 1 • Escuadrilla's morning mission had been aborted due to bad weather in the target area.

opened fire, followed by the assault ship HMS Intrepid firing an optically guided Seacat, with troops manning the railings of Canberra opening

up with 7.62mm machine guns and a Blowpipe MANPAD. Crippajinked and zig-zagged, the Aermacchi's crisp banks and tight turns saving him from any hits from the brief barrage of M weapons.

Dodging the fusillade took him across the water to SCW's western shore where he zig­zagged across Campito, the ridge overlooking Ajax Bay, and escaped to the south. Having the presence of mind to realise that he had happened upon the main British landings, Crippa returned to the south end of sew to count and annotate the positions of the ships unloading troops and equipment there. Flying back to EAN Malvinas, he was able to present the first full report of the landings. For his courage in obtaining an accurate and timely assessment of the British naval forces and their dispositions -information vital to the day's air attacks being launched from mainland bases -Crippa was awarded the Medalla al Heroico Valor en Combate, (Medal for Heroism and Bravery in Combat) , the highest decoration awarded by the Argentine Navy during the conflict.

SUPPORTING THE GROUND FORCES During the next few days, as FM Daggers and Skyhawks, augmented by COAN's 3° Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque y Caza,

battered the TG's escorts and amphibious ships - sinking a destroyer and two frigates and destroying two landing ships - raids on BAM/EAN Malvinas by RAF Har rier GR.3s (1 Sqn) damaged two Aermacchis (4-A-112 and -116) and destroyed one of the Grupo 3 Pucanis. Consequently, the two detachments were reinforced on May 26-27 with the arrival of two Pucaras and three MB.339As (4-A-110, -114 and -117).

Very early on May 28, one week after the landings in SCW, 2 Para launched its attack on the 643-man 12th 'General Arenales' Infantry Regiment defending Darwin and Goose Green. Political leadership in London wanted this flanking position neutralised before the main force advanced on Menendez's inner defensive perimeter. After pushing through three defensive lines- and sustaining heavy casualties in doing so - around mid-afternoon 2 Para turned the Argentine's flank, allowing D Company to capture BAM Condor.

In spite of marginal weather early that morning, a major CAS effort was launched by the FM Pucaras and COAN Aermacchis from BAM/ EAN Malvinas. Mid-afternoon (1500hrs), as D Company approached the Argentine positions defending Goose Green settlement, Molteni led Teniente de Corbeta (Ensign) Daniel Miguel (in 4-A-114) in rocket attacks against advancing British troops. [9] Sweeping in from the south, Molteni later related:

HMS Argonaut in San Carlos Water. Crippa's attack came from the starboard side (seen here). in a slight dive, witnessed by S/Lt John Davies, Tim Court and others on the flight deck on the stern of the frigate. HMS Argonaut Association

102 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

"I climbed a little to begin the attack run and updated Miguel. I opened fire over the hills where I saw British forces close to our lines. I fired more than half my ammunition. On my escape I saw something like an orange balloon on the ground. I thought it might be a missile, so I reduced power and turned back towards it, then turned again, getting closer to the ground.

"As I completed my turn, I heard the controller saying, 'Escape! Escape! Your wingman is hit!' Desperately, I asked if they had seen an ejection and he said they hadn't. I felt very depressed. Returning to base ... at sunset I went to the HQ and was told that Goose Green was to be surrendered."

As cannon and rocket fire chewed up the ground, scattering D Company, Marine Strange of the 3rd Commando Brigade's Air Defence Troop stood his ground and fired his Blowpipe. Miguel's jet exploded into a fireball and impacted spectacularly on to the airfield, killing the young pilot in the crash.

REDEMPTI0t1t RECOVERY AND REINFOKCEMENTS With the surrender of Goose Green, the end of the conflict became inevitable so Molteni was directed to save as much of his unit as possible. He sent the extra pilots and mechanics home aboard an F28 (5-T-21) while his remaining ground crews prepared the surviving Aermacchis for the long, risky flight home. The two damaged jets (4-A-112 and-116) were cannibalised for parts and on May 30 a third (4-A-110) had one wing damaged by NGS bombardment of the airfield.

The first attempt to evacuate the two remaining aircraft (4-A-115 and -117) was thwarted by the chronic engine start problems. Finally, on June 5, at midday, Molteni and Ensign Guillermo Henry took off for BAN Rio Gran de, first heading south at low level for 70NM (130km), then south-west the same distance before turning due west and climbing. The surviving two Aermacchis arrived safely at 1314hrs.

The third jet was repaired by June 7 and Lt Jorge Becerra was available to fly it home, but the opportunity to do so never materialised, resulting in Becerra and six mechanics being

captured when Menendez finally surrendered a week later. The three captured Aermacchis were disabled by British troops through the expedient of firing off the ejection seats, and later collapsing the landing gear, after which the aircraft were badly damaged by souvenir collectors.

1 o Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque had sacrificed much in the shor t, sad campaign, losing two young pilots and five MB.339As to the abysmal weather, enemy M fire and the sporadic harassment attacks by Harriers and naval bombardments. There is no discounting, however, the courage of the young men in this unit- both in the face of the harsh Antarctic climatic conditions and the enemy's overall military superiority- nor the capabilities of the Aermacchi light attack jet in providing a certain defiance to the enemy's relentless campaign to repossess the islands.

On the mainland the unit also lost an MB.326 (4-A-102) which crashed during a test flight from BAN Punta Indio, both crewmen ejecting safely. This reduced 1 o Escuadrilla to five MB.339As and six MB.326s. Worse, the British embargo soon resulted in the surviving MB.339As being grounded due to lack of spare parts for the RR Viper 632-43 turbojets, eventually resulting them being placed in permanent storage. To rebuild the squadron, in March 1983 11 Embraer-built EMB 326GC/ AT-26 Xavantes were bought from the Brazilian air force, one of which (4-A-101) was lost in a crash five years later and two others, as well as all the remaining original MB.326GBs, having since been withdrawn from use.

The Falklands War was the only modern combat experience in which the MB.326/339 was involved, at least thus far. While the Aermacchi's contribution to the Argentine effort to retain Falkland Islands in the face of the UK's campaign to get them back may have been small, even mouse-like, compared to other types employed by the COAN and FM as the only jet based on the islands, it demonstrated the defiance, courage and commitment of the men and the unit that employed it. While it may have been a mouse, it certainly roared. • Words: Colonel Douglas C Dildy

Capit6n de Corbeta Carlos Molteni and the four p ilots of his squadron's EAN Malvinas detachment standing before 4-A-11 5 on its wooden 'hardstand' . Juan Carlos Cicalesi-Hernan Casciani Archive

Carlos Molteni retired as Capit6n de Navio. and now resides in Buenos Aires. working for a civil organisation supporting the Argentine Navy. Santiago Rivas

Alen ia Aermacchi 103

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

An early example of the Aeritalia G.222 powered by two General Electric T-64 turboprops. Alenla Aermacchl

International programmes and

consolidation Aeritalia- Tornado and transports

With the creation of Aeritalia in 1969, Fiat owned a 50% share of a powerful and experienced aerospace manufacturer. This was to find success in international

programmes such as the Panavia Tornado and Boeing 767, but was also to produce the last design led by Giuseppe Gabrielli, the G.222 twin turboprop transport.

A s discussed in Aviation Classics Issue 11 regarding the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, in 1962 NATO had issued two specifications for vertical and short take off and

landing (y /SfOL) aircraft, the second of these, NATO Basic Military Requirement 4 (NBMR-4) was aimed at acquiring a V /SfOL transport. In response, Giuseppe Gabrelli's design team had produced the original G.222 concept, powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops with between six and eight jet engines for vertical thrust. Even when the NATO project was cancelled, the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMO remained interested in the aircraft as a tactical transport, ordering two prototypes in 1968.

The vertical flight capability had gone, the original Darts being replaced by a pair of General Electric T -64 turboprops, but the

aircraft retained very short field capability through the use of high lift devices and a very efficient wing. The outer wing sections were designed and built by Aermacchi in another example of the close co-operation between the two companies. The prototype was first flown by Vittorio Sanseverino on July 19, 1970, the AMI testing the aircraft in December and issuing a contact for 44 to be built. By this time, Fiat Aviazione was part of Aeritalia, so this was not only the last Gabrielli designed aircraft, it was the last to be produced under Fiat and its designation system.

G.222 VARIANTS The first G.222 entered AMI service in April 1978, its STOL performance meaning it could land in only 550m (1800ft) but its capacious cargo fuselage was capable of carrying 9000kg (19,840lb) of cargo or 53 fully

equipped troops. Sometimes referred to as the twin engined Hercules, its rear ramp door design meant it could be loaded and unloaded quickly and deliver cargo by parachute drop. One aircraft was produced for the AMI as the G.222SAA, fitted with aerial firefighting equipment that could drop water or fire retardants, and two more were fitted with electronic countermeasures equipment as the G.222VS or GE as it is sometimes known.

