10 Facts About The Racing Plane That Became Italy’s Best Bomber

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 ‘Sparviero‘, which means Sparrow Hawk in Italian, was a three-engine medium bomber that became one of Italy’s most iconic and widely used aircraft during WWII.

Here are ten interesting facts about the racing plane that became Italy’s best bomber:

10. It’s known for its distinctive dorsal hump

The SM.79 started as a fast passenger transport. In the mid-1930s, it achieved early fame by setting no less than 26 world records between 1937 and 1939.

9. Though built in conservative practices, using wood in some of its construction in an emerging age of all-metal airframes, its outstanding performance turned it into a symbol of Italian aeronautical prestige.

It immediately caught the attention of the Italian Air Force and a militarized version of this high-speed hunchback was then developed.

8. As a torpedo bomber, it became the most influential Italian aircraft to see operations during WWII

While it struggled to be effective as a bombing aircraft during WWII, unlike other bombers relegated to secondary roles, the SM.70 received a new lease of life as a torpedo bomber.

7. The SM.70 might be remembered as Italy’s most successful wartime bomber

However, on paper, it didn’t look like a particularly good bomber, especially when compared to its contemporaries. This was because it wasn’t originally designed with bombing in mind. It had the confusing distinction of being a bomber that was developed from a civil airliner, which itself was developed from a bomber.

6. When it first entered service toward the end of 1936, it was one of the most advanced bombers in the world and by far one of the best-performing

In terms of pure speed, it was among the fastest of its class. It had a top speed of 430 km/hr. at 4,000 meters and was noticeably higher than many of its contemporaries.

5. Examples of the SM-79 were built for other aerial races as well as record-setting events

Among all other SM.79s built, it was the racing aircraft that became the most famous.

4. At the start of WWII, the SM.79 was still one of the prime aircraft, but that quickly changed

However, once it entered the war in June 1940, the SM.79, despite its earlier success struggled against the modern monoplane fighters fielded by the Allies such as Britain’s Wellingtons. RAF quickly learned of the Sparviero’s blind spots and they took full advantage.

3. It wasn’t until 1942 that major modifications to the aircraft were made

The first was the installation of an engine boost system using ethyl injection, allowing the power output of the engine to 900 hp up to 20 minutes at a time. Other modifications were a reflection of the shift to nighttime operations, flash suppressors were also added to the machine gun.

In the spring of 1943, many SM-79s had their engine swapped for the Alpha Romeo 129 RC-18, making the plane much more suitable for low-level torpedo attacks.

2. Eventually all of these upgrades were consolidated to a new version, the SM.79 biz

This featured an additional internal fuel tank boosting the total fuel capacity to just under 5,000 liters. This upgraded version would see service with the Axis forces.

1. Years later, when the Italian Air Force Museum wanted one SM.79 for display, there were none left in Italy that could be restored

The only exhibition worthy of SM.79 had to be donated by Lebanon which had received four Sm.79 in 1949.