{"id":21054,"date":"2026-08-14T19:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/?page_id=21054"},"modified":"2026-08-14T19:00:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:00:32","slug":"savoia-marchetti-sm-79","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/aircraft\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\/","title":{"rendered":"Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero"},"content":{"rendered":"<style> html{overflow-x:hidden} body.page-id-21054{overflow-x:hidden} body.page-id-21054 h1.entry-title.main_title{display:none} body.page-id-21054 #sidebar{display:none} body.page-id-21054 #left-area{width:100%!important;float:none;padding:0} body.page-id-21054 #main-content .container::before{display:none!important;background:none!important} body.page-id-21054 #main-content .container{padding-top:0} #mfam{width:100vw;margin-left:calc(50% - 50vw);overflow:hidden;font-family:'Gilroy 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.relcard:hover{border-color:#5C91FF;text-decoration:none} #mfam .relcard .rt{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:19px;color:#0d1117;display:block;margin-bottom:8px} #mfam .relcard .rd{font-size:15px;color:#31384a;display:block;margin-bottom:12px} #mfam .relcard .rl{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:#3568e0;display:block} \/* Sources *\/ #mfam .srcgrid{columns:2;column-gap:40px;margin-top:24px} #mfam .srcitem{break-inside:avoid;margin-bottom:18px} #mfam .srcitem .sh{font-family:'Gilroy semiBold',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;color:#0d1117;display:block;margin-bottom:3px} #mfam .srcitem .sd{font-size:14px;color:#5a6474;display:block} @media(max-width:900px){ #mfam .twocol,#mfam .specwrap{grid-template-columns:1fr} #mfam .cards,#mfam .cstats{grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr} #mfam .relgrid{grid-template-columns:1fr} #mfam .srcgrid{columns:1} #mfam .hero h1{font-size:38px} } @media(max-width:560px){ #mfam .cards,#mfam .cstats{grid-template-columns:1fr} #mfam .hero h1{font-size:31px} #mfam .claim{font-size:18px} #mfam .stat .n{font-size:22px} #mfam .scard{flex-basis:280px} #mfam .gallery-track figure{flex-basis:300px} } <\/style>\n<div id=\"mfam\">\n<div class=\"hero\"><img data-opt-id=1371565926  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-sparviero-preserved-museum-scaled.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" class=\"hero-img\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Preserved Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero, the three-engined Italian bomber, showing its radial engines and humped dorsal gondola\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"hero-shade\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"hero-inner\">\n<div class=\"crumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/\">Aircraft Museum<\/a> &nbsp;\/&nbsp; Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero<\/div>\n<h1>Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero<\/h1>\n<p class=\"claim\">Fast, tough and unmistakable, the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero was the most important Italian bomber of the Second World War \u2014 a three-engined &#8220;damned hunchback&#8221; that began as a record-breaking airliner and became the most feared torpedo bomber in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n<div class=\"stat-strip\">\n<div class=\"stat\"><span class=\"n\">~430&#8211;460 km\/h<\/span><span class=\"lb\">Top speed (by variant; figures vary)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\"><span class=\"n\">3 &#215; radial<\/span><span class=\"lb\">Trimotor layout<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\"><span class=\"n\">1&#8211;2 torpedoes<\/span><span class=\"lb\">Aerosilurante strike load<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\"><span class=\"n\">~1,300&#8211;1,350<\/span><span class=\"lb\">Built (figures vary)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"chips\"> <span class=\"chip\"><b>Role<\/b> &nbsp;Medium \/ torpedo bomber<\/span> <span class=\"chip\"><b>Era<\/b> &nbsp;Spanish Civil War &amp; World War II<\/span> <span class=\"chip\"><b>Engine<\/b> &nbsp;Three radial engines (trimotor)<\/span> <span class=\"chip\"><b>Origin<\/b> &nbsp;Italy<\/span> <span class=\"chip\"><b>Status<\/b> &nbsp;Retired &#8212; museum survivors only<\/span> <span class=\"chip fly\"><a href=\"#faq\">Want to fly a real fighter jet yourself?<\/a><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">The Story<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero: the record-breaking airliner that became Italy\u2019s deadliest torpedo bomber<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Begin with a fast, elegant civil transport that shattered world speed and distance records in the mid-1930s, give it a military nose, a bomb bay and a distinctive humped back, and you arrive at the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero \u2014 the three-engined &#8220;Sparrowhawk&#8221; that became the single most important, and most feared, Italian aircraft of the Second World War.<\/p>\n<p>The SM.79 did not start life as a weapon. In the autumn of 1934 Alessandro Marchetti\u2019s design bureau at Savoia-Marchetti flew a sleek, low-wing, three-engined monoplane intended as a fast eight-passenger airliner and mail carrier. It was a product of the golden age of Italian aviation, when Italo Balbo\u2019s mass formation flights across the Atlantic had made Italian air power a matter of national pride, and speed records were pursued as instruments of prestige. The little transport delivered handsomely: through 1935, 1936 and beyond, specially prepared SM.79s set a string of recognised world records for speed over distance carrying commercial payloads, and Italian crews flew them on long-distance demonstration flights that made headlines around the world.<\/p>\n<p>The most famous of these triumphs came in August 1937, when a team of military SM.79s painted with a cartoon &#8220;Sorci Verdi&#8221; (green mice) badge swept the first three places in the gruelling Istres\u2013Damascus\u2013Paris air race, beating aircraft from across Europe over thousands of kilometres. For a fascist regime that treated aviation as propaganda, it was a gift: proof, seemingly, that Italian industry could build aircraft that were not merely beautiful but genuinely fast and reliable over enormous distances. That reputation for speed and endurance was no accident of tuning \u2014 it was built into the airframe, and it would shape the Sparviero\u2019s whole military career.<\/p>\n<p>Turning the record-breaker into a bomber meant adding a bomb bay, defensive guns and a crew station for a bomb-aimer, and it was here that the aircraft acquired its unmistakable silhouette. Behind and above the cockpit, Savoia-Marchetti added a raised dorsal position \u2014 a hump housing a fixed, forward-firing 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT heavy machine gun that the pilot aimed by pointing the whole aeroplane. That bulging dorsal gondola gave the SM.79 the humpbacked profile that Italian crews affectionately turned into a nickname: <i>il gobbo maledetto<\/i>, &#8220;the damned hunchback,&#8221; or simply <i>il gobbo<\/i>, &#8220;the hunchback.&#8221; Few aircraft have ever worn an insult so proudly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"pull\">A record-breaking airliner turned bomber, humpbacked and trimotored, that Italian crews nicknamed <i>il gobbo maledetto<\/i> \u2014 the damned hunchback \u2014 and flew straight down the throats of the Royal Navy.<\/p>\n<p>Under the skin the Sparviero was a period piece in the best sense: a mixed-construction machine of wood and metal, with a wooden wing and a fuselage of welded steel tube covered in a patchwork of duralumin, plywood and fabric. That construction was cheap, forgiving and easy to repair in the field, and combined with three engines it made the SM.79 famously tough \u2014 able to absorb battle damage, fly home on two engines and put down on rough desert strips that would have wrecked a more delicate aircraft. Powered by three radial engines (early SM.79-I aircraft used roughly 780-horsepower Alfa Romeo 126 radials; the definitive SM.79-II adopted more powerful Piaggio or Alfa Romeo units of around 860 to 1,000 hp, though figures vary between sources and sub-types), it was fast for a bomber of its generation and, crucially, hard to catch at low level.<\/p>\n<p>The Sparviero first went to war not over the Mediterranean but over Spain. From 1937 the Aviazione Legionaria \u2014 the Italian expeditionary air arm supporting Franco\u2019s Nationalists \u2014 flew SM.79s as fast bombers in the Spanish Civil War, where their speed made them difficult targets and confirmed the type as the backbone of Italy\u2019s bomber force. By the time Italy entered the Second World War in June 1940, the SM.79 was the most numerous bomber in the Regia Aeronautica and the aircraft on which Italian bombing doctrine was built.<\/p>\n<p>Numbers tell part of the story. When Italy went to war in June 1940 the Regia Aeronautica had more SM.79s than any other bomber, and the type served on every front the Italians fought: over Malta and the French Riviera in the opening days, across the Western Desert of Libya and Egypt, in the mountains of Greece and Albania, over Yugoslavia, and from the far-flung airfields of Italian East Africa in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. Wherever the Regia Aeronautica appeared between 1940 and 1943, the humpbacked trimotor was likely to be there \u2014 which is precisely why so much of Italy&#8217;s air war is, in effect, the story of the Sparviero.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"inl\"><img data-opt-id=1146796105  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-torpedo-bomber-aerosilurante.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero torpedo bomber carrying a 450 mm aerial torpedo beneath the fuselage\"><figcaption>An SM.79 <i>aerosilurante<\/i> with a 450 mm torpedo slung beneath the fuselage. It was as a low-level torpedo bomber, not a conventional level bomber, that the Sparviero earned its fearsome Mediterranean reputation. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But it was one particular mission that made the Sparviero legendary. As a conventional high-level bomber the SM.79 was competent but unremarkable \u2014 like every medium bomber of its day, dangerous to the enemy only when escorted, and vulnerable to fighters when not. What transformed its reputation was the aerial torpedo. From 1940 the Regia Aeronautica developed specialist torpedo-bomber squadrons, the <i>reparti aerosiluranti<\/i>, and the strong, fast, low-flying SM.79 proved the ideal mount. Skimming the waves toward British convoys and Royal Navy warships in the teeth of anti-aircraft fire, the SM.79 crews pressed home attacks with a determination that won the grudging respect of their enemies. Through the convoy battles for Malta, off the North African coast and across the central Mediterranean from 1940 to 1943, the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> damaged and sank merchant ships and warships and made the Sparviero the most respected Italian aircraft of the war.<\/p>\n<p>The armistice of 8 September 1943 split Italy in two, and the Sparviero with it. In the German-occupied north, torpedo units of Mussolini\u2019s fascist Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR) flew on against Allied shipping; in the Allied south, SM.79s served the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, mostly in transport and maritime roles. Like several Italian aircraft of its generation, the Sparviero thus ended the war flying, in effect, on both sides of a divided nation. Abroad, export and licence versions had already spread the design well beyond Italy: Yugoslavia, Romania and Iraq all operated Sparvieros, several in twin-engined export forms with different engines, and after the war Lebanon and Spain flew surviving aircraft on as transports well into the 1950s.<\/p>\n<p>Roughly 1,300 to 1,350 SM.79s were built in all \u2014 the exact total is disputed between sources \u2014 making it by a wide margin the most-produced Italian bomber of the war and one of the most numerous trimotor combat aircraft ever built. That production run, its long record-breaking prelude and its deadly torpedo-bomber career together explain why the Sparviero, alone among Italian bombers, is remembered as a genuinely important aircraft rather than a footnote.<\/p>\n<p>Today only a handful survive, all of them static museum exhibits \u2014 there is no airworthy SM.79 anywhere in the world. The pages that follow trace how a fast airliner became a bomber, how the humpbacked &#8220;Gobbo&#8221; was designed and armed, the low-level torpedo war that made its name, the way it came to fly on both sides after 1943, and where the last few Sparvieros can be seen today.