The last variant for the AMI was the G.222RM, four of which were fitted with equipment to calibrate radar and radio ground stations. Of the 52 G.222s operated by the AMI, one RM and one VS variant are still in service, the rest were retired in 2005. Their 27 year service with the AMI was to include a great deal of humanitarian aid and support for the UN, particularly in Somalia and the Balkans during the wars in Bosnia and

A Panavia Tornado lDS in the current camouflage scheme for the type. These aircraft have been upgraded to remain in service until 2025. Alenia Aermacchl

Kosovo during the 1990s. One G.222 was lost on September 3, 1992, when it was shot down by a ground launched missile on approach to Sarajevo airport while undertaking a UN relief mission.

The G.222 attracted a number of export orders, among them five for Tunisia, eight for Venzuela and one from Dubai. In 1977, 20 G.222s were ordered by Libya, but a US arms embargo meant they had to be re-engined with Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprops in which form they were known as G.222Ts. Two were delivered to the Somalia Air Corps and five to the Nigerian Air Force in 1984 and 1985; the latter has since also acquired an ex-AMI aircraft in 2008. The Royal Thai Air Force operated six G.222s until 2012, when they were retired. Argentina's Army Aviation purchased three of the transport, which were in service at the time of the Falklands War, but were not used in that conflict and have since been withdrawn.

The USAF purchased 10 G.222s in 1990 as a rapid response airlifter, where the aircraft was known as the C-27 A Spartan. These would later be replaced by the current version of the aircraft, the C-27J, which will be described later in this magazine. Four of the C-27 As are now operated by the US State Department in anti-narcotic operations in South America from Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. In September 2008, the USAF contracted Alenia Aermacchi (as it had since become) to supply 18 refurbished ex-AMI G.222s to the Afghan National Army Air Force as transports with an additional two capable of being fitted as VIP transports.

The first was delivered on September 25, 2009, with 16 being supplied by December 2012. Sadly, by January 2013, despite massive

One of six Aeritalia G.222s acquired by the Nigerian Air Force. Alenia Aermacchi

The first Aeritalia G.222 transports entered AMI service in April 1978. Alenia Aermacchi

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

training and technical support efforts from Alenia Aermacchi and the USAF, the contract was cancelled. This was due to in-country problems with maintenance and spares supplies caused by alleged corruption by Afghan government and air force officials. It appears that the aircraft will be scrapped or withdrawn, a sad end to the operational career of an excellent transport

CONSOLIDATION While the G.222 programme was going on, Fiat underwent a complete reorganisation in 1976, and at this point the famous Fiat name leaves the story of Alenia Aemacchi. The Fiat Aviazione Turin and Brindisi facilities went over to building only aero engines and drive systems, such as helicopter gearboxes. Fiat's 50% share in Aeritalia, the aircraft production elements of the company, was sold to state owned !RI Finmeccanica. In 1989, the Fiat aero engine company was renamed Fiat Avio, acquiring Alfa Romeo Avio from Finmeccanica in 1997 to consolidate the Italian aero engine, rocket, drive train and engine management system industry. Fiat Avio works with Airbus, Boeing and Panavia among many others, developing engines and power delivery and management solutions for a wide range of civil and military aircraft.

The company formed European Launch Vehicle (ELY) to develop rockets for the European Space Agency and others in 2000, >-

Alen ia Aermacch i 105

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

Two AMI Panavia Tornado lDS aircraft demonstrate 'buddy' refuelling capability on exercise in the US. USAF

changing its name to Avio S.p.A in 2003. On December 21, 2012, US aero engine giant General Electric (GE) announced it was purchasing the aviation propulsion and management systems elements of the company, subject to government approvals, as Avio was already a partner in so many GE aero engine programmes. Due to its experience and success with rocket systems and launch vehicles such as the Ariane series and Vega, Avio's subsidiary rocket manufacturer, ELV, is likely to remain independent.

To return to Aeritalia and indeed, the year

it became that company, 1969. Aside from being renamed and reorganised, the company also became part of Panavia on March 26 that year. This was initially formed between Messerschmitt Bolkow Blohm (now EADS), the British Aircraft Corporation (now BAE Systems) and Aeritalia (now Alenia Aermacchi) to design and develop the new European Multi Role Combat Aircraft, later named Tornado. The air craft design and manufacture was divided up between the partner nations, essentially the forward fuselage, fin and tailplane going to Britain, the

The prototype Boeing 767 in flight near Seattle in Washington.Aeritalia was responsible for building all the control surfaces for the airliner. Alenia Aermacchi

106 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

rest of the fuselage to Germany and the wings to Italy. The RB.199 engine for the Tornado was split up the same way, with Turbo Union being formed in June 1970 between MTU in Germany, Rolls-Royce in Britain and Fiat Avio (now Avio) in Italy. With the aircraft agreed upon as a two seat low level strike aircraft, in September 1971, the three governments gave their go ahead to the project.

TORNADO The prototype Tornado first flew on August 14, 1974, at Manching in Germany, and was the first of 992 Tornadoes of all versions built by the three nations from that date. The Italian prototype made its first flight on December 5, 1975, at Aeritalia's T urin facility, the first of 100 Tornado lDS (Interdictor Strike) versions of the aircraft delivered to the AMI. There were remarkably few problems encountered with the aircraft in trials, considering the complex nature of the aircraft and its systems, especially the active control technology embodied in its computer governed digital flight control system.

The AMI received its first Tornado on September 25, 1981, with a Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment (f'TTE) being formed in Britain at RAF Cottesmore that year to train crews from all three par tner air forces, a process that was to continue until1999. The production lines delivered the last aircraft in 1998, this being one for the only export customer for the Tornado, Saudi Arabia.

Aside from the 100Tornado lDS aircraft ah·eady mentioned, the AMI operated two other types of the Tornado. The first of these was the Tornado ECR, 16 of the AMI's Tornado lDS aircraft being converted to the

electronic combat and reconnaissance version, with the first delivered on February 27, 1998. The Tornado ECR has additional sensors to detect and locate ground radars and can carry the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile to attack those radar sites. These are known as Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) missions and often go under the interesting nickname of Wild Weasel, an old US Air Force term for the mission.

To perform reconnaissance missions, the AMI Tornado ECRs can also carry the RecceLite reconnaissance pod. The last version of the Tornado operated by the AMI was the air defence variant or Tornado ADV, originally developed only for Britain's Royal Air Force but later also exported to Saudi Arabia along with the IDS variant On November 17, 1993, the AMI signed an agreement with the RAF to lease 24 Tornado F3 fighter versions of the aircraft for 10 years. This was to fiU the gap between the F-104S leaving service and the entry of the Eurofighter Typhoon, then expected in 2000. These aircraft served with the AMI until December 2004, with one being retained for the AMI Museum, the rest being returned to the UK. A batch of 35 F-16s leased from the US Air Force replaced them in the AMI until the Typhoon was fully ready.

ON OPERATIONS The AMI's Tornado fleet saw a great deal of operational use. In 1991, eight aircraft were deployed to take part in the Gulf War as par t of the coalition forces. One was shot down but the crew ejected safely. Dming Operation Allied Force over Kosovo in 1999, 22 Tornado IDS and ECRs were deployed as bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. As a result of these experiences, in July 2002, 18 AMI Tornado ID Ss were upgraded with GPS and laser inertial navigation systems, as well as the ability to carry the Storm Shadow cruise missile, Joint Direct Attack Munition ODAM) and the Paveway lii laser guided bomb.

Four Tornado IDS were sent to Afghanistan in 2010 as part of the Italian military commitment there, and both the IDS and ECR versions were used during the intervention missions over Iibya in 2011. Prior to this last deployment, in 2010 it was decided that the Tornado lDS would be the subject of a major upgrade and Life extension programme to keep the aircraft in service until 2025. New digital cockpit displays, night vision goggles and new dig ital communications capabilities for tactical information sharing are all part of this upgrade.

Aeritalia entered into one other major international aircraft development programme

A very early production aircraft from the 100 of the Panavia Tornado lDS strike variant supplied

to the AMI. Alenla Aermacchl

One of the four KC-767 tanker transport versions of the Boeing 767 airliner buiH for the AMI. seen here refuelling

a B-52 while under trials in the US. Alenla Aermacchl

shortly after it was formed. Along with the Civil T ransport Development Corporation (CTDC), a consortium of Japanese aerospace companies, in 1972 Aeritalia joined Boeing in signing a risk sharing agreement to develop a new wide bodied twin engined airliner, a concept that would later become the Boeing 767. Aeritalia would produce all of the control surfaces on the new aircraft, the rudder, elevators, ailerons and flaps, with other components being built in Japan before final assembly in the US at Boeing's Everett factory in Washington. The first Boeing 767 flew on September 26, 1981, and to date six airliner variants have been produced with differing capacities and ranges.

