Savoia-Marchetti SM.75

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SM.75 Marsupiale
Type	Civil airliner & military transport
Manufacturer	Savoia-Marchetti
Maiden flight	1937
Status	out of service
Primary users	Italy Hungary^[1]
Number built	95

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.75 Marsupiale was an Italian airline and military transport of the 1930s and 1940s. It was a low-wing, monoplane trimotor of mixed-construction; the undercarriage was of tailwheel type with retractable main units.

1 Development
2 Operational history
3 Variants
4 Aircraft markings
5 Operators
- 5.1 Military operators
- 5.2 Civil operators
6 Specifications (SM.75)
7 References
8 External links
9 Related content

[edit] Development

The SM.75 was designed in response to an enquiry from Ala Littoria who were seeking a replacement for their Savoia-Marchetti S.73. Savoia-Marchetti retained the general configuration of the earlier machine but introduced retractable main gear to reduce drag. The airframe consisted of a steel-tube frame with fabric and plywood covering; the control surfaces were plywood covered. The cabin was built to house up to 25 passengers.

The SM.75 first flew in 1937.

[edit] Operational history

The SM.75 entered commercial service in 1938 and was employed on services both within Europe and to South America as well as the Rome-Addis Ababa route established after the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.

Five aircraft were exported to Hungary.^[1]

The Regia Aeronautica showed solid interest in the type resulting in the development of a militarized version. This lacked windows in the passenger cabin but was fitted with a reinforced panel to permit installation of a dorsal gun-turret; it was powered by three Alfa Romeo 128RC motors. It would establish a number of records for speed-over-distance-with-payload and closed-circuit distance.

After Italy entered World War II in June 1940, civil SM.75s began to be impressed for military service. However, they continued to operate services to South America until December 1941, when Italy declared war on the United States. For the next three years, the type continued supply operation to the country's dwindling territories.

Probably the type's outstanding achievement was a flight from Rome to Tokyo, undertaken in 1942, to carry new codes for communications between Japan and her Axis partners; it was believed the British had broken the existing codes.