<\/p>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">01<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79\u2019s origins: the airliner that broke world records<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The SM.79 was born as a commercial aircraft. Its direct ancestor was a fast passenger transport that Savoia-Marchetti flew in 1934, developed from the company\u2019s line of trimotor airliners. The prototype was conceived to carry a handful of passengers at high speed, and from the outset it was pitched as a record-breaker as much as a workhorse \u2014 a way of demonstrating Italian aeronautical prowess to the world.<\/p>\n<p>It succeeded spectacularly. Between 1935 and 1938 specially prepared SM.79s set a long series of internationally recognised records for speed carrying payloads over set distances, and Italian crews flew widely publicised long-distance flights. The showpiece was the August 1937 Istres\u2013Damascus\u2013Paris race, in which the &#8220;Sorci Verdi&#8221; SM.79s took the first three places against strong international competition. These achievements were not just propaganda: they proved the airframe had genuine speed and long-range endurance, qualities that carried straight over into its military career. When the Regia Aeronautica needed a modern fast bomber, the record-breaking transport was the obvious starting point.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">02<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Why the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 was called <i>il gobbo<\/i> \u2014 the hunchback<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Sparviero\u2019s most famous feature is the reason for its nickname. To turn the clean airliner into a bomber, the designers added a raised structure immediately behind the cockpit: a dorsal &#8220;hump&#8221; or gondola that housed a fixed, forward-firing 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun aimed by the pilot, and above the bomb-aimer\u2019s and gunners\u2019 stations. Viewed from the side this bulge broke the smooth line of the fuselage and gave the aircraft a distinctly humpbacked, almost hunched profile.<\/p>\n<p>Italian crews, with the dark affection soldiers reserve for the machines that carry them, christened it <i>il gobbo maledetto<\/i> \u2014 &#8220;the damned hunchback&#8221; \u2014 usually shortened to <i>il gobbo<\/i>, &#8220;the hunchback.&#8221; The official name was far grander: <i>Sparviero<\/i>, &#8220;sparrowhawk,&#8221; in keeping with the Regia Aeronautica\u2019s taste for birds and mythological titles. But it was the affectionate insult that stuck, and it remains the name by which the SM.79 is best known to this day. The hump was not mere ballast, either: that forward-firing gun turned the bomber into a machine that could shoot its way onto a target, and it became one of the type\u2019s signature features.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">03<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79\u2019s three engines and mixed wood-and-metal construction<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Two features defined the Sparviero\u2019s character: its trimotor layout and its mixed construction. Three radial engines \u2014 one in the nose and one on each wing \u2014 gave the SM.79 both good performance and a valuable margin of safety. A crew could lose an engine to flak or mechanical failure and still fly home, a genuine advantage on long over-water torpedo sorties and desert operations far from base. The trimotor arrangement was, by the late 1930s, going out of fashion elsewhere in favour of twin-engined bombers, which is part of why the SM.79\u2019s silhouette looks so distinctively of its era.<\/p>\n<p>The airframe was equally characteristic of Italian practice of the period: a wooden wing, and a fuselage built up from a welded steel-tube framework clad in a mixture of light alloy (duralumin) panels forward, plywood and fabric further aft. Purists sometimes sneer at &#8220;wood-and-fabric&#8221; aircraft, but the mix was deliberate and effective. It economised on scarce strategic metals, it was simple to build and, above all, it was easy to repair: battle damage could be patched by field workshops with basic materials, keeping serviceability high in the primitive conditions of North African and Mediterranean airfields. Combined with three engines, that toughness gave the Sparviero a reputation for bringing its crews home that its pilots valued more than any performance figure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">04<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Who designed and built the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero?<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The SM.79 was designed by Alessandro Marchetti, the technical director of the Societ\u00e0 Italiana Aeroplani Idrovolanti Savoia-Marchetti (SIAI-Savoia-Marchetti), one of Italy\u2019s leading aircraft manufacturers of the interwar years. Marchetti had made his name with a series of fast, clean trimotor transports and flying boats, and the SM.79 was the culmination of that line \u2014 the &#8220;SM&#8221; and the number denoting a Savoia-Marchetti design in the company\u2019s sequence.<\/p>\n<p>Because the type was needed in large numbers, production was not confined to Savoia-Marchetti\u2019s own factories. The SM.79 was built under licence by other Italian firms as well, and export and licence-built versions were produced or assembled abroad, notably the twin-engined variants for Romania. This broad industrial base is one reason the Sparviero reached production totals \u2014 commonly cited at roughly 1,300 to 1,350 aircraft \u2014 far beyond any other Italian bomber, even as more modern designs struggled to leave the drawing board. Marchetti\u2019s airliner-turned-bomber had become the workhorse of the Regia Aeronautica.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec alt\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Design &amp; Engineering<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">What made the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 so effective<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Three things defined the Sparviero as a fighting machine: a fast, record-bred trimotor airframe, a rugged mixed-construction body that shrugged off damage, and \u2014 the making of its legend \u2014 the ability to carry and deliver an aerial torpedo at wave-top height.<\/p>\n<div class=\"cards\">\n<div class=\"card\"><span class=\"num\">01<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Speed bred from a record-breaker<\/h3>\n<p>The Sparviero inherited the aerodynamics of an airliner built to break records. Fast for a bomber of the late 1930s (roughly 430\u2013460 km\/h depending on variant), it was hard to intercept, especially at low level over the sea, where its torpedo crews made their attacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\"><span class=\"num\">02<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Rugged trimotor toughness<\/h3>\n<p>Three radial engines and a wood-and-metal airframe made the SM.79 famously survivable. Crews brought battle-damaged aircraft home on two engines, and field workshops patched wood and fabric that would have grounded an all-metal type \u2014 keeping serviceability high in desert conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card\"><span class=\"num\">03<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A torpedo under the belly<\/h3>\n<p>The Sparviero\u2019s defining weapon was the 450 mm aerial torpedo. Strong enough to carry it and fast and low enough to deliver it, the SM.79 became the mount of the Regia Aeronautica\u2019s specialist <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> \u2014 the most feared Italian strike aircraft of the Mediterranean war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inl\" style=\"max-width:640px;margin-top:34px\"><img data-opt-id=1952633493  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-preserved-survivor.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"A preserved Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 showing its humped dorsal gondola and three radial engines\"><figcaption>A preserved SM.79 Sparviero. The raised dorsal &#8220;hump&#8221; behind the cockpit \u2014 home of the fixed forward-firing gun \u2014 is the feature that earned the type its <i>gobbo<\/i> (&#8220;hunchback&#8221;) nickname. Photo: Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">05<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79\u2019s armament: guns, the &#8220;hunchback&#8221; gondola and the torpedo<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Sparviero\u2019s gun armament was arranged around its humped profile. The signature weapon was a fixed 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT heavy machine gun mounted in the dorsal hump, firing forward over the cockpit and aimed by the pilot \u2014 an offensive gun that let the bomber shoot at what it was attacking. Rearward defence came from a second 12.7 mm gun in a dorsal position firing aft over the tail, and a third 12.7 mm gun in a ventral gondola covering the underside and rear, supplemented on many aircraft by a hand-held 7.7 mm lateral gun that could be moved between beam windows. Exact fits varied between variants and over time.<\/p>\n<p>For strike work the SM.79 could carry up to around 1,250 kg of bombs internally as a level bomber. But its most important load was slung externally: the torpedo version carried one 450 mm aerial torpedo (the aircraft was capable of carrying two, though a single torpedo was the normal operational load) on an offset rack beneath the fuselage. This combination \u2014 heavy defensive machine guns, a forward-firing gun in the hump, and an externally carried torpedo \u2014 is what made the humpbacked Sparviero both instantly recognisable and genuinely dangerous.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">06<\/span><span class=\"gt\">How the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 <i>aerosilurante<\/i> attacked ships<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Torpedo bombing was among the most dangerous forms of air attack in the Second World War, and the SM.79 crews practised it with exceptional determination. To deliver a torpedo, the aircraft had to descend to just a few dozen metres above the sea, fly straight and level directly toward its target to release the weapon at the correct range and height, and then break away \u2014 all through the concentrated anti-aircraft fire of an alerted convoy or warship. There was no jinking on the run-in; the attack demanded nerve, precise flying and a strong airframe.<\/p>\n<p>The Sparviero suited the task perfectly. It was fast and low-sitting, its three engines gave it a margin against battle damage, and its wooden structure absorbed punishment. Italian torpedo crews developed tactics of attacking in loose groups from several directions to split a ship\u2019s defensive fire, pressing in to short range before releasing. British sailors who faced them came to respect the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> as skilled and courageous opponents \u2014 a reputation earned the hard way, in repeated low-level attacks against some of the best-defended targets afloat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">07<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 as a level bomber: competent, but not the legend<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>It is worth being honest about the Sparviero\u2019s ordinary bombing role, because it is a very different story from the torpedo legend. As a conventional level bomber the SM.79 was a solid, average medium bomber of its generation \u2014 reasonably fast, adequately armed, able to carry a useful bomb load, but no more revolutionary than the German, British or Soviet twin-engined bombers it flew alongside and against. Its bombsight, bomb load and accuracy were unremarkable, and like every medium bomber of the era it was dangerously exposed to enemy fighters when it flew without escort.<\/p>\n<p>The SM.79 dropped a great many bombs in Spain, over Malta, in the Balkans, in North and East Africa and elsewhere, and in that role it was a workhorse rather than a war-winner. What lifted the Sparviero above the ruck of competent medium bombers was not level bombing at all but the specialist torpedo mission \u2014 a role that played directly to the airframe\u2019s strengths of speed, toughness and low-level handling, and in which its crews achieved results and a reputation out of all proportion to the aircraft\u2019s otherwise middling qualities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">08<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79\u2019s variants: SM.79-I, SM.79-II, the twin-engined SM.79B and beyond<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Sparviero was produced in a number of forms. The initial military bomber was the SM.79-I, powered by three Alfa Romeo 126 RC.34 radials of roughly 780 hp each. The definitive wartime version was the SM.79-II, re-engined with more powerful radials \u2014 commonly the Piaggio P.XI RC.40 of around 1,000 hp or the Alfa Romeo 128 of around 860 hp, figures varying between sources \u2014 and it was this version that equipped most of the torpedo units. A late, cleaned-up development, sometimes designated SM.79-III, dispensed with the ventral gondola and added a forward-firing 20 mm cannon.