Savoia - Marchetti SM . 75 The Savoia - Marchetti SM . 75 " Marsupiale " ( Marsupial ) was an Italian passenger and military transport aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s . It was a low - wing , trimotor monoplane of mixed metal and wood construction with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage . It was the last of a line of transport aeroplanes that Alessandro Marchetti began building in the early 1930s . The SM . 75 was fast , robust , capable of long - range flight and could carry up to 24 passengers for 1 , 000 miles . Development . SM . 75 and SM . 75 " bis " . The SM . 75 was designed in response to an enquiry from the Italian airline Ala Littoria , which was seeking a modern , middle - to - long - range airliner and cargo aircraft as a replacement for its Savoia - Marchetti S . M . 73 aircraft . In his design of the SM . 75 , Savoia - Marchetti chief designer Alessandro Marchetti ( 1884 – 1966 ) retained the general configuration of the S . 73 but introduced retractable main landing gear to reduce aerodynamic drag . The SM . 75s airframe consisted of a steel - tube frame with fabric and plywood covering , and its control surfaces were plywood - covered . The SM . 75 had a four - man crew , and its cabin was built to accommodate up to 25 passengers . Its short take - off run of 337 metres ( 1 , 105 feet ) and shorter landing distance of 280 metres ( 919 feet ) meant that it could operate from short runways on secondary airfields . The SM . 75 was powered by three Alfa Romeo 126 RC . 34 radial engines rated at 559 kilowatts ( 750 horsepower ) each at 3 , 400 meters ( 11 , 155 feet ) . Eleven aircraft fitted with three Alfa Romeo 126 RC . 18 14 - cylinder engines rated at 641 kilowatts ( 860 horsepower ) at 1 , 800 metres ( 5 , 905 feet ) were designated the SM . 75 " bis " . The " Regia Aeronautica " ( Italian Royal Air Force ) showed solid interest in the SM . 75 , resulting in the development of a militarized version . This lacked windows in the passenger cabin but was fitted with a reinforced panel to permit the installation of a dorsal gun turret . It was powered by three Alfa Romeo 128 RC . 21 engines and had a greater cargo capacity than the SM . 75 , and entered military service as the Savoia - Marchetti SM . 82 . SM . 76 . The Italian airline LATI received its first SM . 75 in 1939 . The aircraft was redesignated as the SM . 76 in 1940 . SM . 87 . In 1939 , a floatplane version of the SM . 75 appeared . