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HISTORY
conditions on the Mediterranean between
Damascus and Paris, the aircraft code named
I
-
CUPA reached the french capital beating all
the opponents and winning the Cup hosted by
the French Aero Club in honor of the 10 years
anniversary of the Lindbergh flight. It was
a triumph and such a big success that it
brought up an old Italian ambition, to connect
with fast aircraft the nations on both sides of
the Atlantic. To achieve this the SM.79C were
even more modified to make it from Rome to
Rio de Janeiro. When the crew were ready,
three aircraft took off, reaching the midpoint
of Dakar in less than 11 hours. From there, in
formation, they crossed the Atlantic at about
400km/h. A huge crowd was waiting for them
at the finish line, with great satisfaction
everyone thought the SM.79 was the aircraft
of records.
adly war was brewing again and the
Second World War would see this beautiful
plane as a protagonist. With the outbreak of the
war, the SM.79 was sent into combat in almost
all theaters, carrying out all kinds of missions.
Bombing, transport, reconnaissance and even
low level incendiary bombing runs. The aircraft
was well liked by the crews and even if it was
already obsolete, due to the one piece wooden
wing and the metallic tubes framed and canva
covered fuselage, it remained the backbone
of the Italian military operations in Africa,
Albania and the Mediterranean, carrying out
an impressive number of missions. Already in
1940, almost all military operation were against
the British “Home Fleet” which was a serious
threat due to the convoy escorts and port raids.
Many different camouflages schemes for these 193^ Squadriglia flying along balkans coastline. The Electring man insignia was painted on fuselage sides.
A torpedo-bomber SM.79 belonging to 204^ Squadriglia.
Many authors assigned this specific plane to Marchese
Emilio Pucci, a pilot that after the war became a very
famous fashion firm owner and designer.
S
INFO Eduard20
February 2024