<\/p>\n<p>For export, Savoia-Marchetti also built a distinctly different twin-engined version, the SM.79B, which replaced the three-engine layout with two more powerful engines and a fully glazed &#8220;greenhouse&#8221; nose in place of the trimotor\u2019s stepped cockpit. This twin-engined line was tailored to customers who wanted specific powerplants: it was supplied to Iraq and, most significantly, formed the basis of the aircraft licence-built in Romania (as the JRS-79B \/ JIS-79B) with in-line engines. Yugoslavia bought a version known as the SM.79K. These export and licence variants spread the Sparviero\u2019s basic design well beyond Italy and account for the type\u2019s appearance in air arms across the Balkans and the Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">The War<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79\u2019s war: Spain, the Malta convoys and the Mediterranean torpedo battle<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">From its combat debut in Spain to the desperate convoy battles for Malta and its service on both sides after the 1943 armistice, the Sparviero was at the centre of Italy\u2019s air war \u2014 above all as the low-level torpedo bomber that made the Mediterranean deadly for Allied shipping.<\/p>\n<p>The SM.79 went into action for the first time over Spain. From 1937 the Aviazione Legionaria, Italy\u2019s expeditionary force fighting for Franco\u2019s Nationalists, operated Sparvieros as fast day bombers. Their speed made them hard for Republican fighters to catch, and the Spanish experience confirmed the type as the Regia Aeronautica\u2019s standard bomber and shaped the tactics and confidence its crews carried into the wider war that followed.<\/p>\n<p>When Italy entered the Second World War in June 1940, the SM.79 was the most numerous bomber in Italian service, deployed from Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Libya and the Italian East African empire. In the war\u2019s opening phase it flew conventional bombing raids: against Malta, against French targets, and in the East African campaign against British forces in Sudan, Kenya and the Horn of Africa. In these operations the Sparviero performed like any competent medium bomber of 1940 \u2014 effective against undefended targets, but increasingly vulnerable as British fighter strength grew, and unable on its own to force a decision.<\/p>\n<p>The turning point was the aerial torpedo. Italy had experimented with air-dropped torpedoes before the war, and in the summer of 1940 the Regia Aeronautica stood up its first specialist torpedo-bomber unit. The strong, fast, low-flying SM.79 proved an almost ideal torpedo aircraft, and over 1940\u201341 the <i>reparti aerosiluranti<\/i> grew into the most effective strike force Italy possessed. Their hunting ground was the central Mediterranean, and their quarry was the lifeline of British sea power there: the convoys fighting through to the besieged island of Malta, and the Royal Navy warships that escorted them.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"inl\" style=\"max-width:640px\"><img data-opt-id=47451578  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-north-africa.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero in flight over North Africa\"><figcaption>An SM.79 in flight over North Africa. The Sparviero flew across the Mediterranean, the Western Desert and Italian East Africa; its ruggedness suited the primitive desert airfields from which it operated. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The mechanics of the campaign were unforgiving. Italy and the Axis needed to run fuel, tanks and men across the Mediterranean to sustain Rommel&#8217;s army in North Africa, while starving the British garrison on Malta; Britain needed to do the reverse, and to keep Malta alive as a base from which to attack the Axis convoys. The sea between Sicily and Tunisia became one of the most contested stretches of water in the world, and the SM.79 <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> were among the sharpest instruments either side possessed for closing it. Operating from Sardinia, Sicily and North African strips, they could reach far out to sea, and their speed and low-level approach gave defenders little warning.<\/p>\n<p>The convoy battles that followed were among the hardest-fought sea-air actions of the war. Time and again through 1941 and 1942, formations of SM.79s bored in at wave-top height against convoys ringed with anti-aircraft guns and covered by carrier fighters, releasing their torpedoes at close range and breaking away through a wall of fire. The great Malta convoy operations \u2014 including the climactic August 1942 battle known to the British as Operation Pedestal \u2014 saw the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i>, alongside German aircraft, Italian and German submarines and motor torpedo boats, inflict heavy losses on merchant ships and their escorts. Italian torpedo crews damaged and sank a range of Allied vessels across the campaign, and though claims and confirmed results (as always in air-sea warfare) must be treated with caution, there is no doubt the Sparviero units were a serious and sustained threat that the Royal Navy had to plan around.<\/p>\n<p>It was in this role that the SM.79 earned something rare for an Axis aircraft: the respect of its enemies. British accounts of the Mediterranean war repeatedly acknowledge the skill and courage of the Italian torpedo-bomber crews, who attacked with a persistence that cost them dearly. Individual Italian aces of the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i>, such as Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia, became national figures. For all Italy\u2019s wider difficulties in the air, the torpedo-armed Sparviero was a weapon the Allies genuinely feared.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the armistice. On 8 September 1943 Italy signed a ceasefire with the Allies, and the country \u2014 and its air force \u2014 split. In the German-occupied north, the fascist Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana re-formed torpedo units around surviving SM.79s and continued to attack Allied shipping into 1944, a bitter continuation of the Mediterranean torpedo war now fought against former allies. In the Allied-aligned south, the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force flew its SM.79s mainly in transport and maritime-patrol roles. As with several Italian types, the Sparviero thus finished the war serving, in effect, on both sides of a divided nation.<\/p>\n<p>The SM.79\u2019s story did not end in 1945. Export customers had operated the type before and during the war \u2014 Yugoslavia, Romania and Iraq among them \u2014 and a number of aircraft survived the conflict in foreign hands or were passed on afterwards. Lebanon flew ex-Italian Sparvieros as transports into the 1950s, and Spain, which had operated the type since the civil war, kept SM.79s in service in secondary roles for years after the war. It was a quiet, unglamorous coda for an aircraft that had been, for three years, the sharpest edge of Italian air power at sea.<\/p>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">09<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and the Malta convoys: Operation Pedestal and the torpedo war<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The struggle to supply Malta was one of the decisive campaigns of the Mediterranean war, and the SM.79 was central to the Axis effort to strangle it. Malta sat astride the convoy routes between Italy and North Africa; so long as it held, its aircraft, submarines and ships savaged the convoys carrying fuel and supplies to Rommel\u2019s army. The Axis response was to besiege the island from the air and to attack every British convoy that tried to relieve it \u2014 and torpedo-armed Sparvieros were a principal weapon in those attacks.<\/p>\n<p>The best-known of these battles was Operation Pedestal in August 1942, a maximum-effort British attempt to fight a large convoy through to Malta. Attacked relentlessly for days by Axis aircraft \u2014 including Italian torpedo bombers \u2014 submarines and light surface craft, the convoy lost most of its merchant ships, though just enough got through (most famously the tanker Ohio) to keep Malta alive. The Sparviero units were part of a combined Axis assault rather than acting alone, and untangling exactly which ship fell to which weapon is notoriously difficult. But Pedestal stands as the archetype of the war the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> fought: repeated, costly, low-level torpedo attacks against a heavily defended convoy, pressed home with a determination that even their opponents acknowledged.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">10<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 after the 1943 armistice: flying on both sides<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Italy\u2019s armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943 tore the country and its armed forces in two, and the SM.79 fleet split with them. In the north, occupied by Germany, Mussolini\u2019s puppet Italian Social Republic raised a new air arm, the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR). Its torpedo squadrons flew surviving Sparvieros against Allied shipping and landings \u2014 including operations against the Anzio beachhead in 1944 \u2014 continuing the low-level torpedo war, now against the very Allies with whom the south had made peace.<\/p>\n<p>South of the line, the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, fighting alongside the Allies, operated its SM.79s largely in transport, liaison and maritime roles, their bombing and torpedo days mostly behind them. This division \u2014 the same type of aircraft flown by Italians on opposite sides of a civil war within a world war \u2014 is one of the poignant features of the SM.79\u2019s late history, shared with other Italian aircraft such as the Macchi fighters. By 1945 the Sparviero\u2019s front-line combat career was effectively over, but its service was not: transport and second-line flying would keep the type in the air, at home and abroad, for years to come.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">11<\/span><span class=\"gt\">Why the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 is remembered when other Italian bombers are forgotten<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Italy built many bombers in the Second World War, most of which are now remembered \u2014 if at all \u2014 only by specialists. The SM.79 is the exception, and there are clear reasons why. It was built in far larger numbers than any other Italian bomber, so it was everywhere the Regia Aeronautica fought. It had a long and genuinely glamorous prelude as a record-breaking airliner, which gave it fame before the war even began. And it had an instantly recognisable shape \u2014 three engines and a humped back \u2014 that made it a symbol of Italian aviation.