Macchi M.5
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Macchi M.5 | image=Macchi M.5.jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Single-seat fighter flying boat | national origin=Italy | manufacturer=Nieuport-Macchi | designer= | first flight=1917 | introduced=1917 | retired= | status= | primary user=Italian Navy Aviation | number built=244 | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Macchi M.5 was an Italian single-seat fighter flying boat designed and built by Nieuport-Macchi at Varese. It was extremely manoeuvrable and agile and matched the land-based aircraft it had to fight.Orbis 1985, page 2393
Development
The first prototype of a single-seat sesquiplane fighter was the Type M which first flew in 1917. Developed by engineers Buzio and Calzavera it had a single-step hull and an open cockpit forward of the wings and was similar to the earlier Macchi M.3. It was followed by another prototype with a revised tail unit designated the Ma and further developed as the M bis and Ma bis. The production aircraft was designated the M.5 and like the prototypes was powered by a single Isotta Fraschini V.4B engine in pusher configuration. Deliveries soon commenced in the summer of 1917 to the Aviazione per la Regia Marina (Italian Navy Aviation). Late production aircraft had a more powerful Isotta Fraschini V.6 engine and redesigned wingtip floats, they were designated M.5 mod. Macchi produced 200 aircraft and another 44 were built by Società Aeronautica Italiana.
Operational history
During World War I, the M.5 was operated by five Italian maritime patrol squadrons as a fighter and convoy escort, and some were embarked on the Regia Marina seaplane carrier Giuseppe Miraglia. Towards the end of World War I, M.5 aircraft were flown by both United States Navy and United States Marine Corps airmen. For his actions while flying an M.5 over the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Austria-Hungary on 21 August 1918, U.S. Navy Ensign Charles Hammann, an enlisted pilot at the time, received the first Medal of Honor awarded to a United States naval aviator.{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/macchi5.htm|title = Macchi M.5}}
In 1923, when the Regia Aeronautica was formed, 65 M.5s were still in service, although they all had been scrapped within a few years.
Operators
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
;{{USA}}
;{{flag|Brazil}}
- Brazilian Navy – Twelve Brazilian pilots trained in these aircraft, but the war ended before they could participate it.{{cn|date=May 2023}}
Specifications (Macchi M.5)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units? = met
|crew=one
|length m=8.08
|length ft=26
|length in=6
|span m=11.90
|span ft=39
|span in=0.5
|height m=2.85
|height ft=9
|height in=4.5
|wing area sqm=28
|wing area sqft=301.4
|empty weight kg=720
|empty weight lb=1,587
|gross weight kg=990
|gross weight lb=2,183
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Isotta Fraschini V.4B inline piston engine
|eng1 kw=119
|eng1 hp=160
|max speed kmh=189
|max speed mph=117
|endurance=3 hours 40 minutes
|ceiling m=6,200
|ceiling ft=20,340
|armament = *2 × fixed, forward-facing .303 British (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns
}}
See also
{{aircontent
|see also=
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
}}
References
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}
- {{cite book |last=Taylor|first=Michael J. H.|title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation|year=1989|publisher=Studio Editions|location=London}}
- {{cite book |title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)|publisher= Orbis Publishing}}
{{Macchi aircraft}}
{{Portal bar|Italy|Companies|Aviation}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1910s Italian fighter aircraft