Savoia-Marchetti S.M.84ter

ImportantSimone5 · April 14, 2024, 8:18pm

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Savoia-Marchetti S.M.84ter.

History.

The Savoia-Marchetti S.M.84 was a three-engined bomber and torpedo bomber produced by the Savoia-Marchetti company in the early 1940s as a replacement for the now obsolete S.M.79 Sparviero and used by the Regia Aeronautica during the Second World War. However, the aircraft proved to be disappointing in many respects, failing to match its predecessor except for its slightly higher speed. Despite this, the aircraft was adopted in February 1941, alongside the older Fiat B.R.20 and CANT Z.1007. The main operational theater of the S.M.84 was the Mediterranean Sea, in which one of these aircraft managed to torpedo and seriously damage the English battleship HMS Nelson. It was immediately realized that the plane was lacking in speed, so in 1944 an example of the SM.84 was tested with a different engine, but still from Piaggio. Furthermore, the aircraft underwent modifications to the wings as the span and surface area of the wing and the track itself were increased. Thus, the aircraft improved its flight performance, recording a higher speed than the classic SM.84s. The plane was called SM.84ter and was registered with the serial number military MM.485 (the old serial number was M.M. 22497). The aircraft was tested both during the conflict and after the end of the conflict. Unfortunately, the plane was lost in 1946 during a ground engine test at Rome-Centocelle airport.

Armaments and propulsion.

The aircraft maintained the same armament as a classic S.M.84, namely four 12.7 mm Scotti/Isotta Fraschini machine guns (350 rounds per gun). One was placed in a turret above the aircraft, one was placed for ventral protection and two were placed on the sides of it. By doing so the aircraft could afford a certain defense against enemy fighters, even if it did not have a frontal defensive weapon (which was present in the previous S.79). The war load of bombs was also unchanged, i.e. up to 1,000 kg of bombs (usually 900 kg) or alternatively two torpedoes.
The aircraft was equipped with three Piaggio XIX R.C.45 “Turbine” engines with 1,085 HP of power, the same engine as the Reggiane Re.2002. For the engines there was a blanket of 3,220 liters of fuel, and with the new engine and the aerodynamic improvements of the wing profile the plane could reach 500 km/h. The adoption of the 1,500 hp Piaggio XII RC.35 “Tornado” engines was envisaged, but they were never applied to the aircraft due to how the war events went.

Specifications.

Spoiler

Maximum speed: 500 km/h
Crew: 5
Wing span: 22 m
Length: 17,52 m
Wing area: 61 m²
Engines: 3x Piaggio XIX RC.35 “Tornado” (1.085 hp each)
Maximum weight: 13.350 kg
Maximun ceiling: 7.900 m
Autonomy: 2.040 km
Armament: 4x Scotti/Isotta Fraschini 12.7 mm (350 rounds per gun), 1.000 kg of bombs or 2x torpedo

Pictures and drawnings.

Spoiler