<\/p>\n<p>Above all, it had the torpedo war. In an air force whose overall wartime record was mixed, the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> and their Sparvieros were a real success story: a weapon that seriously threatened Allied sea power in the Mediterranean and won the respect of a formidable enemy. That combination \u2014 ubiquity, a record-breaking backstory, a unique silhouette and a single role in which it genuinely excelled \u2014 is why the &#8220;damned hunchback&#8221; is the one Italian bomber of the war that non-specialists still remember, and why it earns a place in a museum devoted to the most significant aircraft ever flown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">12<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79&#8217;s torpedo aces: Buscaglia and the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i><\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The reputation of the SM.79 is inseparable from the men who flew it against ships. The Regia Aeronautica&#8217;s torpedo-bomber squadrons \u2014 the <i>reparti aerosiluranti<\/i> \u2014 attracted some of Italy&#8217;s most determined airmen, and a handful became national heroes. The best known is Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia, whose name became a byword for the Italian torpedo arm; his unit was later renamed in his honour. Other pioneers, including Carlo Faggioni and Guido Robone, helped develop and prove the low-level torpedo tactics that made the SM.79 so dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>What these men and their crews did was extraordinarily hazardous. Attacking a defended convoy meant flying straight and level at wave-top height into concentrated anti-aircraft fire, often against warships bristling with guns and covered by carrier-borne fighters. Losses were heavy and casualties among the small, elite torpedo units were severe. Yet they pressed their attacks with a persistence that their British opponents openly admired \u2014 a rare tribute paid to an enemy in the bitter Mediterranean war. The <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> and their Sparvieros were, by common consent, the most effective offensive weapon the wartime Regia Aeronautica ever wielded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">13<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 compared to the Heinkel He 111 and other WWII medium bombers<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Set against the medium bombers of the other major powers, the SM.79 was a broadly comparable but distinctive machine. In speed, bomb load and defensive armament it sat in the same class as the German Heinkel He 111, the British Vickers Wellington and the various twin-engined bombers of the period \u2014 competent, useful, but none of them war-winners on their own, and all vulnerable to modern fighters without escort. Where the Sparviero differed was its layout: three engines where almost every rival used two, and mixed wood-and-metal construction where others were increasingly all-metal.<\/p>\n<p>Those differences cut both ways. The trimotor arrangement gave the SM.79 an extra margin of safety and reliability, valuable on long over-water and desert sorties, at the cost of the drag and complexity of a third engine. The wooden structure was easy to repair but limited the airframe&#8217;s development potential. In the level-bombing role, then, the Sparviero was neither better nor worse than its foreign contemporaries \u2014 it was simply Italian, and idiosyncratic. Its real edge lay elsewhere: no other nation made such effective, sustained use of the air-launched torpedo, and it was that speciality, rather than any advantage as a conventional bomber, that set the SM.79 apart from the He 111 and the rest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec alt\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Specifications<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero full specifications<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Figures are broadly representative of the definitive wartime SM.79-II and are drawn from established reference sources. Many values differ between references, variants and sub-types \u2014 especially engine power, speed and production totals \u2014 so contested figures are flagged.<\/p>\n<div class=\"specwrap\">\n<table class=\"spec\">\n<caption>Powerplant &amp; performance<\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Crew<\/th>\n<td>5\u20136 (pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, radio operator\/gunner, bomb-aimer\/gunners; varied by variant and mission)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Engines<\/th>\n<td>Three radial engines (trimotor). SM.79-I: 3 \u00d7 Alfa Romeo 126 RC.34, ~780 hp each. SM.79-II: 3 \u00d7 Piaggio P.XI RC.40 (~1,000 hp) or Alfa Romeo 128 (~860 hp) \u2014 figures vary<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Maximum speed<\/th>\n<td>~430\u2013460 km\/h (~267\u2013286 mph), depending on variant and source<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Cruising speed<\/th>\n<td>~370\u2013390 km\/h (~230\u2013242 mph) \u2014 approximate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Service ceiling<\/th>\n<td>~6,500\u20137,000 m (~21,300\u201323,000 ft) \u2014 figures vary<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Range<\/th>\n<td>~1,900\u20132,600 km (~1,180\u20131,615 mi) depending on load and variant<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Defensive armament<\/th>\n<td>Typically 3 \u00d7 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns (1 fixed forward in dorsal hump, 1 dorsal aft, 1 ventral) + 1 \u00d7 7.7 mm lateral gun; fit varied<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Offensive load (bomber)<\/th>\n<td>Up to ~1,250 kg of bombs internally<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Offensive load (torpedo)<\/th>\n<td>1 \u00d7 450 mm aerial torpedo (capable of 2; one was the normal operational load)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"spec\">\n<caption>Airframe, programme &amp; cost<\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Length<\/th>\n<td>~15.6 m (~51 ft 3 in)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Wingspan<\/th>\n<td>~21.2 m (~69 ft 7 in)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Height<\/th>\n<td>~4.1 m (~13 ft 5 in)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Wing area<\/th>\n<td>~61.7 m\u00b2 (~664 sq ft)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Empty weight<\/th>\n<td>~7,700 kg (estimate; varies)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Loaded \/ max take-off weight<\/th>\n<td>~10,500\u201311,300 kg (estimate; varies by variant)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Construction<\/th>\n<td>Mixed: wooden wing; welded steel-tube fuselage clad in duralumin, plywood and fabric<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>First flight<\/th>\n<td>Late 1934 (civil transport prototype)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Service entry<\/th>\n<td>1936 (Regia Aeronautica); combat debut 1937 (Spain)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Number built<\/th>\n<td>~1,300\u20131,350 (figures vary widely between sources)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Designer<\/th>\n<td>Alessandro Marchetti<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Manufacturer<\/th>\n<td>Savoia-Marchetti (SIAI) and licensees, Italy; export\/licence versions abroad<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Unit cost<\/th>\n<td>Not reliably recorded (WWII)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Cost per flight hour<\/th>\n<td>Not applicable \u2014 no airworthy example<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"fnote\">Values marked &#8220;estimate,&#8221; &#8220;varies&#8221; or &#8220;approximate&#8221; should be treated with caution. Engine type and power, top speed, weights, range and total production in particular differ between references and between the many SM.79 sub-variants (SM.79-I, SM.79-II, SM.79-III, the twin-engined SM.79B and licence-built versions).<\/p>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">14<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79\u2019s world records: the speed-and-distance flights of the 1930s<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Before it dropped a single bomb, the SM.79 was famous as a record-breaker. In the mid-to-late 1930s specially prepared examples set a long series of internationally recognised records for speed carrying commercial payloads over measured distances \u2014 the kind of records that demonstrated an aircraft\u2019s combination of speed, load and endurance rather than raw dash. Italian crews also flew widely publicised long-distance demonstration flights that kept the type in the world\u2019s newspapers.<\/p>\n<p>The showpiece was the Istres\u2013Damascus\u2013Paris race of August 1937, over roughly 6,200 km, in which SM.79s of the &#8220;Sorci Verdi&#8221; team took the first three places against strong international competition. For the fascist regime it was priceless propaganda; for the aircraft it was proof of genuine capability. Those record flights were not a sideshow to the SM.79\u2019s military career but its foundation: the speed and long-range endurance that won the races were exactly the qualities that later made the bomber hard to catch and the torpedo aircraft able to range far out to sea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">15<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79\u2019s export and licence versions: Yugoslavia, Romania, Iraq and Brazil<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The Sparviero was widely exported, often in forms quite different from the standard Italian trimotor. Yugoslavia bought a batch known as the SM.79K in the late 1930s. Iraq received the twin-engined SM.79B export version. Most significant of all, Romania adopted the twin-engined line and built it under licence as the JRS-79B (and related JIS-79B), powered by in-line engines \u2014 Romanian-built Sparvieros served on the Eastern Front alongside Germany. A number of SM.79s were also supplied for civil use, including examples that reached Brazil as fast transports.<\/p>\n<p>These exports matter for two reasons. First, they make the SM.79 a genuinely international aircraft, flown by air arms across the Balkans and the Middle East, not just an Italian curiosity. Second, they are a frequent source of confusion: a &#8220;SM.79&#8221; in Romanian, Iraqi or Yugoslav service may be a twin-engined machine with a glazed nose and entirely different engines, looking quite unlike the humpbacked Italian trimotor. When you see a photograph captioned &#8220;SM.79,&#8221; it is always worth checking whether it shows the classic three-engined Regia Aeronautica bomber or one of these distinctive export variants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">16<\/span><span class=\"gt\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79\u2019s operating costs: why there is no cost-per-hour figure<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>Unlike the modern jets in the MiGFlug fleet, the Sparviero has no meaningful operating-cost figure. Wartime unit costs for Italian aircraft were not reliably or consistently recorded, and the economic disruption of 1940s Italy \u2014 followed by the chaos of the armistice and occupation \u2014 makes any single production-cost number misleading. The honest entry in the specifications table is simply &#8220;not reliably recorded.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>More fundamentally, there is no airworthy Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 anywhere in the world. Every surviving original is a static museum exhibit, so there is no fuel bill, no maintenance programme and no cost-per-flight-hour to quote \u2014 hence &#8220;not applicable&#8221; in the table. If you want to know what operating and flying a genuine military aircraft actually costs today, the jets MiGFlug flies are a far better guide than a bomber that has not flown for more than half a century.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"gd\">\n<summary><span class=\"exn\">17<\/span><span class=\"gt\">How to recognise a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79: three engines, a hump and a low stance<\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"gd-body\">\n<p>The classic Italian SM.79 is one of the easier wartime aircraft to identify once you know the tells. It is a large, low-wing monoplane with three radial engines \u2014 one in the nose, one on each wing \u2014 which immediately sets it apart from the twin-engined bombers that dominated every other air force. Its second signature is the dorsal &#8220;hump&#8221; behind the cockpit, the raised gondola that earned it the <i>gobbo<\/i> nickname and that breaks the top line of the fuselage. A ventral gondola beneath the fuselage and, on torpedo aircraft, a torpedo slung off-centre under the belly complete the picture.<\/p>\n<p>The trap for the unwary is the export versions. The twin-engined SM.79B and the Romanian licence-built JRS-79B have only two engines and a fully glazed nose, so they lack both the nose engine and the stepped cockpit of the trimotor \u2014 they look like a different aircraft altogether, which in many respects they are. If you are looking at a preserved machine and want to be sure it is the definitive Italian Sparviero, count the engines (three) and look for the hump: those two features, together, are unique to the SM.79.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Timeline<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero: from record-breaker to torpedo bomber<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tl\">\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">1934<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>A record-breaking airliner.<\/b> Savoia-Marchetti flies the fast trimotor transport prototype from which the SM.79 is derived \u2014 designed as much to break records as to carry passengers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">1935\u20131938<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>World records.