A side view of a Panavia Tornado lDS of 155° Gruppo. Keith DraycoH

The 767 airframe has also been adapted as a airborne early warning and control aircraft (AWACS) for the Japanese Self Defence Forces OSDF) as the E-767 and as the KC-767 tanker transport, four of which have been produced for both the JSDF and AMI. Most recently, the KC-46A tanker transport version of the airframe won the US Air Force's KC-X tanker competition, the contract for the first 18 of an expected 179 aircraft being awarded in February 2011. Up to March 2013, Boeing had built 1044 Boeing 767s against confirmed orders for 1108, a tremendous success for all the companies involved. • Words: Tim Callaway

A side view of an Aeritalia G.222 of 14° Stormo so Gruppo. Keith DraycoH

Alenia Aermacch i 107

Aeritalia, Al\1X International and the Do 328

The Brazilian Air Force also operates the single and two seat AMX. as shown here. Note the starboard cannon. featured only on Brazilian a ircraft. Lulglno Callaro

I n 1971, the build ing of a new Aermacchl factory began at the airfield at Venegono, llkm (seven miles) south ofVarese. This was to grow from just the wind tunnel and

test facilities into a 125,000sq m (1.34 million sq ft) modern production and testing facility that is the home of the company today. One of the first projects to benefit from these new facilities was the AMX, a fighter bomber that began with a 1977 requirement from the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMD for an aircraft to replace the Fiat G.91 and the F-104 Star fighter in the ground attack role. Aermacchl and Aeritalia decided that the best approach to the requirement was to work together on a joint proposal to ensure success, with design studies being begun in April1978.

With the success of the MB.326 variants in Brazil, Aermacchi had a close working relationship with Embraer, which was aware of a similar requirement from the Brazilian Air Force. In July 1981, the Italian and Brazilian governments decided a common aircraft designed and produced jointly would be the most cost effective solution to their needs. Embraer joined Aermacchi and Aeritalia in a

new company to build and market the aircraft, AMX International, so called as the aircraft project was by now widely known as the AMX. Aermacchi would build the front and rear fuselage, Aeritalia the centre fuselage and fin and Embraer the wings, elevators, air intakes, undercarriage and fuel tanks.

The AMX was intended from the outset to serve as a ground attack aircraft for battlefield interdiction, close air support and reconnaissance missions . The air frame was designed to be rugged and simple, requiring the minimum in maintenance and support equipment to allow it to be deployed to remote locations and operate autonomously. The aircraft is fitted with integrated electronic countermeasures and defensive aids, and can carr y air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder and Mectron MAA-1 Piranha on its wing tip rails for self defence.

These integrated systems do not use any of the four underwing and single central underfuselage pylons which remain clear for external fuel and a maximum load of 3800kg (83801b) of air-to-ground weapons. The AMX can carry a wide variety of bombs, air-to­ground missiles and rockets, as well as being

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

This Pearl Aviation Dornier Do 328 is operated by Aero Rescue on behalf of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in the long range air sea rescue role. YSSY

One of the reasons the AMX is well liked by its crews is the excellent view from the cockpit. Note the port mounted six barrelled cannon on these 51 Stormo aircraft. Luigino Caliaro

fitted with internal cannon. Here the Italian and Brazilian versions differ, the Italian AMX having a single M61 Vulcan six barrelled 20mm cannon mounted low in the nose on the port side, the Brazilian aircraft having a pair of 30mm DEFA 554 cannon mounted on either side of the lower nose.

In keeping with the simple and rugged approach to the airframe, the Rolls-Royce Spey was chosen to power the AMX because it was reliable and relatively cheap, cost being a large factor in this development programme. The Spey 807 without afterburner was chosen, producing 5000kg (11,030lb) of thrust and giving the AMX a maximum speed of914kph (568mph).

The AMX prototype flew for the first time on May 15, 1984, and was followed by seven test and evaluation aircraft. The first prototype was lost on its fifth flight, but the test and evaluation programme was carried out successfully in spite of this. The two seat advanced trainer and attack version of the AMX began development in 1986, first flying in 1990 and now equipping both customer air forces. In 1988, single seat deliveries started to Italy, Brazil receiving its first the following year, since which time around 200 AMXs have been built

Despite intens ive marketing by AMX International, no expor t customers have yet been found, although Venezuela and the Philippines have both expressed interest. 103 Gruppo of 51 Stormo were first to work up on the AMX, beginning in November 1989. There was a hiatus in the service development of the aircraft in February 1992 when the AMX was grounded after an Italian aircraft was lost due to engine failure. After an engine modification programme was carried out to cure this, operations resumed in May.

The AMX saw its first operational use in 1995 over Bosnia as part of NATO's Operation Deny Flight. Six aircraft from 103 Gruppo took part in these missions, then supported !FOR peacekeepers after the fighting had ended. Italian AMXs also took part in operations over Kosovo in 1999, flying air support missions in the year that saw the last AMX roll off the production lines. Given the cost effective nature of the AMX, in 2005 the AMI launched an upgrade programme where 55 in service AMXs were fitted with a laser inertial navigation system, upgraded cockpit displays and the ability to deliver the Joint Direct Attack Munition ODAM).

In a hardened aircraft shelter this AMX of 132 Gruppo. 51 Stormo is having its nose mounted cannon reloaded. Various bombs and a reconnaissance pod wait to be loaded. Luigino Caliaro

In 2009, four Italian AMXs were deployed to Afghanistan to fly missions against insurgents. In 2011, the AMX also took part in the AMI's involvement in the intervention in Libya, using the Litening Ill targeting pod to designate targets for both Paveway and JDAM guided bombs. Brazil followed suit in 2007 with a weapons, avionics and air frame upgrade package that will keep the AMX in service to 2032. Brazil's AMX fleet is divided into eight two seaters, nine of the AMX-R reconnaissance variant and the AMX A-1. Altogether 43 A-1s are to be upgraded to the AMX A-1M, with the Mectron SCP-01 Scipio radar, Elbit GPS and inertial navigation systems and glass cockpit, a forward looking infrared sensor and a helmet mounted display. The upgrade is due to be completed in 2017.

Aermacchi was also involved in the production of the Dornier Do 328 twin turboprop transport aircraft The commuter airliner was developed from the successful Do 228 and utilised the supercritical wing from that aircraft with a new fuselage, engines

and tailplane. Aermacchi built the entire fuselage of the Do 328, the prototype flying for the first time on December 6, 1991. From the time it entered service in 1993, Do 238s served worldwide with airlines as far afield as Canada, Chile and Indonesia.

The aircraft was also used as a militar y transport by the Botswana Defence Force and as a long range search and rescue aircraft by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Five Do 328s were acquired by Australian operator Pearl Aviation and fitted with radar and infrared sensors to search effectively at night and in all weathers. The Australian Do 328s can also drop rescue equipment such as dinghys through a modified emergency exit. Of the 217 built when production ended in 2000, 166 were still in service in 2010 and given the durable nature of the air frame are likely to remain so for many years. • Words: Tim Callaway

An AMX International AMX of the Brazilian Air Force. Keith Draycott

Alen ia Aermacchi 109

The little known The AMX has been serving the AMI since 1988 but is still a very little known type. However, the AMX has sported some amazing and beautiful colour schemes over the years. to celebrate the anniversaries of the units operating them. Here we have collected a few of the most interesting in order to better publicise this hardworking but often overlooked aircraft.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

Aeritalia Acquisitions, ATR and

the final frontier The AMX programme

was a success for Aeritalia and

Aermacchi, setting a benchmark for future co-operation. As this

project progressed, the Italian aerospace

industry consolidated still further and the

machines it produced would diversify to include a range of

turboprop transports and spacecraft.

One of the ELDO Europa launch vehicles,

based on the British Blue Streak first stage.

Alenia Aermacchl

The concept of consolidating the Italian aircraft industry to make it able to compete on a level playing field with some of the other European and US organisation

took several large strides in the 1980s. Not least of these was with Aeritalia, which was hard at work on the design and production of the AMX aircraft alongside partners Aermacchi and Embraer. Parent company Finmeccanica continued its acquisition of aerospace concerns when Aeronavali of Venice was purchased in 1981.

Aeronavali was now a company that specialised in converting military and civil aircraft, specialising in cargo conversions. Light aircraft manufacturer Partenavia were also purchased in 1981, as well as remotely piloted vehicle specialist Meteor. Meteor had been formed in 1947 to build light aircraft and gliders, producing its first target, the P.1, in the late 1950s.

Meteor then built a wide range of target and reconnaissance drones, ranging from propeller driven versions to jet and rocket propelled aircraft capable of sustained supersonic flight. As already mentioned, Aeritalia was to acquire Alia Romeo Avio in 1997, but this had first been purchased by Finmeccanica in 1985 to assist in consolidating the aero engine as well as the aerospace industries. One last change was made to the Italian aerospace industry in 1981, Aeritalia bought a shareholding in Aermacchi, making the companies partners in more than just the AMX.

ATR - REGIONAL SUCCESS After this latest reorganisation, Aeritalia entered an entirely new area with French aircraft manufacturer Aerospatiale, now part

The Meteor Mirach 1 00 target and reconnaissance drone was one of the products produced by Meteo r, a n Aerita lia acquisition of 1981 . Meteor

of EADS. They formed a company to produce new twin engined turboprop commercial aircraft. It was called ATR because it works well in both languages, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de Transport Regional.

