| SM.82 | |
|---|---|
 Savoia Marchetti SM.82 at the Italian Air Force Museum | |
| General information | |
| Type | Heavy bomber/transport |
| Manufacturer | Savoia-Marchetti |
| Primary users | Regia Aeronautica |
| Number built | 726 + 1 prototype [1] |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1939–1944 |
| Introduction date | 1940 |
| First flight | 1939 |
| Retired | After 1960 |
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 Marsupiale[2] is an Italian bomber and transport aircraft of World War II. It was a cantilever, mid-wing monoplane trimotor with a retractable, tailwheel undercarriage. There were 875[3] (plus one prototype) built, the first entering service in 1940. Although able to operate as a bomber with a maximum bombload of up to 8,818 lb (4000 kg), the SM.82 saw very limited use in this role.[4] The SM.82 was the foreign aircraft used in largest number by the Luftwaffe, which operated several hundreds of this aircraft, as a transport.[3] Post-war about 30 SM.82s continued in service with the Aeronautica Militare Italiana, many remaining in service until the early 1960s.[5]
- ^ Stocchetti, R. "Savoia Marchetti SM.82 Marsupiale, Aerei militari, Schede tecniche aerei militari italiani e storia degli aviatori". www.alieuomini.it.
- ^ Military Intelligence: Identification of Italian Aircraft (United States War Department, 1941), p. 70.
- ^ a b Pini 1994, p.1.
- ^ Mondey 2006, p. 242.
- ^ Mondey 2006, pp. 242–243.