<\/b> Specially prepared SM.79s set a string of recognised world records for speed with payload over distance, and fly widely publicised long-distance demonstrations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">1936<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Into service.<\/b> The militarised SM.79 bomber, with its bomb bay, defensive guns and humped dorsal gondola, enters Regia Aeronautica service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">1937<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Combat debut in Spain.<\/b> The Aviazione Legionaria flies SM.79s as fast bombers for Franco\u2019s Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. &#8220;Sorci Verdi&#8221; SM.79s sweep the Istres\u2013Damascus\u2013Paris race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">June 1940<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Italy enters WWII.<\/b> The SM.79 is the Regia Aeronautica\u2019s most numerous bomber, flying conventional raids against Malta, France and in East Africa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">1940<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The torpedo units form.<\/b> The Regia Aeronautica stands up its first specialist torpedo-bomber unit; the fast, tough, low-flying SM.79 proves an ideal <i>aerosilurante<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">1941\u20131942<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The convoy battles.<\/b> SM.79 torpedo bombers attack Malta convoys and Royal Navy warships at wave-top height, damaging and sinking Allied ships and earning their enemies\u2019 respect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">August 1942<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Operation Pedestal.<\/b> Italian torpedo bombers join the massed Axis assault on the great Malta convoy, which loses most of its merchantmen but gets just enough through to save the island.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">8 September 1943<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The armistice.<\/b> Italy changes sides. The SM.79 fleet splits: ANR torpedo units in the north continue attacking Allied shipping; Co-Belligerent SM.79s in the south fly transport roles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">1944<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Both sides.<\/b> ANR Sparvieros attack the Anzio landings and Allied convoys, while southern SM.79s serve the Allied cause \u2014 the same bomber flown by Italians against Italians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">Late 1940s\u20131950s<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Foreign afterlife.<\/b> Lebanon and Spain fly surviving SM.79s as transports and second-line aircraft into the 1950s; Romanian and other export machines are retired.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ev\"><span class=\"yr\">Today<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Survivors.<\/b> Only a handful of SM.79s survive, all static museum exhibits \u2014 notably at the Italian Air Force Museum, Vigna di Valle. None is airworthy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec alt\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Stories &amp; Context<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">Twelve things worth knowing about the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Scroll through the episodes and details that make the &#8220;damned hunchback&#8221; the one Italian bomber of the war that everyone remembers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"carou\">\n<div class=\"track\" id=\"hxtrack\">\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">01 \u00b7 The origin<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>An airliner first<\/h3>\n<p>The Sparviero began as a fast civil transport, not a bomber. Flown in 1934 to carry a handful of passengers at high speed, it was built to break records \u2014 and did, repeatedly. When Italy needed a modern fast bomber, this record-breaking airliner was the ready-made answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">02 \u00b7 The name<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Sparrowhawk and hunchback<\/h3>\n<p>Officially it was the <i>Sparviero<\/i> \u2014 &#8220;sparrowhawk.&#8221; But the humped gondola behind the cockpit gave it a bulging back, and crews nicknamed it <i>il gobbo maledetto<\/i>, &#8220;the damned hunchback.&#8221; The affectionate insult, not the grand official name, is the one that stuck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">03 \u00b7 The records<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Green mice over Europe<\/h3>\n<p>In August 1937 a team of SM.79s marked with a cartoon &#8220;Sorci Verdi&#8221; (green mice) badge took the first three places in the Istres\u2013Damascus\u2013Paris air race, over some 6,200 km. It was a propaganda triumph \u2014 and proof the airframe had real speed and endurance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">04 \u00b7 The shape<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Three engines and a hump<\/h3>\n<p>The SM.79 is one of the most recognisable aircraft of the war: a low trimotor with an engine in the nose and one on each wing, and a raised dorsal hump housing a forward-firing gun. By the late 1930s three-engined bombers were going out of fashion, which makes the silhouette look distinctively of its moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">05 \u00b7 The build<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Wood, steel and fabric<\/h3>\n<p>Under its skin the Sparviero mixed a wooden wing with a welded steel-tube fuselage clad in duralumin, plywood and fabric. Unfashionable, perhaps \u2014 but tough, cheap and easy to repair. Field workshops patched battle damage that would have grounded an all-metal aircraft, keeping serviceability high in the desert.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">06 \u00b7 The debut<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Blooded in Spain<\/h3>\n<p>The SM.79 first fought in the Spanish Civil War from 1937, flown by Italy\u2019s Aviazione Legionaria for Franco\u2019s Nationalists. Its speed made it hard to intercept, and Spain confirmed it as the backbone of the Regia Aeronautica\u2019s bomber force for the wider war to come.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">07 \u00b7 The weapon<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A torpedo under the belly<\/h3>\n<p>The Sparviero\u2019s fame rests on one weapon: the 450 mm aerial torpedo. Strong, fast and able to fly low over the sea, the SM.79 became the mount of the Regia Aeronautica\u2019s specialist torpedo squadrons \u2014 the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> \u2014 and the most feared Italian strike aircraft of the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">08 \u00b7 The attack<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Down among the waves<\/h3>\n<p>A torpedo run meant descending to a few dozen metres, flying straight at the target through a wall of anti-aircraft fire, releasing at close range and breaking away. It took nerve and a strong aircraft. SM.79 crews did it again and again against the best-defended convoys afloat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">09 \u00b7 Malta<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The convoy battles<\/h3>\n<p>The struggle to supply Malta was decisive in the Mediterranean, and torpedo-armed Sparvieros were a principal Axis weapon against the relief convoys. In battles like Operation Pedestal in August 1942 they helped inflict heavy losses on merchant ships and their Royal Navy escorts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">10 \u00b7 The respect<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Feared by the enemy<\/h3>\n<p>For an Axis aircraft, the SM.79 earned something rare: the genuine respect of its opponents. British accounts of the Mediterranean war repeatedly praise the skill and courage of the Italian torpedo crews, who pressed home their attacks at terrible cost. Aces such as Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia became national figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">11 \u00b7 Both sides<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A bomber of the civil war<\/h3>\n<p>After the September 1943 armistice the SM.79 flew on both sides: ANR torpedo units in the German-held north attacked Allied shipping, while Co-Belligerent SM.79s in the south served the Allies. The same aircraft, flown by Italians against Italians \u2014 one of the war\u2019s quiet tragedies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"scard\"><span class=\"sn\">12 \u00b7 The afterlife<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Foreign service and survivors<\/h3>\n<p>Exported before the war to Yugoslavia, Romania and Iraq, and flown post-war by Lebanon and Spain, the Sparviero served abroad well into the 1950s. Today only a handful survive as museum exhibits \u2014 most famously at Vigna di Valle \u2014 and none is airworthy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cbtns\"> <button class=\"cbtn\" aria-label=\"Scroll left\" onclick=\"this.closest('.carou').querySelector('.track').scrollBy({left:-360,behavior:'smooth'})\">&#8249;<\/button> <button class=\"cbtn\" aria-label=\"Scroll right\" onclick=\"this.closest('.carou').querySelector('.track').scrollBy({left:360,behavior:'smooth'})\">&#8250;<\/button> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Gallery<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero in photographs<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Wartime images and surviving museum aircraft. Click any photograph to enlarge. All images are public domain or Creative Commons, credited in the captions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery-track\" id=\"sm79-gallery\">\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1490772971  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-sparviero-wartime-scaled.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-sparviero-wartime-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero, three-engined Italian bomber\"><figcaption>A Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero, the three-engined bomber that was the workhorse of the Regia Aeronautica. Photo: San Diego Air &amp; Space Museum archives (public domain).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=236863181  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-in-flight.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-in-flight.jpg\" alt=\"Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero in flight\"><figcaption>An SM.79 in flight, showing the trimotor layout and humped dorsal gondola that gave the type its <i>gobbo<\/i> nickname. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1043183419  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-formation.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-formation.jpg\" alt=\"A formation of Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero bombers\"><figcaption>A formation of SM.79 Sparvieros. The type was the most numerous bomber in Italian service when Italy entered the war in 1940. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=47451578  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-north-africa.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-north-africa.jpg\" alt=\"Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 in flight over North Africa\"><figcaption>An SM.79 over North Africa. Its rugged mixed construction and three engines suited the primitive desert airfields of the Mediterranean theatre. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1146796105  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-torpedo-bomber-aerosilurante.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-torpedo-bomber-aerosilurante.jpg\" alt=\"SM.79 Sparviero carrying an aerial torpedo\"><figcaption>An SM.79 <i>aerosilurante<\/i> with a 450 mm torpedo beneath the fuselage \u2014 the weapon and role that made the Sparviero feared across the Mediterranean. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=269638328  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-two-torpedoes.png\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-two-torpedoes.png\" alt=\"SM.79 Sparviero on the ground loaded with two torpedoes\"><figcaption>An SM.79 on the ground carrying torpedoes. The aircraft could carry two 450 mm torpedoes, though a single torpedo was the normal operational load. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1371565926  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-sparviero-preserved-museum-scaled.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-sparviero-preserved-museum-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Preserved Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero in a museum\"><figcaption>A preserved SM.79 Sparviero. Only a handful survive today, all as static museum exhibits; none is airworthy. Photo: Andr\u00e9 Gerwing Collection, CC BY-SA 4.0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure><img data-opt-id=1952633493  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-preserved-survivor.