The first aircraft was the ATR 42, a name that comes from its seating layouts of between 42 and 52 passengers. The prototype flew for the first time on August 16, 1984. 1l1e initial production version, the ATR 42-300, was powered by a pair of 2000shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120 engines which gave it a cruising speed of 500kph (310mph). Since then, four more commercial variants of the ATR 42 have been produced along with a cargo, VIP transport and maritime patrol versions.

The latter has a maritime surveillance mission system fitted and is known as the ATR 42MP or Surveyor. The manufacturing of the aircraft is split between Italy and France. The fuselages and wings are built in Naples and the wings in Bordeaux, after which the components are shipped to the final assembly line at Toulouse.

The first ATR model was subject to a fuselage stretch in 1986 to increase the seating capacity to between 68 and 74 passengers. The fuselage was lengthened by 4.5m (15ft) to accommodate this and the prototype first flew on October 27, 1988. Known as the ATR 72, this aircraft has been produced in five airliner versions as well as a cargo and VIP variant. The maritime patrol version of the ATR 72 included additional anti­submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities with the ability to carry anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and depth charges, with 10 being delivered to the Turkish Navy.

The success of the ATR aircraft gave Aeritalia a strong presence in the civil aircraft market, supplemented by its involvement in the Tornado and AMX international military programmes. By December 2012, 422 AT R 42s and 408 ATR 72s had been built, over a thousand aircraft flying with airlines and air forces world wide.

ABOVE THE ATMOSPHERE Aeritalia had already had experience of working with space vehicle programmes via its involvement in the European launcher Development Organisation (ELDO), the predecessor of the European Space Agency (ESA) , formed in 1962. Britain, France and Germany would build the launch vehicles, initially with little success prior to the establishment of ESA and the beginning of the Ariane programme.

Italy was g iven responsibility for the satellite pay loads, but Aeritalia also built the Alfa rocket for the Italian Ministry of Defence and the fuel tanks for the Ariane series of launch vehicles developed by ESA. Its early structure and payload involvement with ELDO led to Aeritalia being selected to build the module structure of Spacelab 1 in Turin beginning in 1975.

This ESA project was flown aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-9 on November 28, 1983. The tremendous success of this and the seven later Spacelab missions

meant that the module concept for spacecraft was further developed. Aeritalia built two developed versions called Spacehab for McDonnell Douglas. The units were produced in single and double module versions, and were flown on 16 Space Shuttle missions, starting with STS-57 aboard the Endeavour on June 21, 1993. The Spacehab also led to the development of Multipurpose Pressurised Logistic Modules (MPLM), two Turin built examples, Leonardo and Raffaello, flying eight times starting in March 2001.

The ultimate development of the Aeritalia module concept was Columbus, so named because it was due to orbit in 1992 in the 500th anniversar y year of Christopher Columbus's voyage to America. With the introduction of the International Space Station (ISS) programme, Columbus became the ESA laboratory module for the station, delivered to the Kennedy Space Centre in May 2006. Designed for 10 years of operation, a remarkable achievement for a spacecraft, Columbus was launched in the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-122 mission on February 7, 2008. Columbus was attached to the ISS's Node 2, a module called Harmony, also built under contract by Alenia for ESA.

Harmony was launched on STS-120 in October 2007, acting as a connector unit between Columbus, the Japanese Kibo laboratory and the rest of the station. From these spacecraft designs, one more emerged, the Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV. This is a supply vehicle, taking consumables and new equipment to the ISS. The first ATV mission occurred in March 2008, launched by an Ariane V from the ESA spaceport at Kourou.

In 1990 Finmeccanica merged Aeritalia with Selenia, to form a s ingle aircraft and electronics production company. Selenia was an aerospace electronics manufacturer formed by Finmeccanica, Raytheon and Edison in 1960. It specialised in radar and other sensors and surve illance systems, so in combining them with Aeritalia, Finmeccanica created a centre of excellence for every aspect of aeronautics and spacellight. The new company was an amalgamation of the two names and was known simply as Alenia. • Words: Tim Callaway

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

Aermacchi Yakovlev, SIAI-Marchetti

~~o~~~~:~~~itiWy trffiner IDrcrnft e after its success with the MB.326 and 339, Aermacchi continued to develop its command of this field, firstly by collaborating with Russian design centre Yakovlev on a new military trainer and then in 1996 with its acquisition of SIAI-Marchetti.

I n 1990 the Soviet government, in its final year of existence, issued a request to industry for a trainer to replace the Aero L-29 and L-39 aircraft then in service. Five responses were

received and a selection process reduced these to two in 1991 - the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-AT and the Yakovlev Yak-UTS. At the same time, in Italy, Aermacchi was considering a replacement aircraft for the MB.339, developing the New Technology Trainer (NTD and the Advanced Trainer 2000 concepts.

ln 1993, realising the similarities between their requirements, Yakovlev and Aermacchi signed an agreement to jointly develop the Yak-UTS design concept. This aircraft, now known as the AY-130 or the Yak/ AEM-130, first flew in 1996 as a technology demonstrator, and was delivered to Venegono for flight testing and evaluation. Over the next four years, the aircraft amassed hundreds of hours of flight time until, in 1999, the companies recognised that their requirements for the aircraft were very different.

Yakovlev went on to develop the Yak-130 separately, building the trainer for the Russian Air Force and six export customers so far. Aermacchi began development of the M-346 Master, which will be described later in this

magazine. Although superficially similar, the two aircraft are very different in terms of structure, aerodynamics and equipment.

The long history of Aermacchi in producing trainers for the world led it to acquire another successful Italian trainer manufacturer, SIAI-Marchetti, in 1996. SIAI Marchetti had a long history of building successful trainers, the most famous of which was the SF.260, designed by Stelio Frati and first flown on July 15, 1964. Originally intended as a light touring aircraft and aerobatic trainer, the SF.260 was quickly recognised as an ideal military basic trainer and is still in production today.

Since its first flight, more than 870 have been built and supplied to 33 air forces worldwide. Aside from being a basic and aerobatic trainer, the tough SF.260 air frame can also carry underwing weapons in the light ground attack role, eight of the customer nations actually using the type in combat. The most recent development for the Aeronautica Militare ltaliana (AMO is the Aermacchi SF.260EA, with a redesigned canopy and various other improvements. Thirty of these trainers were purchased for the AMI in 2005. The aircraft has also been re-engined with a 450hp Allison 250-B17F turboprop to produce the SF.260TP, a number of operators choosing

to upgrade to this version of the aircraft. Due to the continuing popularity of the SF.260, Aermacchi has entered into a production agreement with Russian aircraft manufacturer Sokol. Sokol builds the complete SF.260 airframes, which are then delivered to Venegono for outfitting, assembly and flight testing. Aside from being a very effective trainer, the SF.260 is also a very beautiful one, its pleasing, fighter-like lines underscoring its impressive performance and superb handling.

Aside from the piston engined SF.260, SIAI­Marchetti had also produced a single engined light jet basic trainer called the S.211. The design work on the aircraft had begun as a private venture in 1976 with the prototype making its first flight on AprillO, 1981. Aside from the basic jet training role, the S.211 could also carry 660kg (1500lb) of weapons

The technology demonstrator version of the AY-130 o r Yak/ AEM-130 was a very different a ircraft to the later machines. Note the wing lets and the lack of the wing fences for example. Alenia Aermacchi

The Philippine Air Force upgraded its SF.260s to SF.260TPs with the purchase of the turboprop powered version. Alenia Aermacchi

114 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

on four under wing pylons to fulfil the light ground attack or close air support role. The first customer was Singapore, which ordered 10 in 1983, increasing its order to 32 in total, of which 24 were built locally by Singapore Aircraft Industries. Haiti ordered four S.21ls in June 1985, followed by the Philippines which ordered 25, of which 15 were assembled by the Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation.

It is believed that 12 of the Philippine S.21ls are still in service, but Haiti retired its examples in April1990, selling two to Singapore as replacements and two to private companies in the US. These last two were used to develop the S.211A with Northrop Grumrnan, an entry into the US Joint Primary Aircraft Training System competition in 1995. In December 2009, 21 surviving Singapore S.21ls were sold to the lAP Group in Australia, which has since sold 14 of them to civilian owners. Given the continuing interest in the S.211, in 2004 Aermacchi produced two prototypes of an upgraded aircraft with modern avionics and a strengthened and lightened structure, the M.311.

These first flew on] une 1, 2005, and have an increased weapons load of 1000kg (2205lb) for their secondary attack role through the addition of a centreline pylon under the fuselage. The M.311 is intended to be an introduction to the M.346 advanced trainer and complement the type in service. In April 2008, Alenia and ENAER of Chile signed an agreement to market the two trainers in South America, and in May the same year, Boeing and Alenia agreed on a co-operative joint sales and

support venture for the M.311 and the M.346 worldwide. The aircraft is supplied with a complete ground training package and is fitted with an Embedded Tactical Training Simulation (ETfS) suite, enabling threats and weapons delivery to be simulated. From 2012, to show the complimentary nature of the two aircraft, the M.311 was redesignated the M.345.

