The Savoia-Marchetti SM.83 was an Italian civil

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

of the 1930s. It was a civilian version of the

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 ''Sparviero'' (Italian for sparrowhawk) was a three-engined Italian medium bomber developed and manufactured by aviation company Savoia-Marchetti. It may be the best-known Italian aeroplane of the Second World War. Th ...

bomber.

Design and development

It was a monoplane, with retractable undercarriage, and a slim fuselage. Though the cabin was provided with heaters, oxygen provision and sound insulation it was large enough for the 4 crew and only four to 10 passengers. The construction was of mixed materials in the typical Savoia-Marchetti style of the time: steel tubes for the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

, wood for the wings, and the outer skin made up of wood, fabric or metal. The

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

s had slats. The powerplant was three AR.126 engines giving a total of about 2,300 hp. The maximum range stated was . The maximum speed was slightly better than the bomber at due to the absence of the gondola and hump machine gun positions. First flying on 19 November 1937, it entered into production for LATI, SABENA and other companies, but it had less success compared to the more economic and capable 18 seater

Savoia-Marchetti S.73 The Savoia-Marchetti S.73 was an Italian three-engine airliner that flew in the 1930s and early 1940s. The aircraft entered service in March 1935 with a production run of 48 aircraft. Four were exported to Belgium for SABENA, while seven others ...

even if had much improved performance. As a result, only 23 were built in two main series.

Service

When war broke out, the Italian aircraft were impressed into the ''

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...

,'' and used in transport units. One S.83 was used near the end of the war to flee Italy.

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

had forbidden aircraft both military and civilian of the Axis powers from landing there so S.83 was painted with

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n insignia and purportedly owned by a Croatian citizen. Carrying 5,000 litres of fuel (50% more than standard) and 14 men and women including the parents of Claretta Petacci,

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

’s mistress), the aircraft took off at 4:30 on 23 April 1945 from

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. It landed at

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

just three hours later. It was not until September that the crew and aircraft were repatriated.

Operators

Civil operators

; * SABENA - four aircraft (three delivered) Coates, edcoatescollection.com. ; * Ala Littoria * LATI ; * LARES - three aircraft * Prince Bibesco of Romania - one aircraft

Military operators

; *

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...

; *

; * Royal Romanian Air Force

Specifications (S.83)

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation SM.083 1930s Italian airliners World War II Italian transport aircraft Trimotors Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1937