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-full=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-preserved-survivor.jpg\" alt=\"Preserved SM.79 Sparviero showing the dorsal hump and three engines\"><figcaption>A surviving SM.79, its trimotor layout and dorsal hump clearly visible. Photo: Alan Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec alt\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">On Film<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero on video<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">A well-researched history of the Sparviero from Military Aviation History, an established aviation-history channel, covering the type\u2019s record-breaking origins, its design and its Mediterranean torpedo-bomber career.<\/p>\n<div class=\"vidwrap\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lD3tSwufU2Y\" title=\"The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero - Italy's Workhorse of WW2\" loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p class=\"vcap\">&#8220;The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 &#8216;Sparviero&#8217; \u2014 Italy&#8217;s Workhorse of WW2&#8221; \u2014 Military Aviation History (an established aviation-history channel, ~468,000 subscribers), published November 2017, roughly 183,000 views at the time of writing. A thorough, well-sourced overview of the type and its Mediterranean service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Operations Map<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">Where the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 flew<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">Designed and built in Italy; flown in combat by the Regia Aeronautica across the Mediterranean, North Africa and Italian East Africa, in the Spanish Civil War, and \u2014 after the 1943 armistice \u2014 by the fascist ANR; exported to Yugoslavia, Romania and Iraq and flown post-war by Lebanon and Spain; and preserved today in a handful of museums. Hover (or tap on mobile) a country for details; use the buttons to toggle categories.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mapwrap\">\n<div id=\"sm79-map-widget\" style=\"font-family:'Gilroy semiBold','Gilroy regular',Helvetica,Arial,Lucida,sans-serif;max-width:1080px;width:100%\">\n<div id=\"sm79-map-container\" style=\"width:100%;position:relative\"><svg id=\"sm79-map-svg\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;display:block\"><\/svg><\/p>\n<div id=\"sm79-tooltip\" style=\"position:fixed;background:#1a1a2e;color:#fff;padding:10px 16px;font-size:13px;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:.3px;pointer-events:auto;opacity:0;transition:opacity .15s;z-index:1000;max-width:360px;line-height:1.5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"sm79-controls\" style=\"display:flex;gap:8px;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:flex-start;margin-top:12px\"> <button class=\"sm79-toggle active\" data-cat=\"origin\" data-full=\"Origin &amp; Manufacturer\" data-short=\"Origin\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #5C91FF;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:#5C91FF\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"sm79-label\">Origin &amp; Manufacturer<\/span><span class=\"sm79-check\" style=\"font-size:10px\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button> <button class=\"sm79-toggle active\" data-cat=\"wwii\" data-full=\"WWII Operators &amp; Theatres\" data-short=\"WWII\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #6B8E23;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:linear-gradient(135deg,#4A6741 25%,#6B8E23 25%,#6B8E23 50%,#556B2F 50%,#556B2F 75%,#8B9D77 75%);background-size:8px 8px\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"sm79-label\">WWII Operators &amp; Theatres<\/span><span class=\"sm79-check\" style=\"font-size:10px\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button> <button class=\"sm79-toggle active\" data-cat=\"postwar\" data-full=\"Export &amp; Post-war Operators\" data-short=\"Export\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #555;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:#555\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"sm79-label\">Export &amp; Post-war Operators<\/span><span class=\"sm79-check\" style=\"font-size:10px\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button> <button class=\"sm79-toggle active\" data-cat=\"survivor\" data-full=\"Surviving Airframes\" data-short=\"Survivors\" style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;padding:8px 12px;border:2px solid #bbb;border-radius:0;background:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-family:inherit;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a2e;white-space:nowrap\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:14px;height:14px;flex-shrink:0;background:#C0C0C0\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"sm79-label\">Surviving Airframes<\/span><span class=\"sm79-check\" style=\"font-size:10px\">&#10003;<\/span><\/button> <\/div>\n<div id=\"sm79-count\" style=\"text-align:left;font-size:14px;color:#666;margin-top:12px;line-height:1.7;width:100%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec alt\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Combat Record<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 by the numbers<\/h2>\n<div class=\"cstats\">\n<div class=\"cstat\"><span class=\"n\">~1,300\u20131,350<\/span><span class=\"lb\">Built (figures vary) \u2014 most-produced Italian bomber<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><span class=\"n\">3<\/span><span class=\"lb\">Radial engines \u2014 the trimotor layout<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><span class=\"n\">450 mm<\/span><span class=\"lb\">Aerial torpedo carried by the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"cstat\"><span class=\"n\">0<\/span><span class=\"lb\">Airworthy survivors today<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"fnote\">The Sparviero was the backbone of the Regia Aeronautica\u2019s bomber force from the Spanish Civil War through 1943, and \u2014 as a specialist torpedo bomber \u2014 the most feared Italian strike aircraft of the Mediterranean. After the armistice it served both the fascist ANR in the north and the Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south, and abroad with Yugoslavia, Romania, Iraq, Lebanon and Spain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\" id=\"faq\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Questions &amp; Answers<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero: your questions answered<\/h2>\n<div class=\"qa\">\n<details open>\n<summary>Can I fly in a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>No. There is no airworthy Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 anywhere in the world \u2014 every surviving original is a static museum exhibit, and MiGFlug does not offer flights in this aircraft. However, you <b>can<\/b> fly in several genuine military jets and fighters today. MiGFlug flies aircraft such as the Hawker Hunter, MiG-29 Fulcrum, MiG-15, L-39 Albatros, F-104 Starfighter and T-33 Shooting Star. See the full list and prices at <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/\">migflug.com\/flights-prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Why was the SM.79 called the &#8220;hunchback&#8221; (<i>il gobbo<\/i>)?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Because of the raised dorsal gondola behind the cockpit. To turn the clean airliner into a bomber, Savoia-Marchetti added a hump housing a fixed forward-firing 12.7 mm machine gun and crew stations. That bulge broke the smooth line of the fuselage and gave the aircraft a humpbacked profile, so Italian crews nicknamed it <i>il gobbo maledetto<\/i> \u2014 &#8220;the damned hunchback,&#8221; usually shortened to <i>il gobbo<\/i>. Its official name was far grander: <i>Sparviero<\/i>, &#8220;sparrowhawk.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>How many engines did the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 have?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Three. The classic SM.79 was a trimotor, with one radial engine in the nose and one on each wing. The SM.79-I used Alfa Romeo 126 radials of about 780 hp each; the definitive SM.79-II used more powerful Piaggio or Alfa Romeo radials of roughly 860\u20131,000 hp. Confusingly, the export SM.79B and the Romanian licence-built version were twin-engined machines with a glazed nose, so a small number of &#8220;SM.79s&#8221; had only two engines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>What was the SM.79&#8217;s most important role?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Torpedo bombing. As a conventional level bomber the SM.79 was competent but unremarkable. What made it famous was its role as an <i>aerosilurante<\/i> \u2014 a torpedo bomber. From 1940 the Regia Aeronautica&#8217;s specialist torpedo squadrons flew the fast, tough, low-flying Sparviero against British convoys and Royal Navy warships in the Mediterranean, pressing home wave-top attacks that won the respect of their enemies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>How fast was the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Its top speed is usually given as around 430\u2013460 km\/h (about 267\u2013286 mph) depending on the variant and the source. That was fast for a bomber of the late 1930s and early 1940s, and \u2014 combined with its low-level handling \u2014 made it hard to intercept, especially on torpedo attacks skimming the sea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Did the SM.79 really start as a record-breaking airliner?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Yes. The SM.79 was derived from a fast civil transport flown in 1934, and specially prepared examples set a string of internationally recognised world records for speed with payload over distance between 1935 and 1938. In August 1937 the &#8220;Sorci Verdi&#8221; team of SM.79s took the first three places in the Istres\u2013Damascus\u2013Paris air race. Those record flights proved the airframe had the speed and endurance that later made it a formidable bomber.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>What was the SM.79&#8217;s armament?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>The classic Italian SM.79 typically carried three 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns \u2014 one fixed and firing forward in the dorsal hump, one firing aft over the tail, and one in a ventral gondola \u2014 plus a hand-held 7.7 mm lateral gun; fits varied by variant. As a bomber it could carry up to about 1,250 kg of bombs; as a torpedo bomber it carried one 450 mm aerial torpedo (it was capable of two, but one was the normal load).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>How many Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s were built?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Roughly 1,300 to 1,350, though the exact figure is disputed between sources. Whatever the precise total, it was by a wide margin the most-produced Italian bomber of the Second World War and one of the most numerous trimotor combat aircraft ever built \u2014 the aircraft was everywhere the Regia Aeronautica fought.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Did the SM.79 fight on both sides after the 1943 armistice?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>In effect, yes. After Italy&#8217;s armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943, torpedo units of the fascist Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR) in the German-occupied north continued attacking Allied shipping \u2014 including the Anzio beachhead in 1944 \u2014 while SM.79s of the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south served the Allied cause, mostly in transport roles. The same type was thus flown by Italians on opposite sides of a divided nation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Which countries operated the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Italy was by far the largest operator, flying the SM.79 with the Regia Aeronautica, the Aviazione Legionaria in Spain, the fascist ANR and the Co-Belligerent Air Force. It was also exported: Yugoslavia bought the SM.79K, Iraq the twin-engined SM.79B, and Romania built the twin-engined version under licence as the JRS-79B and flew it on the Eastern Front. After the war Lebanon and Spain operated surviving aircraft as transports, and some SM.79s reached Brazil for civil use.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Was the SM.79 a good aircraft?