Macchi M.5

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The Macchi M.5 was an Italian single-seat fighter flying boat designed and built by Macchi-Nieuport 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 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 were powered by a single Isotta-Fraschini V.4B engine in pusher configuration. Deliveries soon commenced in the summer of 1917 to the Aviazone 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 Societa Aeronautica Italiana.

Operational history

The M.5 was operated by five Italian martime patrol squadrons as a fighter and also used for convoy escorts and some were embarked on the Giuseppe Miraglia. Towards the end of the First World War the aircraft were flown by both United States Navy and United States Marine Corps airmen. Ensign Charles Hammann won the first Medal of Honor awarded to a United States naval aviator in an M.5. [http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/macchi5.htm] .

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

;ITA
*Italian Navy Aviation
*Regia Aeronautica;USA

pecifications (M.5)

aerospecs
ref= [Orbis 1985, page 2393]
met or eng?= met

crew=1
capacity=
length m=8.08
length ft=26
length in=6
span m=11.90
span ft=39
span in=0½
swept m=
swept ft=
swept in=
rot number=
rot dia m=
rot dia ft=
rot dia in=
dia m=
dia ft=
dia in=
width m=
width ft=
width in=
height m=2.85
height ft=9
height in=4½
wing area sqm=28
wing area sqft=301.4
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3=
volume ft3=
aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=720
empty weight lb=1587
gross weight kg=990
gross weight lb=2183
lift kg=
lift lb=

eng1 number=1
eng1 type=Isotta-Fraschini V.4B inline piston engine
eng1 kw= 119
eng1 hp= 160
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=
eng2 type=
eng2 kw=
eng2 hp=
eng2 kn=
eng2 lbf=
eng2 kn-ab=
eng2 lbf-ab=

max speed kmh=189
max speed mph=117
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh=
cruise speed mph=
range km=
range miles=
endurance h= 3
endurance min= 40
ceiling m=6200
ceiling ft=20,340
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=2 x fixed forward-facing .303 Vickers machine-guns
armament2=
armament3=
armament4=
armament5=
armament6=

ee also

aircontent
see also=
related=
similar aircraft=
sequence=
lists=
*List of seaplanes and flying boats

References

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*cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)|year= |publisher= Orbis Publishing|location= |issn=|pages=