Savoia-Marchetti SM.93

infobox Aircraft
name = SM.93
type = Dive bomber
manufacturer = Savoia-Marchetti



caption =SM.93 with Luftwaffe insigna
designer =
first flight = 31 January 1944
introduction =
retired =
status =
primary user =
more users =
produced =
number built = 1 prototype only
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.93 was an Italian dive-bomber aircraft designed by Alessandro Marchetti. It flew for the first time on 31 January 1944, near Varese.

Design

The aircraft was a monoplane, with a retracting undercarriage and monocoque fuselage. The wing was three piece, (external and internal wings, in contact with its fuselage), with two-spar as a compromise between ruggedness and weight.

The aircraft was all wood in structure and skinning. Plywood and wood, but also fabric was used for all of the aircraft, and not even the fuselage skeleton was made of steel, as was the 'norm' for Savoia-Marchetti aircraft.

The second unusual feature was the prone position that the pilot occupied. It was meant to better resist the accelerations typical of a dive bomber, especially because the aircraft was capable of very high speeds. The rear gunner sat in a conventional upright position. Despite the prone seat for pilot, the cockpit had a high structure, because the engine was practically below the pilot's seat. A curious feature was the roof of cockpit, made in wood instead of glass, resembling the older bombers SM.79 and SM.84.

The engine was a Daimler-Benz DB 605, a powerful engine capable to assure high performances. Apparently it was also served by a reasonable amount of fuel, to assure an high endurance.

Armament consisted of a 20 mm cannon, with 150 rounds, firing through the propeller hub, two 12.7-mm Breda machine guns placed in the wings, with 350 rounds each, and finally another Breda on a flexible mounting in the rear cockpit, manned by the gunner. A maximum bombload of 820 kg could be carried on the fuselage centreline. Maybe this was meant as the carriage of a new type of bomb, already fitted for SM.91s, that could carry a maximum of 1,640 kg (3,600 lb).

Development

The prototype aircraft had made 16 test flights, a total of 6 hours 40 minutes, by 29 March 1944. During these tests speeds of up to 900 km/h were achieved thanks to the power of the engine and the clean aerodynamics, but at that point the German Control Commission, effectively running RSI weapons production, ordered the end of flight testing.

Although the aircraft had several interesting features, in particular the prone seat for the pilot and an overall very good performance, it also had some shortcomings. The prone position was ideal for dive-bombing, but was extremely uncomfortable in standard flight, and none of the many aircraft that experimented with it were put into production. The wooden structure was not exactly ideal for a dive-bomber either, and this aircraft was the only one of this category to be made of such material. The performance was very good, but not so impressive with a full bomb load. In any case, this aircraft was built too late for the war, and the few test flights were performed with German engines.

pecifications (SM.93)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref=Fact|date=May 2008
crew= two, pilot & rear gunner
capacity=
length main= 10.93 m
length alt= 35 ft 10 in
span main= 13.90 m
span alt= 45 ft 7 in
height main= 3.80 m
height alt= 12 ft 6 in
area main= 31.10 m²
area alt= 334.6 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 3,552 kg
empty weight alt= 7,814 lb
loaded weight main= 5,500 kg
loaded weight alt= 12,100 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=
engine (prop)= Daimler-Benz DB 605A
type of prop= liquid-cooled inverted-V12
number of props=1
power main= 1,100 kW
power alt= 1,475 hp
power original=
max speed main= 515 km/h
max speed alt= 313 knots, 360 mph
max speed more=at 4,500 m [max speed 542 km/h at 7,000 m with bombload, 580 km/h at 7,000 m clean]
cruise speed main= 505 km/h
cruise speed alt= 272 knots, 313 mph
cruise speed more= at 7,000 m
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 1,650 km
range alt= 891 nm, 1025 mi
ceiling main= 8,200 m
ceiling alt= 26,900 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
guns=
** 1 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon (150 rounds) firing through the propeller hub
** 2 × 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns (700 rpg) in the wings
** 1 × 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun on a flexible mounting in the rear cockpit
bombs=up to 820 kg (1,800 lb)
avionics=

External links

* [http://www.histaviation.com/Savoia-Marchetti_SM_93.html Savoia-Marchetti SM.93]