In 1996, Aermacchi also purchased the manufacturing rights to the Finnish Valmet L-90TP, a turboprop trainer development of the earlier Valmet L-80 Turbo Vinka design, itself a development of the L-70 Vinka piston engined trainer. The first L-80 flew in February 1985, and was further developed by Valmet and Aermacchi into the Aermacchi M.290 RediGo. Aside from its training role, the M.290 has six underwing hardpoints for a total of 800kg (1760lb) of weapons to enable it to act in the light support role. The M.290 is powered by a 450hp Allison 250-B17F turboprop which gives the trainer a maximum speed of 352kph (220mph). Finland operated eight of these aircraft, a long with 14 in Eritrea and seven in service with the Mexican Navy.

As has already been mentioned, aside from these acquisitions and developments in the range of trainers Aermacchi was producing, the new factory facilities at Venegono airfield South of Varese were being rapidly developed. The company was in the middle of moving house so to speak throughout the early 1990s, and eventually the original Varese factory closed, having produced the huge range of world beating aircraft recorded in these pages since production began there in 1912. • Words: Tim Callaway

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

0 ne of the largest and most controversial European aircraft programmes of the last 20 years has been the Airbus Military A400M military tactical and

strategic transport aircraft. In 1990, Alenia had joined the eight nation partnership to build and order the aircraft The plan was for it to build the rear fuselage, flaps and cargo handling system for the aircraft as its part of the workshare agreement. However,

continuing delays and escalating costs forced the Italian Government to re-evaluate its part in the programme and its pressing transport aircraft needs. In October 2001, Italy withdrew from the A400M project, having already ordered Lockheed C-130] Hercules and Boeing K-767 tanker transports to meet its immediate operational needs. There was one other transport aircraft in the process of acquisition, a development of an aircraft that has already appeared in this story.

116 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

DEVELOPINGTHE C-27J In 1995, Alenia and Lockheed Martin had begun a study to transfer the glass cockpit technology developed for the C-130] to the G.222 twin engined military transport. The study had included an engine upgrade to the 3400hp General Electric T-64 turboprop engines, but in 1996 it was decided to use the 4640hp Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engine and six bladed propeller combination from the C-130] as well, reducing the cost and development

time of the programme by combining already proven elements of the two aircraft The G.222 had been designated the C-27A in USAF service, so the new aircraft naturally became the C-27].

Development began in 1997 with the integration of the new systems into an existing air frame. This proved so successful that though the production aircraft were all brand new, not refurbished G.222s, the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI) received its first C-271

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES & CONSOLIDATION

A two seat Eurofighter Typhoon over the Alps and a C-27 J.

Alenia Aermacchi

in October 2006, an incredibly short development time for a modern military aircraft. One side effect of the increase in power is that Alenia has created the world's first aerobatic transport aircraft! Displays at airshows by C-27Js have included such manoeuvres as loops and rolls since the type entered service, an astounding thing to witness by an aircraft this large. While this work was progressing, in 2005 the US Army had recognised the limitations of its Short C-23

Sherpa fleet, particularly in operations in hot and high conditions, and that the aircraft would soon need replacing. The Joint Cargo Aircraft competition was announced to supply a tactical airlifter for both Army and US Air Force use. Alenia joined with L-3 Communications to promote the C-27] for the contract, as Lockheed was entering the C-130] .

On June 13, 2007, the Pentagon announced that the C-27] had won the competition and an initial contract for 78 aircraft was placed. The first production C-271 for the US contract flew almost exactly a year later, on June 17, 2008, the aircraft being delivered on September 25. Both Air National Guard and Army National Guard personnel were trained at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, although in May 2009, the order was cut to 38 aircraft from the original 78 due to budget cuts.

In August 2011, the first two C-27Js deployed to Kandahar in Afghanistan, operating extremely successfully until December and effectively cutting the load on the US Army's heavy lift helicopters. In November 2012, the C-27Js deployed inside the US for the first time, operating in support of the relief effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Sadly, the severe sequestration budget cuts forced on the US military have probably caused the C-271 programme to be cancelled, the aircraft do not appear in the inventory after 2013, a cut announced on March 23, 2012. There may be a reprieve or redeployment of the aircraft, but at the moment that is deemed unlikely. However, the C-271 has enjoyed export success elsewhere, the powerful twin being supplied to the air forces of six other countries as listed above: >-

Alenia Aermacchi 117

The MC-27 J can carry cannon for gunship missions. Alenla Aermacchi

Pilots training in the C-27 J simulator. Alenia Aermacchi

One of the eight C-27Js supplied to the Hellenic Air Force. Alenia Aermacchi

Side view of a 4• Stormo Eurofighter Typhoon T-1 . Keith Draycott

The first C-27 J built for the JCA competition in 2005. Alenia Aermacchi

As well as these current operators, Australia has ordered 10 C-27Js for delivery in 2015 to replace the DHC-4 Caribou. Canada is considering the C-27J to fill its need for a fixed wing search and rescue aircraft, while the air forces of Slovakia, India, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines have all expressed interest in the type as a military transport, the latter announcing an order for three C-27Js in June 2012.

GUNSHIPS AND JEDIS Three additional variants of the C-27J have been built, the first of these being the AC-27J Stinger II gunship proposed by the US Air Force in 2008, a single example of which was converted from a C-27 A in storage in the US. The C-27 A was used to test the feasibility of mounting 30mm and 40mm cannon on the aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, but budget cuts again put the concept on hold in May 2009. In July 2012, Alenia Aermacchi announced the MC-27J as an upgrade package to existing air frames or as new build aircraft. This would be a multi-mission version of the aircraft, with command and control and communications capabilities and the ability to carry a 30mm cannon or Hellfire missiles to operate as a gunship. Lastly, the AMI developed a package of electronic warfare systems that could be fitted to the C-27J as part of the Jamming and Electronic Defence Instrumentation Oedi) programme. Aircraft with the package fitted are known as EC-27J

'Jedi', and are able to disrupt communications and electronic systems over a wide area. With these export orders and upgrades, the future for the C-27J is looking very bright.

TYPHOON Alenia, and before it Aeritalia, has been a member of one of the most important aircraft projects in European history from its beginning, the EurofighterTyphoon. In April 1982, the Agile Combat Aircraft progamme was launched by the same three partner companies who had formed Panavia to produce the Tornado, Messerschmitt Bolkow Blohm (now EADS), the British Aircraft Corporation (now BAE Systems) and Aeritalia (now Alenia Aermacchi). The following year, CASA of Spain joined what was now known as the Future European Fighter Aircraft (FEFA) project. A joint company called Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH was formed in Munich to manage the aircraft in 1986, as was EurojetTurbo GmbH, to manage the engine development between RoLls-Royce, MTU Aero Engines, Fiat Avio (now Avio) and !PT. The production workshare on the aircraft between the nations was 33% to Germany, 33% to Britain, 21% to Italy and 13% to Spain, figures arrived at from the number of fighters each country would order. Alenia would produce the left wing, the rear fuselage and the outboard flaperons of every aircraft as its share. Design and production definition began in earnest and the

A 179th Air Wing Alenia C-27J of the Ohio National Guard. Keith Draycott

118 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

first prototype took to the air at Manching in Germany on March 27, 1994 in the hands of test pilot Peter Weger.

Prototypes for all four nations followed, the test programme running at a very fast pace so that the first production contract was able to be signed on January 30, 1998. The first production Typhoons were delivered to the AMI on December 16, 2005, entering service at Grosseto Air Base as air defence fighters. The first operational deployment of AMI Typhoons was on July 7, 2009, when aircraft were sent to protect Albania's airspace when that country became a full member of NATO. Aside from the four partner nations, Typhoons have also been exported to Austria, Saudi Arabia and Oman and other nations have expressed interest, but no orders have yet been forthcoming. By March 2013, 355 Typhoons had been delivered to customer air forces against a total of 4 71 currently on order. The AMI will receive 96 Typhoons, those delivered already being in service with 4 Stormo at Grosseto, 36 Stormo at Gioia del Colle and 37 Stormo at Trapani. Aside from the work carried out by Alenia on the Typhoon programme, Aermacchi contributed a 4% workshare to Eurofighter, taking particular advantage of its expertise in modern materials by designing the wing pylons, double missile and store carriers, ECM pods, carbon fibre structural members and titanium engine cowlings.

FURTHER CONSOLIDATION While all this work was going in, there was a further reorganisation of the companies by Finmeccanica with the formation of Alenia Aerospazio and Alenia Difensa in 1997. This effectively separated the Alenia elements of aircraft on the one hand and missiles and electronics on the other that had been joined in the amalgamation of Aeritalia and Selenia in 1990. A year after the split, Alenia Difensa merged with Marconi to form Alenia Marconi Systems. Finally, in April 2001, one of the largest manufacturers of avionics, missiles and weapons systems in the world was formed when Alenia Marconi Systems merged with the missile divisions of BAE Systems (Matra BAe Dynamics) and EADS (Aerospatiale Matra Missiles) to become MBDA.

