| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1915 |
| Defunct | 1983 |
| Fate | Absorbed byAgusta in 1983 Absorbed byAermacchi in 1997 |
| Headquarters | Sesto Calende, Italy |
| Products | Transport aircraft Bombers Experimental planes Air force trainers Seaplanes |
SIAI-Marchetti was an Italianaircraft manufacturer primarily active during theinterwar period.
The original company was founded during 1915 as SIAI (Società Idrovolanti Alta Italia –Seaplane Company of Upper Italy). As suggested by its name, the firm initially specialised in the manufacture of seaplanes, the vast majority of which were intended for the Italian armed forces. Perhaps its most prominent early aircraft was theSIAI S.16, a seaplane that had been configured to perform bothaerial reconnaissance andbomber roles, but also proved itself quite capable of long-distance flights. During 1925, Italian aviatorFrancesco de Pinedo of theRegia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) used an SIAI S.16ter he namedGenariello for a record-setting flight fromRome toAustralia andTokyo to demonstrate his idea that seaplanes were superior to landplanes for long-distance flights. Having departed Rome on 21 April, Pinedo and his mechanic, Ernesto Campanelli, visited dozens of countries, often stopping for multiple weeks at a time, particularly in Australia, before successfully arriving in Tokyo on 26 September 1925.[1][2][3]
Shortly following the end of theFirst World War, the company was rebranded as Savoia following its acquisition of theSocietà Anonima Costruzioni Aeronautiche Savoia, an Italian aircraft company founded byUmberto Savoia in 1915. The name Marchetti was added to the company's name shortly following the recruitment of its long-serving chief designer,Alessandro Marchetti, during 1922.
Savoia-Marchetti gained prominence with the innovativeS.55flying boat. During 1926, the S.55Pprototype successfully established 14 separate world records in categories including speed, altitude, and distance with a payload.[4] Production models were produced for both civilian and military export customers; numerous S.55s were used during the Second World War and for a number of years beyond the conflict, despite the arrival of many newer types.[5][6]
Savoia-Marchetti became relatively well known for its flying boats and seaplanes, aided by the numerous endurance and speed records that had been set by its products. The company earned the favour of numerous Italian officials, including Air MarshalItalo Balbo.[citation needed] Accordingly, the company was involved in the rapid development and prototyping of a wide portfolio of aircraft types during the 1930s. One such aircraft was theSM.75trimotormonoplane transport aircraft, which was developed in response to an enquiry by the ItalianairlineAla Littoria for a modern, middle- to long-rangeairliner andcargo aircraft; it featured an early implementation of retractable mainlanding gear and was capable of long-range missions, such as transporting up to 24 passengers over 1,000 miles.[7][8] Another was theSM.81Pipistrello, which became the firstthree-enginebomber/transport aircraft to be adopted by theItalianRegia Aeronautica;[9] furthermore, it would be one of the most flexible, reliable, and important aircraft operated by the service through the Second World War, transitioning from a front-line bomber to various second-line duties towards the conflict's latter years.[10][11]
The company became increasingly focused on the construction of military aircraft during the lead-up to, and throughout the majority of, World War II. In particular, theSM.79Sparviero trimotor Italianmedium bomber has been claimed by aviation authors Enzo Angelucci and Paolo Matricardi as being the best-known Italian aeroplane of the conflict.[12] Performing its first flight on 28 September 1934, early examples of the type established 26 separate world records between 1937 and 1939, qualifying the SM.79 for some time as being the fastest medium bomber in the world.[13] It was operated in various capacities during the war, initially focusing on its transport and medium-bomber duties.[12] The SM.79 was developed into an effectivetorpedo bomber, in which capacity it achieved numerous successes against Allied shipping in theMediterranean theater.[14]
During 1943, the company was rebranded as SIAI-Marchetti. As the conflict turned in favour of the Allies, the company's manufacturing facilities were a particularly high-priority target for enemy bombers, leading to their virtual destruction by the final months of WWII. The firm continued to make efforts to design and produce new aircraft, such as theSM-93dive bomber during 1944, but the economic consequences of the costly war made such ambitions unrealistic at best.[15]
During the immediatepostwar era, SIAI-Marchetti endeavoured to survive within the commercially inhospitable climate by diversifying into the manufacture of various items of railway equipment andtrucks though efforts were not successful.[16] The company was relatively insolvent, operating as such for roughly six years following the conflict's end before being compelled to declarebankruptcy in September 1951. During the firm's bankruptcy, all of its staff were dismissed, although more than half were re-employed by theliquidator to complete outstanding orders.[17] During 1953, the company re-emerged from the bankruptcy process, and quickly began to focus its development efforts on the emerging market forhelicopters.
Largely as a result of its investment into helicopters, SIAI-Marchetti was acquired by Italian helicopter specialistAgusta during 1983. Its remaining fixed-wing assets were subsequently absorbed by the aircraft manufacturing interestAermacchi during 1997.
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