Savoia-Marchetti S.73

Savoia-Marchetti · Italy · first flew 1934 · airliner

The Savoia-Marchetti S.73 was an Italian three-engined airliner of mixed wood, steel and fabric construction, carrying 18 passengers. It was developed in four months using the S.55 wing with a new fuselage.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	3 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Wing adapted from the S.55, with a more conventional fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Three-engined low-wing monoplane airliner with a fixed undercarriage
Braced tailplane on a conventional tail
Wing adapted from the S.55, with a more conventional fuselage

A fixed-gear three-engined low-wing transport, with one engine in the nose and one in each wing, and a braced tailplane.

Specifications

The Savoia-Marchetti S.73 has a length of 17.44 m (57 ft).
It has a wingspan of 23.99 m (79 ft).
Its maximum speed is 330 km/h (205 mph).
Typical crew: 4.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The prototype first flew on 4 June 1934 from Cameri with Adriano Bacula as test pilot. Production aircraft used a range of engines, including Piaggio, Wright, Walter and Alfa Romeo radials.

Variants

Engine fits varied widely between aircraft, and SABCA built a licensed version with 900 hp Gnome-Rhone 14K engines. A bomber version was developed in parallel as the SM.81 Pipistrello.

Where you'll see it

SABENA was the first operator in 1935 and used the type on the Belgium to Congo route. Ala Littoria received at least 21, and some were pressed into military transport service in Abyssinia and Spain.

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