For Alenia, only one step remained before it would become the company we know today, events that will be covered in the last chapter of this magazine. • Words Tim Callaway

A rare photograph of a Eurofighter Typhoon from each of the four partner nations together. Alenia Aermacchi

A single and two seat Eurofighter Typhoon from 4 Stormo based at Grosseto. Alenia Aermacchi

A superb shot of a two seat Eurofighter Typhoon showing just what a clean airframe it is. Alenla Aermacchi

The rugged C-27 J over the equally rugged terrain of Northern Italy. Alenia Aermacchi

Alenia Aermacchi 119

Into the 21st century Alenia Aermacchi is formed

As already mentioned, Alenia had been split into Alenia Aerospazio and Alenia Difensa in 1996. Finmeccanica rationalised its businesses as

the new century began, so the company was split still further in 2002 with Alenia Spazio being created to deal exclusively with the manufacture of spacecraft. The aircraft manufacturer was now known as Alenia Aeronautica, but this was not to last for long. In July 2003, Finmeccanica purchased a 99% share of Aermacchi, initially keeping the businesses separate. By 2006 they were referred to as Alenia Aermacchi both internally and generally, so on January 1, 2012, 100 years since the foundation of Aermacchi, the companies were officially merged to become the aerospace giant we know today, Alenia Aermacchi.

UAVS With the new name also came a new business direction, that of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The first of these was Sky-X, a V-tail technology demonstrator to provide research data. This was rolled out in May 2003 then taken to the huge Swedish test and weapons range at Vidsel for flight trials. On May 29,

As can be seen, the Alenia and Aermacchi companies were both extremely busy at the turn of the century, with ongoing work for major international programmes and their own air and spacecraft to complete. As the new century began, Finmeccanica was to finalise its reorganisations with one final split then one final merger.

120 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

2005, the Sky-X became the first European UAV over lOOOkg (2205lb) to fly successfully. Powered by a SNECMA Mircoturbo TRIOO. 268 turbofan, the Sky-X is capable of 648kph (403mph) . Aside from the initial tests using ground control, the Sky-X was used to develop autonomous flight capabilities. In 2008, the Sky-X demonstrated the ability to join up in formation with a C-27J, in preparation for air­to-air refuelling. In June 2006, a second research UAV was unveiled, the Sky-Y. This is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV (MALE UAV), able to operate for long periods. On October 30, 2007, Sky-Y set a new UAV European endurance record of eight hours continuous flight

These two technology demonstrators have brought Alenia Aermacchi into two new programmes. The first of these is the Molynx, a larger MALE UAV developed from the Sky-Y project Alenia Aermacchi's success with the autonomous flight capabilities of both programmes resulted in its becoming Dassault's first partner company in the stealthy nEUROn Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) project in 2005. With a 22% share in the programme, Alenia Aermacchi is responsible for the weapon firing system, the Smart Integrated Weapon Bay (SIWB), air data system, electrical system and flight testing of the type. The nEUROn prototype made its first flight on December 1, 2012 and will be used for research into developing the next generation of UCAVs.

MASTER TRAINER In 1993, Aermacchi had worked with Yakovlev on the AY-130 project that Yakovlev later developed into the Yak-130 military trainer for Russia. Aermacchi independently developed a very different, although superficially similar aircraft, the Alenia Aermacchi M.346 Master. This is a very advanced aircraft, equipped with the latest in simulation technology to allow cost effective combat training to take place with simulated threats and weapons. The simulation systems present the pupil pilot with realistic situations and challenges and have a long term impact on system cost For example, weapon deliver y can be practiced without needing either weapons or an expensive target range, the computers can accurately s imulate weapon delivery against any chosen target The M.346 is intended as a lead-in fighter trainer for fifth generation aircraft such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed F-35 Lightning 11. The prototype

A Boeing 787 of All Nippon Airlines. Alenia Aermacchi builds the nacelles and tail of these airliners. Keith Draycott

, A -~- B \ _.

The Alenia Aermacchi M.346 production line. Alenla Aermacchl

first flew on July 15, 2004, powered by two very fuel efficient Honeywell F124-GA-200 turbofans of 2835kg (6250lb) thrust The non­afterburning engines give the M.346 a maximum speed of 1255kph (780mph), on December 18, 2008, the aircraft reaching Mach 1.17. This performance is a product of the extremely efficient aerodynamics of the new trainer. While the pre-production models were being built, refinements in the design and the extended use of modern composites resulted in a reduction in weight of 780kg (1720lb) in the third M.346, the first production standard airframe. This reduction has increased acceleration and climb performance and allowed the carriage of more fuel, extending the endurance of the trainer. The advanced flight control system configures the leading edge slats and flaps to the mission, giving the aircraft a variable camber wing in effect. This means the way the aircraft reacts can be configured, as the pupil gains in experience the M.346 can be programmed to increasingly resemble the handling of the operational aircraft they will go on to fly.

In the summer of 2007, the M.346 was based at the historic city of AI Ain in Abu Dhabi, at one of the training bases for the United Arab Emirates Air Force. The new trainer was demonstrated to the UAE and underwent trials proving its ability to operate in hot and high conditions. Since then, both the Hellenic Aircraft Industry of Greece and ENAER of Chile have signed understandings to become partners in the M.346 programme, along with Hoeing which has a co-operative joint sales and support agreement with Alenia Aermacchi for the M.311 and the M.346

The first flight of the nEUROn UCAV on December 1. 2012. Alenla Aermacchl

worldwide. The M.346 has been ordered by the air forces of Italy (15 aircraft in 2009), Singapore (12 aircraft in 2010) and Israel (30 aircraft in 2012), with the UAE air force in the process of negotiating a contract for 48 of the type as a trainer and ground attack aircraft. Most recently, in January 2013, Alenia Aermacchi has partnered with General Dynamics to offer the aircraft as the T-100 Integrated Training System. This to compete in the US Air Force's T-X programme to replace the Northrop T-38 Talon.

OTHER PROJECTS Alenia Aermacchi has been supplying specialist systems, such as de-icing and sound suppression equipment for many aircraft since the 1990s. It has also been a major manufacturer of engine nacelles for a wide variety of commercial aircraft, with over 7000 being delivered. These aircraft range from business jets such as the Dassault Falcon family, regional twin jets such as the Embraer ERJ-170 series and Superjet S.lOO, to the largest and most advanced airliners such as the Airbus A330 and A380 and the Hoeing 787. Alenia Aermacchi is also a partner with Hoeing in the 787, building the tail of the aircraft. Italy is an investment partner in the Lockheed F-35 Lighting 11 fighter for service into the next century. To build F-35s in Europe, Alenia Aermacchi has developed the final assembly and checkout facility (FACO) at Cameri. Just looking at this list of programmes it is clear that Alenia Aermacchi is superbly placed to be an international aerospace leader into the 21st century. • Words: Tim Callaway

A side view of the first prototype of the Alenia Aermacchi M.346. Keith Draycott

Alen ia Aermacchi 121

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This Macchi M.39 was p iloted by Major Mario de Bernardi who won the 1926 Schneider Trophy. Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle

• urv1vors

Aermacchi, Fiat and other aircraft on display

The aviation heritage of Italy is alive and well, as this list clearly shows. There are some

surprising survivors from the past, from a rare Macchi M.20

and the racing seaplanes of the Schneider Trophy to a variety of Second World War aircraft. Most popular among the preserved air frames are the Aermacchi MB.326 and the Fiat G.91, examples of which are to

The Macchi M.20 two seat light aircraft in the main hall of the Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics in Trento. Italy. Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics

124 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

be found in museums around the world. The Fiat licence-built versions of the F-104 Star fighter have also been preserved on display in museums as far apart as Brazil and Estonia.

These many different types have been arranged by company, then type, then serial number for ease of reference. The list of aircraft here is as complete as we can make it, but as ever, there may be aircraft we have missed or which have moved to new owners. As already mentioned, there are a large number of preserved aircraft., so if you know of any that are not listed here, please do let us know and we will publish the details on the Aviation Classics website. • Words: Tim Callaway

AERFER Aefer Soglttarlo 2- MM.561 -The second of two prototypes of a supersonic jet fighter is now on d isplay in the Museo storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, Italy.

Aefer Arlete- MM.569- The only Ariete built is now on display in the Museo storico dell' Aeronautica Militare d i Vigna di Valle, Italy.

ALENIA AERMACCHI/ AERMACCHI/ MACCHI Hanrlot HD.l - 515 - A Macchi built example on display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, Italy.

Macchl M.20 - 5 - On display at the Museo dell' Aeronautica Gianni Caproni. Trento, Italy.

Macchl M.39- MM.76- This aircraft was piloted by Major Mario de Bernardi who won the 1926 Schneider Trophy race and set two world speed records that year - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare d i Vigna di vane. Italy.

Macchl M.52 - A single right wing of an M.52 is held by the Technical University of Turin and has been restored by the Gruppo Amici Velivoli Storici (GAVS).

