WOW334 Savoia Marchetti SM.79

Description

Originally developed as a commercial airliner, the SM.79 Sparviero (Sparrowhawk) became one of the most formidable weapons of Italy’s air force, the Regia Aeronautica, during World War II. The original 1936 prototype was based on three 610-hp Piaggio radial engines and could accommodate eight passengers. With war clouds looming, the airplane was converted into a medium bomber. The cockpit cabin was extended with a bulging top fuselage position that gave the bomber its nick­name, Gobbo Maledetto (damned hunchback), and five machine guns were mounted in various fuselage positions. Finally, the plane was retrofitted with an offset rack under the fuselage so that it could carry a 450mm Whitehead torpedo. Further retrofit work was conducted during the war, enabling the aircraft to carry two torpedoes.

The military version of the SM.79 was a large, low-wing trimotor of metal and plywood construction. Its Piaggio engines, generating approximately 1,000 hp each, gave it a top speed of almost 300 mph. In 1943 the torpedo bomber’s Piaggios were swapped for new Alfa Romeo 128 engines, and its ventral gondola was removed, further improving performance.

When carrying a torpedo, the SM.79 had a top speed of only about 200 mph and was thus vulnerable to being shot down by enemy fighters. Nevertheless, Allied naval units feared the Sparvieri. The torpedo bombers generally attacked at dawn or dusk to make a low and unobserved approach toward the target. During the first year of the war, the Italian torpedo bombers attacked individually, but by 1942 several planes flying at a comparatively close range would attack together. A flight of five SM.79s, escorted by Macchi C.200 fighters, would press home an attack by launching up to 10 torpedoes at their targets. Often the flight commander would lead the attack by targeting the largest enemy naval vessel, while the remaining members of the unit would target both navy and merchant ships.

The Sparviero saw its greatest successes in 1940-42, it was first deployed on the night of August 15 1940, when a team of five SM.79s raided British ships stationed at the port of Alexandria, Egypt. Due to the Sparviero’s limited endurance (five hours) and the pilots’ inexperience in ranging and firing torpedoes, that first mission ended in failure. Nevertheless the pilots had gained valuable experience and would shortly thereafter score their first hits.

On the night of September 17, Captain Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia and another pilot carried out an attack against British ships that were besieging the Italian fortress of Bardia. As the two SM.79s began their descent toward the enemy ships, they were illuminated by a full moon and the British naval crews opened up with a hellish machine gun and artillery fire. The Italians managed to avoid the enemy shots and continued their descent. They released their torpedoes from approximately 700 metres out, striking HMS Kent. The blast killed 32 crewmen and damage to the 9,850-ton heavy cruiser was so severe that it was placed out of service for more than a year.

This TG model was one flown by the same Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia above and is considered one of the most famous Italian pilots of World War II.
By 1942 Buscaglia had already obtained the Silver Medal of Military Valour five times, and the German Iron Cross second class. In April he was selected to command the new 132nd Torpedo Group, subsequently sinking several ships in the Mediterranean. On the 12th of August that year, together with the German ace Hans-Joachim Marseille, he was received in Rome by Benito Mussolini, who promoted him to Major. Buscaglia was later shot down by the Allies and taken prisoner, when Italy switched sides he joined the new Italian Air Force but was killed in 1944 whilst learning to fly a new Martin Baltimore – without an instructor!

This particular model is painted in tortoiseshell camouflage with grey frontage, making it harder to spot during a head on attack when coming in over the sea. Its a unique scheme not often seen which we are proud to present to you for our latest version of this superb aircraft.