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>It depends on the role. As a level bomber it was an average medium bomber of its generation \u2014 solid but unremarkable, and, like all such aircraft, vulnerable to fighters without escort. As a torpedo bomber it was genuinely excellent: fast, rugged and low-flying, ideally suited to the <i>aerosilurante<\/i> mission, and flown with a skill and courage that even its British opponents acknowledged. It was also famously tough, able to absorb battle damage and fly home on two engines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>What does &#8220;Sparviero&#8221; mean?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>&#8220;Sparviero&#8221; is Italian for &#8220;sparrowhawk.&#8221; It followed the Regia Aeronautica&#8217;s fondness for naming aircraft after birds and predators. In practice, though, the aircraft is far better known by its unofficial nickname, <i>il gobbo<\/i> (&#8220;the hunchback&#8221;), earned by its distinctive humped back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>What is the difference between the SM.79 and the twin-engined SM.79B?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>The standard SM.79 is a three-engined (trimotor) aircraft with an engine in the nose and a stepped cockpit. The SM.79B was an export version that replaced this with two more powerful engines and a fully glazed &#8220;greenhouse&#8221; nose \u2014 so it has only two engines and looks quite different. The SM.79B line was supplied to Iraq and formed the basis of the aircraft Romania built under licence as the JRS-79B. When you see a two-engined &#8220;SM.79,&#8221; it is one of these export machines, not the classic Italian trimotor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Did the SM.79 see combat before World War II?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Yes. The Sparviero&#8217;s combat debut came in the Spanish Civil War from 1937, where Italy&#8217;s Aviazione Legionaria flew it as a fast bomber for Franco&#8217;s Nationalists. Its speed made it hard to intercept, and the Spanish experience confirmed the type as the backbone of the Regia Aeronautica&#8217;s bomber force by the time Italy entered the wider war in 1940.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Are there any surviving Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>Only a small number survive, all as static museum exhibits. The best-known is at the Italian Air Force Museum (Museo storico dell&#8217;Aeronautica Militare) at Vigna di Valle, near Rome. One SM.79 was for many years displayed in Lebanon before being returned to Italy and restored. None of the survivors is airworthy, so the Sparviero can only be seen on the ground.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Where can I see a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 today?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>The best-known example is at the Italian Air Force Museum (Museo storico dell&#8217;Aeronautica Militare) at Vigna di Valle on Lake Bracciano, near Rome, which preserves an SM.79 Sparviero. A small number of other survivors exist, including an aircraft that spent years in Lebanon before returning to Italy. All are static exhibits \u2014 there is no flying SM.79 anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>What is an <i>aerosilurante<\/i> (torpedo bomber)?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>An <i>aerosilurante<\/i> is Italian for a torpedo bomber \u2014 an aircraft that attacks ships with an air-dropped torpedo rather than bombs. The Regia Aeronautica&#8217;s <i>reparti aerosiluranti<\/i> were its specialist torpedo squadrons, and the SM.79 was their principal aircraft. Attacking meant flying low and straight over the sea to release a 450 mm torpedo at close range, then breaking away through the target&#8217;s anti-aircraft fire \u2014 one of the most dangerous forms of air attack of the war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Did the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 sink famous ships?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"qa-body\">\n<p>SM.79 torpedo bombers damaged and sank a range of Allied merchant ships and warships in the Mediterranean between 1940 and 1943, particularly during the Malta convoy battles such as Operation Pedestal in August 1942. As always in air-sea warfare, individual claims are hard to verify and results were usually achieved as part of combined Axis assaults involving aircraft, submarines and light surface craft, so specific attributions should be treated with caution. What is not in doubt is that the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> were a serious, sustained threat that the Royal Navy had to plan around.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec cta\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">You can&#8217;t fly the Sparviero \u2014 these, you can<\/div>\n<h2>Fly a real fighter jet with MiGFlug<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead\">The SM.79 lives only in museums now. But the thrill of a fast military aircraft is very much bookable today \u2014 from Cold War jets to warbird-era classics, flown with professional pilots.<\/p>\n<div class=\"carou ctacar\">\n<div class=\"track\"> <a class=\"ctacard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/hawker-hunter-switzerland\/\"><span class=\"cn\">Hawker Hunter<\/span><span class=\"cl\">Switzerland \u2014 classic British jet fighter<\/span><span class=\"cbook\">View this flight<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"ctacard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/fly-mig-29-in-russia\/\"><span class=\"cn\">MiG-29 Fulcrum<\/span><span class=\"cl\">Russia \u2014 to the edge of space<\/span><span class=\"cbook\">View this flight<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"ctacard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/mig-15-fagot-czech-republic\/\"><span class=\"cn\">MiG-15 Fagot<\/span><span class=\"cl\">Czechia \u2014 the jet that shocked the West<\/span><span class=\"cbook\">View this flight<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"ctacard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/l-39-albatros-italian-alps\/\"><span class=\"cn\">L-39 Albatros<\/span><span class=\"cl\">Italian Alps \u2014 jet aerobatics over the mountains<\/span><span class=\"cbook\">View this flight<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"ctacard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/f104-starfighter-flight\/\"><span class=\"cn\">F-104 Starfighter<\/span><span class=\"cl\">Florida \u2014 the &#8220;missile with a man in it&#8221;<\/span><span class=\"cbook\">View this flight<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"ctacard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/t-33-in-canada\/\"><span class=\"cn\">T-33 Shooting Star<\/span><span class=\"cl\">Canada \u2014 first-generation jet trainer<\/span><span class=\"cbook\">View this flight<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"ctacard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/vampire-flight-near-london\/\"><span class=\"cn\">de Havilland Vampire<\/span><span class=\"cl\">United Kingdom \u2014 early jet-age classic<\/span><span class=\"cbook\">View this flight<\/span><\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"cbtns\"> <button class=\"cbtn\" aria-label=\"Scroll left\" onclick=\"this.closest('.carou').querySelector('.track').scrollBy({left:-320,behavior:'smooth'})\">&#8249;<\/button> <button class=\"cbtn\" aria-label=\"Scroll right\" onclick=\"this.closest('.carou').querySelector('.track').scrollBy({left:320,behavior:'smooth'})\">&#8250;<\/button> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"ctamain\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/flights-prices\/\">See all fighter jet flights and prices<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec alt\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Related Aircraft<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">Explore more aircraft in the museum<\/h2>\n<div class=\"relgrid\"> <a class=\"relcard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mc-202-folgore\/\"><span class=\"rt\">Macchi C.202 Folgore<\/span><span class=\"rd\">Italy&#8217;s best-known wartime fighter \u2014 the sleek Daimler-Benz-engined Macchi that escorted and fought alongside the Sparviero over the Mediterranean.<\/span><span class=\"rl\">View the C.202 Folgore<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"relcard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/macchi-c-205-veltro\/\"><span class=\"rt\">Macchi C.205 Veltro<\/span><span class=\"rd\">The finest Italian fighter of the war \u2014 a &#8220;Serie 5&#8221; thoroughbred that, like the SM.79, fought on after the 1943 armistice.<\/span><span class=\"rl\">View the C.205 Veltro<\/span><\/a> <a class=\"relcard\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/fiat-cr-42-falco\/\"><span class=\"rt\">Fiat CR.42 Falco<\/span><span class=\"rd\">Italy&#8217;s nimble radial-engined biplane fighter \u2014 the old-world stablemate of the Sparviero in the Regia Aeronautica of 1940.<\/span><span class=\"rl\">View the CR.42 Falco<\/span><\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sec\">\n<div class=\"wrap\">\n<div class=\"kicker\">Sources &amp; Further Reading<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st\">Where the facts on this page come from<\/h2>\n<div class=\"srcgrid\">\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><span class=\"sh\">Museo storico dell&#8217;Aeronautica Militare, Vigna di Valle<\/span><span class=\"sd\">The official Italian Air Force museum, which preserves a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero and documents the type&#8217;s development and Mediterranean service.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><span class=\"sh\">Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum<\/span><span class=\"sd\">Reference material on the SM.79 and on Italian aircraft and aerial-torpedo development of the 1930s and 1940s.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><span class=\"sh\">Imperial War Museums (IWM)<\/span><span class=\"sd\">British accounts of the Mediterranean convoy battles and the Malta campaign, including the threat posed by Italian torpedo bombers.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><span class=\"sh\">Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) historical office<\/span><span class=\"sd\">Italian service records and unit histories covering the Regia Aeronautica, the <i>aerosiluranti<\/i> and the post-armistice ANR and Co-Belligerent air arms.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><span class=\"sh\">Istres\u2013Damascus\u2013Paris air race, 1937<\/span><span class=\"sd\">Contemporary records of the &#8220;Sorci Verdi&#8221; SM.79s&#8217; 1-2-3 finish and of the type&#8217;s 1930s world speed-and-distance records.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><span class=\"sh\">Established aviation reference works &amp; historians<\/span><span class=\"sd\">Consolidated specification, variant and production figures cross-checked for this page (three radial engines; ~430\u2013460 km\/h; ~1,300\u20131,350 built), with contested values flagged.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><span class=\"sh\">Regia Marina \/ Royal Navy Mediterranean histories<\/span><span class=\"sd\">Accounts of Operation Pedestal and the Malta convoys that place the SM.79 torpedo bombers within the wider Axis sea-air offensive.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"srcitem\"><span class=\"sh\">MiGFlug Afterburner magazine<\/span><span class=\"sd\">MiGFlug&#8217;s own features on warbird-era and jet aircraft and what flying a real military aircraft is like today.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/d3\/7.8.5\/d3.min.js\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/topojson\/3.0.2\/topojson.min.js\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jsdelivr.net\/npm\/d3-geo-projection@4\/dist\/d3-geo-projection.min.js\"><\/script><div id=\"sm79-data\" 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\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(){var el=document.getElementById(\"sm79-data\");var js=decodeURIComponent(escape(atob(el.getAttribute(\"data-js\"))));var sc=document.createElement(\"script\");sc.text=js;document.body.appendChild(sc);})();<\/script><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@type\": \"FAQPage\", \"mainEntity\": [{\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Can I fly in a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"No. There is no airworthy Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 anywhere in the world \u2014 every surviving original is a static museum exhibit, and MiGFlug does not offer flights in this aircraft. However, you can fly in several genuine military jets and fighters today. MiGFlug flies aircraft such as the Hawker Hunter, MiG-29 Fulcrum, MiG-15, L-39 Albatros, F-104 Starfighter and T-33 Shooting Star. See the full list and prices at migflug.com\/flights-prices.