Macchi M.67- MM.105-This aircraft took part in the 1929 Schneider Trophy rac e flown by Giovanni Motti - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Macchi MC.72- MM.181-This aircraft set a new world speed record in 1934. flown by Warrant Officer Francesc o Agello - On d isplay at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Macchl c-200 Saetta- 372-5/MM.8146 -On display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Dayton. Ohio. USA.

Macchi C.200 Saetta -369/MM.5311 - On display at the Museo Storico de ll' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna d i Valle. Italy.

Macchi C.202 Folgore - 73-7/MM. 7844 -Actually MM.9667. on display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Macchl C.202 Folgore -MM.92166- A hybrid of C .202 and C.205 parts. On d isplay at the Museo Storico de ll' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Macchi C.202 Folgore - 90-4/MM.9476 - On display at the US National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian. Washington DC. US.

Macchi C.205 Veltro -MM.91818- A hybrid of C.202 and C.205 parts. restored in 1981 by Aermacchi. Fiat and the Italian Air Force. On d isplay a s 41/MM 9372 at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. Italy.

Macchi C.205 Veltro- 97-2/MM. 9546- hybrid of C .202 a nd C.205 parts. On display at the Museo Storico de ll' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna d i Valle. Italy.

Macchl C.205 Veltro - On display at the Palazzo de ii'Aeronautica . Rome.

Macchl C.205 Veltro -MM.9327 - On display at the Parco E Museo del Volo Volandia at Vizzola Ticino. Milan. Italy.

Macchl M.416 - AA-48/MM.53762 - On d isplay at the Museo Storico de ll' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Aermacchl AL-60 - 969/ZU­CWZ - Built under licence as the Atlas C4M Kudu. now at the South African Air Force Museum. Swartkop. South Africa.

This Macchi M.67 took part in the 1929 Schneider Trophy race flown by Giovanni Motti. Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare d i Vigna di Valle

This Macchi MC.72 set a new world speed record in 1934. flown by Warrant Officer Francesco Agello. Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle

Macchl MB.308 - SG-8/MM. 53058 - On display at the Museo Storic o dell' Aerona utic a Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Macchl MB.323 - MM.554 -On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Aermacchl MB.326 -MM54380 - On display a s a commemoration of designer Ermanno Bazzocchi at Tradate near Varese. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54155- On d isp lay as a gate guard Viterbo Air Base. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54168- On d isplay at San Possidonio, Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54189 - On display at Museo de ll' Aria. Montagnana. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54190 - Preserved at Gosseto Air Base. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54193 - Preserved at Decimomannu Air Base. Sardinia.

Aermacchl MB.326E -MM.54194 - On display at Museo de ll' Aviazione. Cerbaiola. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54195 - Preserved at the lstituto Tecnico Industria le. Novara. Italy.

Aermacchl MB.326E -MM.54199- Preserved at Gioia del Colle Air Base. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54202 - Preserved at Roncoferraro Airport. Italy.

Aermacchl MB.326E -MM.54208 - On display a t Sezione de ll' Associazione Arma Aeronautica. Vercelli. Italy.

Aermacchl MB.326E -MM.54211 - Preserved at Brindisi Air Base. Ita ly.

Aermacchl MB.326H -MM.54216 - On display a t Museo de ll' Aviazione. Cerbaiola. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54218 - Preserved at the lstituto Tecnico lndustria le. Milan. Ita ly.

Aermacchl MB.326E -MM.54219 - Preserved at Vestone D'ldro. ltaly.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54244- Preserved at the lstituto Tecnico lndustriale. Padova-Brusega. Italy.

Aermacchl MB.326E -MM.54245- Preserved at Sigonella Air Base. Sicily. Ita ly.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54246- Preserved at Roverbe lla (Mantova) Airport. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54274 - Preserved at Cameri Air Base. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54278 - Preserved a t Cagliari Elmas Air Base. Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326E -MM.54377- Preserved at Martina Franc o, Italy.

Aermacchl MB.326E -MM.54385- Preserved at Pratica d i Mare Air Base. Pomezia. Rome. Ita ly.

Macchi MB.326E -MM.54389- On display at the Museo Storico de ll' Aeronautic a Militare d i Vigna d i Valle. Italy.

Aermacchl MB.326G -MM.54289- Preserved at Poggio Renatico Air Base. Ferrara. Italy.

Aermacchl MB.326GB - 4-A-1 08/0647 - On display at the Comando de Aviaci6n Nava l Argentina. Rio Grande. Argentina .

Aermacchi MB.326K -MM.54391 - On disp lay at Pratic a di Mare Air Base. Pomezia. Rome. Ita ly.

Aermacchl MB.326KC lmpala 2 - 066/1065 - On display at the South African Air Force Museum. Swartkop. South Africa.

Alenia Aer macchi 125

Aermacchi MB.326H- 51-78 - Now on display at Parco Tematico dell' Aviazione, Rimini, Italy.

Aermacchi MB.326H - A7-001 - On display at the Royal Australian Air Force Museum, Point Cook. Victoria, Australia.

Aermacchi MB.326H - A7-025 - On display at the Aviation Heritage Museum of Western Australia. Bull Creek. Western Australia. Australia.

Aermacchi MB.326H - A7-043 - On display at the Royal Australian Air Force Base Wagga. New South Wales. Australia.

Aermacchi MB.326H - A7-041 -On display in Australia.

Aermacchi MB.326H - A7-062 - On display at the Fighter World Museum. RAAF Williamtown. New South Wales. Australia.

Aermacchl MB.326H - A7-077 - On display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum. Nowra. New South Wales. Australia.

Aermacchl MB.339A -MM.54454 - Preserved at Lecce Air Base. Italy.

Aermacchl MB.339AA - 4-A-115/0766- On display at the Comando de Aviaci6n Naval Argentina. Rio Grande. Argentina.

Aermacchi MB.339CB -NZ6460 - Preserved at the New Zealand Air Force Museum, Wig ram, Canterbury, New Zealand.

Aermacchl MB.339PAN -MM.54439- On display at the USS Intrepid Sea. Air and Space Museum Complex, New York, New York. USA.

Aermacchl MB.339PAN -MM.54486- Preserved at Rome Ciampino Airport, Italy.

Aermacchi~211-9V-341-

instructional airframe at Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore.

Aermacchi ~211 - 9V-343 -instructional airframe at ITE College Central (Yishun campus). Singapore.

Aermacchi ~211 - 9V-383 -instructional airframe at Paya Lebar Air Base, Singapore.

Aermacchi ~211- 9V-384-gate guard at RSAF Museum. Paya Lebar Air Base. Singapore.

AN SAL DO Ansaldo SVA.S - 11721 - On display at Pratica di Mare Air Base. Pomezia, Rome, Italy.

Ansaldo AC.2 - MM.1208 -On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, ltaly.

FIAT Flat AC.2 - MM.130 - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Fiat CR.32- 1-262- On display at the Museo del Aire, Cuatro Vientos. Madrid, Spain.

Fiat CR.42 Falco - 2542 -Under restoration at The Fighter Collection, Duxford, UK.

Flat CR.42 Falco -MM.5643 - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, Italy.

Flat CR.42 Falco - 13-95/MM.5701 - On display at the RAF Museum, Hendon, London. UK.

Flat G.212 - 142-5/MM.61804 - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Fiat G.46 - 3A BB - Now on display at the Fliegermuseum, Zeltweg. Austria.

Flat G.46 - SG-4/MM52805 -On display at Parco Tematico dell' Aviazione, Rimini, Italy.

Fiat G.46 - MM.53284 - On display at the Parco E Museo del Volo Volandia, Milan, Italy.

Fiat G.46 - MM.53286 - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Fiat G.59 - MM.53265 - On display as a Fiat G.55 at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, Italy.

Fiat G.59- MM.53276 - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, Italy.

Flat G.59 - MM.53530 -Preserved at the Dipartimento di lngegneria Aeronautica. Palermo. Italy.

Fiat G.80 - MM.53882 - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Fiat F.86K- 51-50/MM.554815 - On display at the Deutsche Technikmuseum. Berlin. Germany.

Flat G.91 PAN - 2 - Now on display at Parco Tematico dell' Aviazione, Rimini. Italy.

Fiat G.91 PAN - MM.6244 -On display at the Museum of Flight. Seattle. Washington, USA.

Fiat G.91 PAN - MM.6250 -On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Fiat G.91R/1 - 2-33/MM.6280- On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle, Italy.

126 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

Flat G.91 R/1 - 2-23/MM.6283 - On display at the Tourniaire Museum. Orange. France.

Flat G. 91 R/1 A - 2-41/MM.6303- On display at Sassuolo. Emilia-Romagna.ltaly.

Flat G.91 R/1 B -MM.6382 -On display at National Museum of Science and Technology. Milan. Italy.

Fiat G.91 R/1 B -MM.6387 -On display at the Malta Aviation Museum.Ta'Qali. Malta.

