Savoia-Marchetti SM.95

The SM.95 was announced in 1937, when the future was seen in the 4-engined aircraft. Until that time Italy had mainly used 3-engined aircraft. The SM.95, designed by Alessandro Marchetti, first flew on 8 May 1943. Originally named SM.76 it was fitted with four 750 hp A.R. 126 RC.34. In 1939 the project was renamed SM.95C (C for Civil), with the more powerful Alfa Romeo RC.18 (860 hp) engine. With the start of World War II, this project was stopped until December 1941, when L.A.T.I. called for a 4-engined useful for South American routes. It had, nevertheless, inferior performances compared to Piaggio P.108C and CANT Z.511A, both metallic and more powerful. But the new SM.95 had lower costs and a swifter development. The aircraft was similar to other contemporary airliners, but the construction was mixed. Welded steel was used for the fuselage structure, with light alloy covering fitted to the nose, underside and rear fuselage, and fabric covering for the fuselage sides and roof. The three-spar wing was also of wooden construction, with plywood skinning. The engines drove three-bladed metal constant speed propellers. The two pilots sat side by side in an enclosed cockpit, while behind them sat the flight engineer (on the left) and radio operator (on the right). Behind the cockpit, there was normally seating for 20–30 passengers, with up to 38 being able to be carried over short ranges. at Vergiate, with Guglielmo Algarotti flying. ==Operational history==

Italy's armistice with the Allies in September 1943 stopped the program, and the only two aircraft built at the time were requisitioned by the Germans and sent to Germany, where they flew with the Luftwaffe and were subsequently lost. On 28 July 1945, a third example flew, Operation "S" The interest for a military use was confirmed with a very daring mission: the bombing of New York. In July 1939, the S.M.75 obtained a record of 12,935 km (8,034 mi), there were several long-range missions both with S.M.82 and the S.M.75, while for S operation it was considered the 4-engined CANT Z.511, an all-metal floatplane. It had, however, some shortcomings: basically it needed to be refuelled by a submarine in the middle of the ocean. Although it was able to operate in adverse sea conditions (up to force-5 gales), this was not a very good idea, especially in the last year of war. It was proposed that a long-range version of this aircraft, the SM.95 GA (with a range of over 11,000 km/6,840 mi) could be used to mount a bombing raid on New York City launched from Western France, but the presence of many Italian-Americans in the city meant that Benito Mussolini would only authorize the dropping of propaganda pamphlets. It was reported that the fuel load was raised to 23,800 kg, for a total of 39,3 tons. The mission, with a 500 kg (1,100 lb) load, was still in preparation when Italy signed the Armistice in September 1943. ==Operators==

Civil operators ; • LATI (Linee Aeree Transcontinentali Italiane) ; – Postwar • Alitalia ; – Postwar • SAIDE Military operators ; • Regia Aeronautica ; – Postwar • Italian Air Force operated 5 Savoia-Marchetti SM.95 (MM: 61635, 61811, 61812, 61813, 61814) built in the postwar period and retired in 1953 ; • Luftwaffe operated captured aircraft ==Specifications (SM.95)==