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Why was the SM.79 called the &#8220;hunchback&#8221; (il gobbo)?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Because of the raised dorsal gondola behind the cockpit. To turn the clean airliner into a bomber, Savoia-Marchetti added a hump housing a fixed forward-firing 12.7 mm machine gun and crew stations. That bulge broke the smooth line of the fuselage and gave the aircraft a humpbacked profile, so Italian crews nicknamed it il gobbo maledetto \u2014 \\\"the damned hunchback,\\\" usually shortened to il gobbo. Its official name was far grander: Sparviero, \\\"sparrowhawk.\\\"\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"How many engines did the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 have?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Three. The classic SM.79 was a trimotor, with one radial engine in the nose and one on each wing. The SM.79-I used Alfa Romeo 126 radials of about 780 hp each; the definitive SM.79-II used more powerful Piaggio or Alfa Romeo radials of roughly 860\u20131,000 hp. Confusingly, the export SM.79B and the Romanian licence-built version were twin-engined machines with a glazed nose, so a small number of \\\"SM.79s\\\" had only two engines.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What was the SM.79&#8217;s most important role?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Torpedo bombing. As a conventional level bomber the SM.79 was competent but unremarkable. What made it famous was its role as an aerosilurante \u2014 a torpedo bomber. From 1940 the Regia Aeronautica&#8217;s specialist torpedo squadrons flew the fast, tough, low-flying Sparviero against British convoys and Royal Navy warships in the Mediterranean, pressing home wave-top attacks that won the respect of their enemies.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"How fast was the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Its top speed is usually given as around 430\u2013460 km\/h (about 267\u2013286 mph) depending on the variant and the source. That was fast for a bomber of the late 1930s and early 1940s, and \u2014 combined with its low-level handling \u2014 made it hard to intercept, especially on torpedo attacks skimming the sea.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Did the SM.79 really start as a record-breaking airliner?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Yes. The SM.79 was derived from a fast civil transport flown in 1934, and specially prepared examples set a string of internationally recognised world records for speed with payload over distance between 1935 and 1938. In August 1937 the \\\"Sorci Verdi\\\" team of SM.79s took the first three places in the Istres\u2013Damascus\u2013Paris air race. Those record flights proved the airframe had the speed and endurance that later made it a formidable bomber.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What was the SM.79&#8217;s armament?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The classic Italian SM.79 typically carried three 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns \u2014 one fixed and firing forward in the dorsal hump, one firing aft over the tail, and one in a ventral gondola \u2014 plus a hand-held 7.7 mm lateral gun; fits varied by variant. As a bomber it could carry up to about 1,250 kg of bombs; as a torpedo bomber it carried one 450 mm aerial torpedo (it was capable of two, but one was the normal load).\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"How many Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s were built?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Roughly 1,300 to 1,350, though the exact figure is disputed between sources. Whatever the precise total, it was by a wide margin the most-produced Italian bomber of the Second World War and one of the most numerous trimotor combat aircraft ever built \u2014 the aircraft was everywhere the Regia Aeronautica fought.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Did the SM.79 fight on both sides after the 1943 armistice?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"In effect, yes. After Italy&#8217;s armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943, torpedo units of the fascist Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR) in the German-occupied north continued attacking Allied shipping \u2014 including the Anzio beachhead in 1944 \u2014 while SM.79s of the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south served the Allied cause, mostly in transport roles. The same type was thus flown by Italians on opposite sides of a divided nation.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Which countries operated the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Italy was by far the largest operator, flying the SM.79 with the Regia Aeronautica, the Aviazione Legionaria in Spain, the fascist ANR and the Co-Belligerent Air Force. It was also exported: Yugoslavia bought the SM.79K, Iraq the twin-engined SM.79B, and Romania built the twin-engined version under licence as the JRS-79B and flew it on the Eastern Front. After the war Lebanon and Spain operated surviving aircraft as transports, and some SM.79s reached Brazil for civil use.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Was the SM.79 a good aircraft?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"It depends on the role. As a level bomber it was an average medium bomber of its generation \u2014 solid but unremarkable, and, like all such aircraft, vulnerable to fighters without escort. As a torpedo bomber it was genuinely excellent: fast, rugged and low-flying, ideally suited to the aerosilurante mission, and flown with a skill and courage that even its British opponents acknowledged. It was also famously tough, able to absorb battle damage and fly home on two engines.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What does &#8220;Sparviero&#8221; mean?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"\\\"Sparviero\\\" is Italian for \\\"sparrowhawk.\\\" It followed the Regia Aeronautica&#8217;s fondness for naming aircraft after birds and predators. In practice, though, the aircraft is far better known by its unofficial nickname, il gobbo (\\\"the hunchback\\\"), earned by its distinctive humped back.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What is the difference between the SM.79 and the twin-engined SM.79B?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The standard SM.79 is a three-engined (trimotor) aircraft with an engine in the nose and a stepped cockpit. The SM.79B was an export version that replaced this with two more powerful engines and a fully glazed \\\"greenhouse\\\" nose \u2014 so it has only two engines and looks quite different. The SM.79B line was supplied to Iraq and formed the basis of the aircraft Romania built under licence as the JRS-79B. When you see a two-engined \\\"SM.79,\\\" it is one of these export machines, not the classic Italian trimotor.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Did the SM.79 see combat before World War II?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Yes. The Sparviero&#8217;s combat debut came in the Spanish Civil War from 1937, where Italy&#8217;s Aviazione Legionaria flew it as a fast bomber for Franco&#8217;s Nationalists. Its speed made it hard to intercept, and the Spanish experience confirmed the type as the backbone of the Regia Aeronautica&#8217;s bomber force by the time Italy entered the wider war in 1940.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Are there any surviving Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Only a small number survive, all as static museum exhibits. The best-known is at the Italian Air Force Museum (Museo storico dell&#8217;Aeronautica Militare) at Vigna di Valle, near Rome. One SM.79 was for many years displayed in Lebanon before being returned to Italy and restored. None of the survivors is airworthy, so the Sparviero can only be seen on the ground.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Where can I see a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 today?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The best-known example is at the Italian Air Force Museum (Museo storico dell&#8217;Aeronautica Militare) at Vigna di Valle on Lake Bracciano, near Rome, which preserves an SM.79 Sparviero. A small number of other survivors exist, including an aircraft that spent years in Lebanon before returning to Italy. All are static exhibits \u2014 there is no flying SM.79 anywhere in the world.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What is an aerosilurante (torpedo bomber)?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"An aerosilurante is Italian for a torpedo bomber \u2014 an aircraft that attacks ships with an air-dropped torpedo rather than bombs. The Regia Aeronautica&#8217;s reparti aerosiluranti were its specialist torpedo squadrons, and the SM.79 was their principal aircraft. Attacking meant flying low and straight over the sea to release a 450 mm torpedo at close range, then breaking away through the target&#8217;s anti-aircraft fire \u2014 one of the most dangerous forms of air attack of the war.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Did the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 sink famous ships?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"SM.79 torpedo bombers damaged and sank a range of Allied merchant ships and warships in the Mediterranean between 1940 and 1943, particularly during the Malta convoy battles such as Operation Pedestal in August 1942. As always in air-sea warfare, individual claims are hard to verify and results were usually achieved as part of combined Axis assaults involving aircraft, submarines and light surface craft, so specific attributions should be treated with caution. What is not in doubt is that the aerosiluranti were a serious, sustained threat that the Royal Navy had to plan around.\"}}]}<\/script><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aircraft Museum &nbsp;\/&nbsp; Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero Fast, tough and unmistakable, the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero was the most important Italian bomber of the Second World War \u2014 a three-engined &#8220;damned hunchback&#8221; that began as a record-breaking airliner and became the most feared torpedo bomber in the Mediterranean. ~430&#8211;460 km\/hTop speed (by variant; figures [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21055,"parent":15960,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21054","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero \u2014 History, Specs &amp; Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero: Italy&#039;s three-engined &#039;hunchback&#039; and the most feared torpedo bomber of the WWII Mediterranean.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/ucak\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"tr_TR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero \u2014 History, Specs &amp; Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero: Italy&#039;s three-engined &#039;hunchback&#039; and the most feared torpedo bomber of the WWII Mediterranean.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/tr\/ucak\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:78--.b845\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:96\/f:best\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-sparviero-preserved-museum-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1747\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Tahmini okuma s\u00fcresi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"46 dakika\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\\\/\",\"name\":\"Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero \u2014 History, Specs & Stories\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2026\\/08\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-sparviero-preserved-museum-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T17:00:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero: Italy's three-engined 'hunchback' and the most feared torpedo bomber of the WWII Mediterranean.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"tr\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"tr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/aircraft\\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2026\\/08\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-sparviero-preserved-museum-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2026\\/08\\/savoia-marchetti-sm-79-sparviero-preserved-museum-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1747,\"caption\":\"A preserved Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero. 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