MAQUETTE À MONTER - Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero Classic Airframes | N° 452 | 1:48

Characteristics

Description

Originally designed as a three engine civilian passenger plane, the prototype S.79 first flew late in 1934. It was successful and it was soon realized that the design could be easily adapted for military use. The end result became the most successful Italian bomber of World War II. The aircraft first saw operational combat service during the Spanish Civil War and its performance was such that it was able to operate without fighter escort. After the war ended and hostilities in Spain, the aircraft there were kept by the Spanish Air Force and operated for many years. At the outbreak of World War II the Sparviero was deployed in every theater were Italian forces were operating, it was also in service with the Yugoslavian Air Force and a different variant was also used by Iraq and Romania. It was however in the torpedo bomber role were the Sparviero carved its niche in the history of Italian Air War. It became to the Italians what the Spitfire and Mustang were to the British and the Macchi, its battle with the Royal Navy over the Mediterranean sea brought great consternation and severe losses to the British. After the Armistice it continued to serve with the Cobelligerent Air Force as well as the RSI, some were also impressed by the Luftwaffe and used as transports. After the war the aircraft remained in service as a transport until the early 1950s. Il Gobbo (the hunchback) certainly created its place in history with the Italian Air Force, it is perhaps fitting that the British called it the "damned Hunchback". S.79 Specifications - Powerplant: 3x 9 cylinder Alfa-Romeo 126 radial engines - Wing Span: 69'6.5" - Length: 51'10" - Maximum Speed: 267 mph - Armament: 3x 12.7mm Breda SAFAT machine guns, optional 7.7mm Lewis machine gun - 2,200 lb. bombload. This model kit is intended for experienced modelers. The nature of limited-run kits such as this require additional time and effort to clean up and fit the parts, as well as experience with the various media utilized to provide the most accurate effect on the finished model. Use CyA (super) glue to assemble Resin (PU) parts.

More to read about the KIT here, thanks to scalemates, a Belgian Scale modeling database