The Macchi M.18 was a

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

Macchi Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the Ita ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the early 1920s.Taylor 1989, 617''World Aircraft Information Files'' File 901 Sheet 01 Originally planned as a passenger aircraft, it entered production as a

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

before eventually being offered on the civil market that it was originally intended for.

Design and development

A conventional design for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the M.18 was a

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

flying boat with unstaggered wings of unequal span braced by

Warren truss Warren Errol Truss, (born 8 October 1948) is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Governm ...

-style struts. The engine was mounted pusher-fashion in the interplane gap, and the pilot and observer sat in side-by-side open

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

s. An open position was provided in the bow for a gunner. In addition to the standard military version, a version with

folding wing A folding wing is a wing configuration design feature of aircraft to save space and is typical of carrier-based aircraft that operate from the limited deck space of aircraft carriers. The folding allows the aircraft to occupy less space in a c ...

s was produced for shipboard use as the M.18AR. This equipped the Italian Navy's

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

Giuseppe Miraglia ''Giuseppe Miraglia'' was an Italian seaplane tender, seaplane carrier. History ''Giuseppe Miraglia'' was laid down in 1921 as the train ferry ''Città di Messina'', intended for use by the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, Italian State Railway Co ...

'' and the Spanish Navy's ''Dédalo''. The latter service used the type in action against Moroccan rebels.''World Aircraft Information Files'' File 901 Sheet 02 Six of the 20 machines purchased by Spain remained in service at the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

and were used to attack Nationalist forces on

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

as well as flying

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

patrols. Portugal also operated the type, buying eight examples in 1928. The

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

an government bought two Macchi M.18AR in late 1932 for the naval aviation wing. They received the serials R.3 and R.5 and were intensively used in the

Chaco War The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko Ñorairõ The first of these, the M.18 ''Economico'' ("Commercial"), was generally similar to the military version, but was followed by the M.18 ''Lusso'' ("Luxury") which featured an enclosed cabin. The M.18 ''Estivo'' ("Summertime") again reverted to open cockpits. Some 70 civil examples were produced in all, some being purchased by joyriding firms such as ''

Ad Astra Aero Ad Astra Aero (Latin for "to the stars air") was a Swiss airline based at Zürichhorn in Zürich. Early years Initiated by Oskar Bider and Fritz Rihner, in July 1919 the "Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Lufttourismus" (literally: Swiss ...

'' in Switzerland and some others being used by SISA for

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...

flying boat pilots for airline service in the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

Variants

;M.18: Standard bomber version. ;M.18AR: With folding wings for shipboard use. ;M.18 Economico: (Commercial) Civil version generally similar to the Military bomber. ;M.18 Lusso: (Luxury) Enclosed cabin VIP transport. ;M.18 Estivo: (Summertime) Open cockpit for joyriding.

Operators

; *

Ecuadorian Air Force The Ecuadorian Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana, FAE) is the Air arm of the Military of Ecuador and responsible for the protection of the Ecuadorian airspace. Mission To develop the military air wing, in order to execute institutional o ...

; *

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

; *

Paraguayan Navy The Paraguayan Navy ( es, Armada Paraguaya) is the maritime force of the Armed Forces of Paraguay, in charge of the defense of Paraguay's waters despite not having direct access to the sea. It has gone to war on two occasions: the War of th ...

; *

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy ( pt, Marinha Portuguesa, also known as ''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'' or as ''Armada Portuguesa'') is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Port ...

; *

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...

Spanish Republican Navy The Spanish Republican Navy was the Navy, naval arm of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. History In the same manner as the othe ...

; *

Spanish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

Specifications (M.18 AR)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * Sapienza Fracchia, Antonio Luis: "La Contribución Italiana en la Aviación Paraguaya". Author's edition. Asunción, 2007. 300 pp. {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation M.18 1920s Italian bomber aircraft Flying boats Single-engined pusher aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1920