Unlike many pre-war German bomber types which started their career pretending to be airliners or fast mail aircraft, the Savoia Marchetti SM.79 tri-motor was a bona fide airliner which ended up as Italy’s best (and most famous) bomber type of WWII.
In this picture we can see the Regia Aeronautica’s specialists preparing a torpedo before a bombing run.
Though designed as a bomber, the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero, (Italian for “Sparrowhawk”), is most famous as a torpedo aircraft, a role in which this very stable and rugged machine excelled, the Aerosiluranti squadrons making the Mediterranean a dangerous place for Allied shipping until the 1943 armistice. Italian torpedo bomber pilots enjoyed immense popularity, some reaching the “national hero” status known only to fighter aces in other countries.Perhaps the most famous and highest scoring SM.79 pilot was Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia, who was involved in the torpedoing of the Kent and the Glasgow.
In conclusion, one can say that this strange-looking, slow, obsolescent aircraft was much better than it looked, and fully deserves its place in History as an important and popular type.
Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.
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