Fiat G.91 R/1 B -2-05/MM.6405 - On display at the Museo Aeroportuale, Cameri. Italy.

Flat G.91 R/1 B -2-14/MM.6416- On display at Rivolto-Udine. Italy.

Fiat G.91 R/3 - 30 85 -Ex-Luttwaffe. now on display at the Brussels Air Museum. Brussels. Belg ium.

Flat G.91 R/3- 30 86- Ex­Luttwaffe. cockpit only now on display at the Hemerskeil Museum. Germany.

Flat G.91 R/3- 30 93 - Ex­Luttwaffe. now on display at the Musee de I'Epopee de l'lndustrie, Albert, France.

Flat G.91R/3- 31 21 -Ex­Luttwaffe. now on display at the Baden Baden Museum. Sollingen, Germany.

Fiat G.91R/3- 31 35- Ex­Luttwaffe. now on display at the Dornier Museum, Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Flat G.91 R/3- 31 39- Ex­Luttwaffe. now on display at the Museum fUr Lumahrt und Technik. Wernigerode. Germany.

Flat G.91R/3- 31 47- Ex­Luttwaffe. painted in Frecce Tricolori markings now on display at the Speyer Technik Museum. Germany.

The Macchi C-200 Saetta at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio, USA. USAF Museum

Flat G.91 R/3 - 31 70- Ex­Luflwaffe. now painted as 257-5 of the Italian Air Force. on display at the Hemerskeil Museum. Germany.

Flat G.91R/3- 31 95- Ex­Luflwaffe. now on display at the lnternationales Lumahrt Museum. Schwenningen. Germany.

Flat G.91 R/3 - 32 15- Ex­Luflwaffe. now on display at the Luflwaffe Museum. Berlin.

Flat G.91 R/3 - 32 38- Ex­Luflwaffe. now preserved at the Beja Air Base. Portugal.

Flat G.91 R/3 - 32 43 - Ex­Luflwaffe. now on display at Association des Am is du Musee du Chateau. Savigny les Beaune. France.

Flat G.91 R/3 - 32 52- Ex­Luflwaffe. now preserved at Fi.irstenfeldbruck Air Base. Germany.

Flat G.91 R/3 - 32 64- Ex­Luflwaffe. now on display at the Auto und Technik Museum. Sinsheim, Germany.

Flat G.91R/3- 32 70- Ex­Luflwaffe. now on display at the Zruk Air Park. Zruk. Czech Republic.

Fiat G.91 R/3 - 32 72 - Ex­Luflwaffe. now on display at the Luflwaffe Museum, Gatow, Berlin, Germany.

Flat G.91R/3- 34 01 -Ex­Luflwaffe. now on display at the Deutsches Museum. Munich. Germany.

Flat G.91 R/3 - 99 12 - Ex­Luflwaffe. now on display at the Luflwaffe Museum. Gatow. Berlin. Germany.

Flat G.91R/3- 99 39- Ex­Luflwaffe. now on display at the Musee de I' Air. Le Bourget. Paris. France.

One of thre Fiat G.91 s at the Luflwaffe Museum at Gatow in Berlin. this one a G.91 R/3. Constance Redgrave

This Aermacchi MB.326. MM54380. is displayed as a commemoration of designer Ermanno Bazzocchi at Tradate near Varese. Italy. Alenia Aermacchi

A7-043, an Aermacchi MB.326H on d isplay at Royal Australian Air Force Base Wagga. New South Wales. Australia. RAAF

The Aermacchi AL-60 was built under licence as the Atlas C4M Kudu. this one at the South African Air Force Museum. Swartkop, South Africa. SAAF Museum

The gate guard at the Royal Singapore Air Force Museum is this Aermacchi S-211 . RSAF

Alenia Aermacch i 127

Flat G.91 R/3 - 5453 - Ex­Portuguese Air Force, painted as 5463, now a gate guard at the Montijo Air Base. Portugal.

Flat G.91R/4- 35 41- Ex­Luftwaffe, now on display at the Luftwaffe Museum. Gatow, Berlin. Germany.

Flat G.91R/4- 5404- Ex­Portuguese Air Force, now preserved at the Montijo Air Base. Portugal.

Fiat G.91R/4- 5425- Ex­Portuguese Air Force. now preserved at Coimbra. Portugal.

Fiat G.91R/4- 5438- Ex­Portuguese Air Force. now on display at the Museu co Ar. Sintra Air Base. Portugal.

The rare Fiat G.80. Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle

Flat G.91R/4- 5445- Ex­Portuguese Air Force. now preserved at Sintra Air Base. Portugal.

Flat G.91R/4- 75 00- Ex­Luftwaffe. now on display at the Museum fUr Lumahrt und Technik, Wernigerode, Germany.

Flat G.91T/1- MM.54398-On display at Cavalcaselle. Italy.

Flat G.91T/l- MM.54415-On display at the Museo Gottard Park, Castelletto Ticino, Piemonte, Italy.

Fiat G.91T/1- MM.6333-Preserved by the Sezione Associazione Arma Aeronautica, Arezzo. Italy.

Fiat G.91T/1 -60-40/MM.6340- Preserved at Campagnola, Italy.

Fiat G.91T/1 - SA-47 /MM.6344 - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna d i Valle. Italy.

Flat G.91T/1- MM6356- On display at the lnternationales Lumahrt Museum. Schwenningen. Germany.

Flat G.91T/1 - MM6362- On display at the Montelimar Museum. Montelimar. France.

Flat G.91T/1- MM6368- On display at the Aero Club at Viterbo, Italy.

Flat G.91T /3 - 99 40- Ex­Luftwaffe. now on display at the Luftwaffe Museum. Gatow. Berlin, Germany.

Flat G.91T/3- 99 41 -Ex­Luftwaffe. now on display at the Luftwaffe Museum. Gatow. Berlin, Germany.

Flat G.91T/3- 1801- Ex­Portuguese Air Force. now on display at Association des Amis du Mu see du Chateau, Savigny les Beaune. France.

Flat G.91 Y- R5-11/MM.579 -Preserved at Pratica di Mare Air Base, Pomezia, Rome, Italy.

Fiat G.91Y- 8-30/MM.6474 - On display at the Museo Aeroportuale, Cameri. Italy.

Fiat G.91 Y- 8-27/MM.6491 - On display as a gate guard, Latina. Italy.

Flat G.91Y -MM.6952-Preserved at Am€mdola Air Base. Italy.

Flat G.91Y -8-62/MM.6956-Preserved at Cervia-San Gio. Italy.

Flat G.91Y -MM.6957-Preserved at the lstituto Tecnico Industria le Maxwell. Milan, Italy.

Flat G.91 Y - 8-66/MM.6959 - On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle. Italy.

Flat F-1 04G starflghter -53-21 /MM.6504 - On display at the Museo Aeroportuale, Cameri, Italy.

Flat F-1 04G starflghter -4-1/MM.6505- Preserved at Grosseto Air Base, Italy.

Flat F-1 04G starflghter -MM.6507 - On display at the Estonian Aviation Museum, Veskiorg, Tartumaa, Estonia.

Fiat F-1 04G Starfighter -50/MM.6514- On display in 5oth Anniversary markings of the Reparto Sperimentale Volo at Villafranca, Italy.

Flat F-1 04G Starflghter -R5-03/MM.6527 - On display at Pratica di Mare Air Base, Pomezia , Rome, Italy.

Flat F-1 04G Starflghter -4-52/MM.6529- Preserved at lstrana Air Base. Italy.

Flat F-1 04G Starflghter -3-01 /MM.6547 - Preserved at Villafranca. Italy.

Flat F-1 04G Starttghter -3-11/MM.6590 - On display as a gate guard, Viterbo Air Base. Italy.

Flat F-1 04G starflghter -3-01/MM.6609- On display a t the Museo dell' Aeronautica Gianni Caproni. Trento, Italy.

Flat F-1 045-ASA starflghter -MM.6836 - On display at the Museo Gottard Park, Castelletto Ticino, Piemonte, Italy.

Flat F-1045-ASA starflghter-4-10/MM.6941- On display in the grounds of the Technical School. Pisa. Italy.

Flat F-1 045-ASA·M Starfighter- MM.6870- On display at the Muzeum Letectva. Kosice. Slovakia .

Flat F-1 045-ASA·M Starflghter- MM.6890- On display at the Museu Aeroespacial. Rio de Janeiro. Brazil.

ROMEOnMAM IMAM Ro.37bls - 11 0-12/MM.11341 -On display a t the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare d i Vigna di Valle. Italy.

IMAM Ro.43 - OR8-23/MM.27050- On display at the Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare d i Vigna di Valle. Italy.

The very rare IMAM Ro.43 floatp lane. Museo Storico dell' Aeronautica Militare di Vigna diValle

A close up of the camera nose that made the G.91R a multi role a ircraft in Luftwaffe service. Constance Redgrave

This Fiat G.91 PAN of the Frecce Tricolo ri is at the superb Museum of Flight. Seattle. Washington. Editor

128 IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALENIA AERMACCHI - 1 00 YEARS YOUNG

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