Savoia-Marchetti S.55
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The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 was a double-hulled flying boat produced in
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 ...
, beginning in
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
. Shortly after its introduction, it began setting records for speed, payload, altitude and range.


Design and development

The S.55 featured many innovative design features. All the passengers or cargo were placed in the twin hulls, but the pilot and crew captained the plane from a cockpit in the thicker section of 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 e ...
, between the two hulls. The S.55 had two inline
contra-rotating propellers Aircraft equipped with contra-rotating propellers, also referred to as CRP, coaxial contra-rotating propellers, or high-speed propellers, apply the maximum power of usually a single piston or turboprop engine to drive a pair of coaxial propell ...
, mounted in
tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...
. The engines were canted sharply at an upward angle. Two wire-braced booms connected the triple- finned tail structure to the twin hulls and wing.


Operational history

Even though its design was unusual, the Savoia-Marchetti S.55 was a remarkably airworthy craft. In 1926, the S.55P prototype set 14 world records for speed, altitude and distance with a payload. The S.55's greatest successes, however, were its many flights between Europe and the Americas. The first staged south Atlantic Ocean crossing was made in 1922 using three different
Fairey III The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants. First flying on 14 September 1917, examples were still in u ...
machines and the Dornier Do J
Plus Ultra ''Plus ultra'' (, , en, "Further beyond") is a Latin phrase and the national motto of Spain. A reversal of the original phrase ''non plus ultra'' ("Nothing further beyond"), said to have been inscribed as a warning on the Pillars of Herc ...
crossed in January 1926 with a single stop at the
Cape Verde Islands , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
. The first S.55 crossing was made a year later by the ''Santa Maria'' under Francesco de Pinedo. After flying south to Bolama, at that time in
Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea ( pt, Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Gu ...
, they hoped to cross the ocean without another stop but were forced down at Cape Verde, reaching Brazil on 23 February 1927. After the crossing, the aircraft was traded to Brazil for coffee beans. The Brazilian
João Ribeiro de Barros João Ribeiro de Barros (4 April 1900 – 20 July 1947) was the first aviator of the three Americas to make an air crossing from Europe to America, on April 28, 1927, crossing the Atlantic Ocean with the Savoia-Marchetti S.55 hydroplan ...
and his crew of three made another crossing in S.55 "Jahú" on 24 April 1927. Departing from Santiago Island, he crossed the Atlantic in "Jahú" and landed at
Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha () is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, and located off the Brazilian coast. It consists of 21 islands and islets, extending over an area of . Only the eponymous main island is in ...
Island, Brazil. Pilots Francesco de Pinedo and Carlo del Prete took off from
Sesto Calende Sesto Calende is a town and ''comune'' located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. It is at the southern tip of Lake Maggiore, where the Ticino River starts to flow towards the Po River. The main historical sight ...
, Italy, in an S-55 on 13 February 1927. Four months later, on 16 June 1927, they arrived back in Italy, having flown nearly in 193 flying hours and having made just over 50 stops, including
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
,
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. On 20 June 1928 Savoia-Marchetti S.55 I-SAAT ''Santa Maria'', piloted by Ten. Col. Umberto Maddalena of the Italian air force, located survivors of Arctic explorer
Umberto Nobile Umberto Nobile (; 21 January 1885 – 30 July 1978) was an Italian aviator, aeronautical engineer and Arctic explorer. Nobile was a developer and promoter of semi-rigid airships in the years between the two World Wars. He is primarily remembe ...
's crashed airship ''
Italia 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 Italy (geographical region) ...
'' on an ice floe about 120 km (75 mi) northeast of
Nordaustlandet Nordaustlandet (sometimes translated as North East Land) is the second-largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, with an area of . It lies north east of Spitsbergen, separated by Hinlopen Strait. Much of Nordaustlandet lies under la ...
, Svalbard. The Italian Air Marshal of the time,
Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Due to his young a ...
, became famous for organizing a squadron of S.55s for Atlantic crossings, culminating in his 1933 flight with 24 aircraft to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
's
Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...
International Exposition. On 1 July 1933, General Balbo commanded a flight of S-55s from
Orbetello Orbetello is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. It is located about south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve. History Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan settleme ...
, Italy, completing the flight in just over 48 hours, maintaining a tight "V" formation. These large fleets of aircraft were sometimes called a " Balbo". The aircraft went on to serve in the Regia Aeronautica as a long-range
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 torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...
and patrol aircraft, but by
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the last S.55s were no longer serviceable and were in reserve.


Variants

; S.55 :Prototypes and original production model delivered from 1927 to 1930, 90 built, including two prototypes. ; S.55C :Civil variant delivered from 1925 to 1926, eight built. ; S.55P :Improved civil variant with enlarged hull for ten passengers and enclosed cockpits delivered from 1928 to 1932, 23 built. ; S.55A :Military variant delivered with 418 kW (560 hp)
Fiat A.22R The Fiat A.22 was an Italian water-cooled aircraft engine from the 1920s. It produced 425 kW (570 hp) and powered several absolute world distance records as well as commercial passenger flights. Design and development During the secon ...
engines, 16 built. ; S.55M :Variant with some wood structures replaced by metal, seven built by Piaggio in 1930. ; S.55 Scafo Allargato :Widened and deepened hull and enclosed cockpits, 16 built by Savoia-Marchetti and 16 built by CANT. ; S.55 Scafo Allargatissimo :Variant with greatly enlarged hull, 20 built by Savoia-Marchetti, 16 built by Macchi and six built by CANT. ; S.55X :Variant fitted with Isotta Fraschini Asso 750 engines for North Atlantic formation flights, later armed and used as a reconnaissance-bomber. 25 built.


Operators


Civil operators

; *
Aero Espresso Italiana The Aero Espresso Italiana, called also AEI and ''Aeroespresso del Levante'', was the first airline of the Kingdom of Italy. It was created as a private company for the route Brindisi-Athens-Istanbul; later a second route to Rodhes was added H ...
* Società Aerea Mediterranea ; * Aeroflot ; *
Aero Transport Company d.b.a. AirVia. Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero ( ...
*
Marine Air Transport Co. Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...
* Alaska Airways


Military operators

; * Regia Aeronautica ; *
Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...
(8 airplanes) ;
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 ...
(1937) * Spanish Air Force ; * Royal Romanian Naval Aviation (7 units)Spencer C. Tucker, ''World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia (2 volumes): An Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 633
/ref>


Surviving aircraft

The last remaining example is preserved in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, at the TAM "Asas de um sonho" museum, at São Carlos,
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
. The aircraft, registered I-BAUQ and named "Jahú", was the S.55 used by Commander
João Ribeiro de Barros João Ribeiro de Barros (4 April 1900 – 20 July 1947) was the first aviator of the three Americas to make an air crossing from Europe to America, on April 28, 1927, crossing the Atlantic Ocean with the Savoia-Marchetti S.55 hydroplan ...
in his crossing of the
South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
in 1927.


Specifications (S.55)


See also


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Savoia-Marchetti S-55
{{Savoia-Marchetti aircraft 1920s Italian airliners 1920s Italian patrol aircraft S.55 Flying boats Twin-fuselage aircraft Twin-engined push-pull aircraft High-wing aircraft Transatlantic flight Aircraft first flown in 1924