| Macchi M.5 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Single-seat fighter flying boat Type of aircraft |
| National origin | Italy |
| Manufacturer | Nieuport-Macchi |
| First flight | 1917 |
| Introduction | 1917 |
| Primary user | Italian Navy Aviation |
| Number built | 244 |
TheMacchi M.5 was an Italian single-seatfighterflying boat designed and built byNieuport-Macchi at Varese. It was extremely manoeuvrable and agile and matched the land-based aircraft it had to fight.[1]
The firstprototype of a single-seatsesquiplane fighter was theType M which first flew in 1917. Developed by engineers Buzio and Calzavera it had a single-step hull and an opencockpit forward of the wings and was similar to the earlierMacchi M.3. It was followed by another prototype with a revised tail unit designated theMa and further developed as theM bis andMa bis. The production aircraft was designated the M.5 and like the prototypes was powered by a singleIsotta Fraschini V.4B engine inpusher configuration. Deliveries soon commenced in the summer of 1917 to theAviazione per la Regia Marina (Italian Navy Aviation). Late production aircraft had a more powerfulIsotta Fraschini V.6 engine and redesigned wingtip floats, they were designatedM.5 mod. Macchi produced 200 aircraft and another 44 were built bySocietà Aeronautica Italiana.
DuringWorld War I, the M.5 was operated by five Italianmaritime patrol squadrons as a fighter andconvoy escort, and some were embarked on theRegia Marinaseaplane carrierGiuseppe Miraglia. Towards the end of World War I, M.5 aircraft were flown by bothUnited States Navy andUnited States Marine Corps airmen. For his actions while flying an M.5 over theAdriatic Sea off the coast ofAustria-Hungary on 21 August 1918, U.S. NavyEnsignCharles Hammann, an enlisted pilot at the time, received the firstMedal of Honor awarded to a United Statesnaval aviator.[2]
In 1923, when theRegia Aeronautica was formed, 65 M.5s were still in service, although they all had been scrapped within a few years.
Data from[1]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related lists
