SIAI-Marchetti
SIAI-Marchetti was an Italian aircraft manufacturer.
History
The original company was founded in 1915 as SIAI (Società Idrovolanti Alta Italia - Seaplane company of Northern Italy). After World War I gained the name Savoia, when it acquired the Società Anonima Costruzioni Aeronautiche Savoia, an Italian aircraft company founded by Umberto Savoia in 1915.
The name Marchetti was added when chief designer Alessandro Marchetti joined the company in 1922. Shortly after, the company began to develop a reputation for very fast, well performing aircraft. With the development of the wildly successful S.55 flying boat, Savoia-Marchetti exploded onto the aviation scene as a dominant manufacturer. Savoia-Marchetti became famous for series flying boats and seaplanes, which set numerous endurance and speed records. Favoured by Air Marshall Italo Balbo, the company began rapidly prototyping and developing a number of other aircraft, increasingly focusing on warplanes in the lead-up to World War II. However, most of S.M.'s manufacturing capabilities were destroyed in World War Two. It was renamed SIAI-Marchetti in 1943.
SIAI-Marchetti only survived in post war Italy by building trucks and railway equipment. However it still struggled with insolvency for 6 years after the war before declaring bankruptcy in 1951. In 1953, the company re-opened as a shadow of its former self. It began to focus increasingly on helicopters in the 1970s and was eventually purchased by the aerospace firm Agusta in 1983.
Aircraft
See also
References
- Gunston, Bill (2006). World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines, 5th Edition. Phoenix Mill, Gloucestershire, England, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7509-4479-X.
External links
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Aircraft produced by SIAI, Savoia-Marchetti and SIAI-Marchetti
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| Marchetti |
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| Savoia-Marchetti |
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| SIAI-Marchetti |
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| General |
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| Military |
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