- Yes
- No
History of the project:
In 1939, the Italian Air Force introduced a new operational specialty: dive bombing. Pilots in this role were colloquially nicknamed “Picchiatelli”—a term that would later become more widely associated with the German Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. The aircraft initially assigned to this role was the Savoia-Marchetti SM.85, a twin-engine monoplane of simple, all-wood construction, with good forward visibility, respectable bomb load, and promising characteristics—at least in theory.
Under the “Programma R” (Regia Aeronautica rearmament plan), 64 units were intended to equip an entire dive-bomber wing. However, only one group was ever formed, and 32 aircraft were delivered between March and December 1939.
In operational use, the SM.85 quickly revealed its limitations. It was mockingly referred to as the “banana with wings.” Access to the cockpit required walking along the fuselage from tail to nose, leading to multiple accidents. The proximity of the cockpit to the propeller discs made engine start-up and parachute egress extremely hazardous.
Flight characteristics were generally positive: the aircraft was stable, agile, capable of tight formations and even aerobatics (e.g., barrel rolls). However, the cockpit lacked heating, exposing pilots to extreme cold at altitude. Due to low engine power and fixed-pitch propellers, climbing to 4,000 meters took nearly 45 minutes.
The aircraft’s greatest flaw was in the dive itself. When using the dive flaps (deflected to 90°), the SM.85 exhibited erratic behavior, including loss of control, yawing, and spin tendencies—making accurate bombing nearly impossible. Re-landing with the bomb load was not viable, as the weak undercarriage frequently collapsed under the weight.
Despite these issues, training flights continued from Rome-Ciampino to the Furbara range. Only one fatal accident occurred during these exercises.
In January 1940, an SM.85 from the Dive-Bombing School at Guidonia was used to test a shortwave radio-telemetry system to monitor pilot heart rates. On March 28, 1940, nine SM.85s participated in a flyover for the 17th anniversary of the Regia Aeronautica at Ciampino—one of the event’s highlights. Later, Chief of Staff Gen. Francesco Pricolo observed a live-fire exercise and noted the aircraft’s dangerous behavior during recovery from steep dives, which left them vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire.
Nonetheless, on June 3, 1940, 14 aircraft from the 96th Dive-Bomber Group deployed via Catania to Pantelleria, under the command of Captain Ercolano Ercolani. During the arrival, Lt. Ettore Marcozzi suffered a serious crash after a failed go-around, severely injuring himself. Two other aircraft were damaged during emergency maneuvers, while Lt. Renzo Busnengo landed his section without incident. In the absence of trained pilots for the available transport aircraft, Busnengo and Sgt. Flamini flew the wounded Marcozzi to Palermo in an SM.81—despite lacking qualification for such a flight—ultimately saving his life.
The remaining SM.85s were expected to conduct missions over Malta or against naval targets. However, the aircraft proved unsuitable for combat. On their first sortie, three aircraft abandoned their mission after failing to locate the enemy. Unable to land with their bomb loads, the crews dropped three 500 kg bombs into the sea—reportedly hoping to stir up fish for the mess hall. This unintended act triggered a barrage from the island’s own anti-aircraft defenses, unfamiliar with the aircraft and confused by the unexpected bomb release. Only after explanations from fellow pilots was the situation resolved.
After a month in Pantelleria, the harsh climate began to deteriorate the aircraft. Moisture from overnight storage in cave hangars, combined with the heat of the African sun, warped the wooden control surfaces—especially the ailerons. Many aircraft became unserviceable. The few still airworthy were withdrawn to Comiso (July 16, 1940). The aircrews were sent to Graz, Austria, for conversion training on the German Junkers Ju 87B “Stuka”, of which Italy had ordered 100 units.
General description:
Single-seat, twin-engine, mid-wing monoplane with wooden construction.
The fuselage is made of wood with a plywood skin.
The wing is a single-piece structure featuring a three-spar wooden frame and plywood skin; the upper surface and the forward lower surface are covered with doped fabric.
Ailerons and flaps are made of wood with plywood skin; the flaps also function as dive brakes.
The tailplane is also made of wood with plywood covering and braced with struts and wires.
The landing gear is hydraulically actuated, retracting rearward into the engine nacelles with partial retraction.
The tail skid is shock-absorbed and equipped with rubber bumpers.
Engines are fitted with three-blade metal propellers with ground-adjustable pitch.
Fuel is stored in four riveted sheet-metal tanks (three in the first seven units), located in the center wing section and fuselage, with a maximum capacity of 1,078 liters.
The electrical system is powered by a 12 V, 18 A/h battery capable of inverted flight operation.
The plane is equipped with a bomb sight.
The cockpit features a rearward-sliding glass canopy and is equipped with an ARC 1 radio receiver.
Flight Instruments include:
- Open-sight reflector gunsight
- 1 OMI 03 magnetic compass
- 1 altimeter (up to 8,000 m)
- 1 airspeed indicator (up to 460 km/h)
- 1 turn indicator
- 1 variometer
- 1 artificial horizon
- 1 directional gyro
Insight of its unique flaps mechanism:
Here are shown the different postions of the flaps:
- 0 ° - retracted postion;
- 45 ° - high-lift device;
- 90 ° - airbrake used in dives.
Legacy
Although the S.M.85 was not widely adopted or produced in large numbers, it played a role in the evolution of Italian military aviation by highlighting the need for more advanced and capable aircraft. The lessons learned from the development and operational testing of the S.M.85 informed subsequent Italian aircraft designs, including the more successful Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 and other bomber aircraft used during World War II.
This aircraft despite all of its problems has a lot of unique details and features that deserve to be known and served as test bed for other projects.
The SM85 was then improved, giving it a better airframe and engines, evolving it into the SM86, see: Savoia Marchetti SM-86: The screaming dive bomber
Specifications
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Length: 10.40 m
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Width: 14.00 m
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Height: 3.30 m
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Weight: 2950 kg
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Max. Combat Weight: 3800 kg
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At maximum payload, with a 4,000 kg (8,820 lb) takeoff weight, the climb rate was 20 min to 5,000 m (16,400 ft), but freshly started engines did not meet their maximum power and the aircraft was usually slower than this. The takeoff needed 433 m, and the landing 415 m . Ceiling was 6,000-6,500 m (19,690-21,330 ft) and 756–827 km range.
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Maximum speed was 368 km/h (288 mph) at 4,000 m (13,123 ft).
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The fuel capacity was 1,078 L , contained in four self-sealing fuel tanks.
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At the maximum payload with a 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb, it was incapable of taking off with a full fuel load (around 730 kg/1,610 lb), so this was used only on ferrying missions.
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Engines: 2 radials Piaggio P VII RC.35 ( 460 hp (368kw ) each, at 3500m)
Armament
- Bombs were only stored internally
It could carry either:- 1 x 800 kg bomb.
- 1 x 500 kg bomb.
- 1 x 250 kg bomb.
The fuselage bomb bay is equipped with doors held closed by two elastic cables. These doors are automatically opened by the bomb’s guidance system at the moment of release.
- Guns: a fixed forward-facing Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm caliber, alternatively, a Breda-SAFAT 7.7 mm(500 rpg) in the recon version.
Sources
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Dimensione Cielo - Bombardieri-Ricognitori vol.5 (pages 16 to 22).
This is considered one of the worst fails of the italian aviation because of its underperfoming engines and therefore an underperforming aircraft. I think both this and the SM86 should be added, with the SM85 (maybe foldered with something else) being a rank 1 and SM86 could even be rank 3.
<*Special thanks to @blazeFox and @LoSpilotoITA *>
Spoiler
Bananoso
