Savoia Marchetti S.M. 79 Sparviero 1/72 Scale Model

Italian S.M.79 Series II - This is a model of a medium level bomber that flew against the British on Malta during 1940. The S.M.79 was Italy's primary bomber during the WWII, with production totaling about 1,300. It first saw combat in Spain in 1937, when Mussolini sent planes and pilots to support the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. It's good performance there led Yugoslavia to order 45 of them in 1938. The S.M. 79s sold to Yugoslavia were Series I models, fitted with with Alfa Romeo engines, like those that were flown in Spain. Yugoslavian S.M. 79s saw action against the Axis invasion of April 1941. The Italians also sold twin-engined export versions of the S.M. 79 to Iraq and Romania. The Iraqis bought 4 of these, and they saw action against the British in May 1941. The Romanians bought 48 of them, and then built another 16 of their own under a license. These planes flew against the Soviets beginning in June 1941. Most of the S.M. 79s used by the Italians during WWII were Series II models, which entered service in 1939, and were fitted with more powerful Piaggio engines.

More Photos: Left, Right, Front, Rear, Front Angle Right Below, Rear Angle Left, Front Angle Left, Front Angle Right, Top, Rear Angle Right, Front Angle Left Below, Above Left

Italian S.M. 79 bis - This is a model of a torpedo bomber that flew in the air force of Mussolini's fascist puppet state, the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR) against Allied ships in the Mediterranean Sea in 1944. When the Italians joined the war in June, 1940, they didn't have a torpedo bomber, but they soon discovered the S.M. 79 made a good one, and they used it effectively against the British in the Mediterranean. In early 1943 the S.M. 79 Series III, also called the S.M. 79 bis, entered service and its new features made the plane an even better torpedo bomber. They included engines that performed better at low altitudes, the deletion of the ventral gondola to improve aerodynamics, the installation of a large fuel tank in the rear fuselage for increased range, and flame-damping exhaust pipes for night missions. When the Italian government surrendered in September, 1943, most of the remaining S.M.79s were in northern Italy, which became German occupied territory. The ANR eventually put these planes to use, along with some new S.M.79s from production that continued in northern Italy until 1944.

More Photos: Left, Right, Front Angle Left, Front Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Rear Angle Right

Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete, Christopher Shores

Air War Over Italy, Andrew Brookes

Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, Gerald Howson

Black Cross/Red Star: The Air War Over the Eastern Front, Volume 1, Operation Barbarossa, Christopher Bergstrom

Camouflage and Markings of the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, 1943-1945 Ferdinando D'Amico

Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II, David Mondey

Dust Clouds in the Middle East: The Air War for East Africa, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Madagascar, 1940-42, Christopher Shores

Fighters Over the Desert: The Air Battles in the Western Desert. June 1940 to December 1942, Christopher Shores

Hidden Victory: The Battle of Habbaniya, May 1941, A.G. Dudgeon

In the Skies of Europe: Air Forces Allied to the Luftwaffe 1939-1945, John Cochrane

Italian Aircraft of WWII, Nico Sgarlato

Malta; The Hurricane Years 1940-1941, Christopher Shores

Malta; The Spitfire Year 1942, Christopher Shores

Regia Aeronautica: Pictorial History of the Italian Air Force 1940-1943, Christopher Shores

Regia Aeronautica: Pictorial History of the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force 1943-1945 Ferdinando D'Amico

Rumanian Air Force WWII, Denes Bernad

Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 in Action, Roberto Gentilli

Spanish Civil War Air Forces, Christopher Shores