| Macchi M.6 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Flying boatfighterprototype Type of aircraft |
| National origin | Italy |
| Manufacturer | Macchi |
| First flight | 1917 |
| Primary user | Italy |
| Number built | 1 |
| Variants | Macchi M.5 |
TheMacchi M.6 was an Italianflying boatfighterprototype of 1917.
In 1917,Nieuport-Macchi built the M.6. for comparison with itsMacchi M.5 flying boat fighter, which went into service that year and operated successfully over theAdriatic Sea againstAustro-Hungarian forces duringWorld War I. The M.6 was identical to the M.5 in most respects; like the M.5, it was a single-seat woodenbiplane flying boat fighter withplywood and fabric skin, powered by a 139-kilowatt (187-brake horsepower)Isotta Fraschini V.4B engine mounted on struts above thehull and below the upperwing, driving a pusherpropeller. Itscockpit was beneath theradiator, it was armed with a single 7.7-millimeter (0.303-inch)Vickers machine gun, and its hull was of the same design. It differed from the M.5 in having a different wing cellule; instead of the interplane Vee struts used in the M.5 to brace the wings and the smaller Vee struts used in the M.5 to support the overhanging leading edge of the upper wing, the M.6 had parallel steel tube struts. The outermost of a set of parallel struts were placed farther outboard in the M.6 than the Vee struts in the M.5, and the M.6 had additional parallel struts closer to the hull.[1]
Comparative trials were held between the M.6 prototype and standard M.5 aircraft to evaluate whether the M.6's revised wing cellule provided any advantage over that of the M.5 fighter. It did not, so further development of the M.6 was abandoned and no more M.6 aircraft were built.[2]
Data from Green, William, and Gordon SwanboroughThe Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Aircraft Built and Flown, New York: SMITHMARK Publishers, 1994,ISBN 0-8317-3939-8
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Notes:
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
http://www.aviastar.org/air/italy/macchi_m-6.phpISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
