The SIAI S.67 or Savoia Marchetti SM.67 was an Italian

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 ...

fighter of the early 1930s designed and manufactured by SIAI.

Design and development

In 1929, the '' Regia Marina'' (Italian Royal Navy) awarded a contract to SIAI to produce the

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

of a new flying boat fighter for use as a

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

-launched aircraft aboard ''Condottieri''-class cruisers. In response, SIAI designed the S.67, a wooden, single-seat, monoplane flying boat powered by a 313-kilowatt (420-horsepower)

Fiat A.20 The Fiat A.20 was an Italian aero-engine of the 1920s. It was a water-cooled V12 engine that was used by early versions of the Fiat CR.20 fighter and the Macchi M.41 seaplane. In 1923, FIAT built the A.15, a 430 hp (320 kW) water-co ...

V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to: Aircraft * Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter * Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft * Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project * Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...

liquid-cooled engine driving a three-bladed pusher

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. The wing spars were attached to the fuselage, and the engine was mounted on steel tube struts above the hull, each attached to the engine mount by one pin. The S.67s armament consisted of two fixed, forward-firing 7.7-millimeter (0.303-inch) Vickers machine guns mounted in the bow. The S.67s design allowed a team of six men aboard a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

to erect it on its catapult and have it ready for launch within five minutes.

Operational history

The S.67 made its first flight on 28 January 1930. ''Il Centro Sperimentali'' (The Experimental Center) began testing of the prototype in early March 1930, during which it crashed on 3 April 1930. Despite this unfortunate end to the testing program, SIAI received a production order for three more aircraft. One of these was cancelled, but the other two entered service with the 162ª ''Squadriglia'' (162nd Squadron) of the 88° ''Gruppo Caccia Marittima'' (88th Maritime Fighter Group). They were retired in 1935.Green and Swanborough, p. 527.

Operators

; :'' Regia Marina'' (Italian Royal Navy) ::162ª ''Squadriglia'', 88° ''Gruppo Caccia Marittima''

Specifications

Notes: *Time to 3,000 m (9,842 ft): 9.78 min

Notes

References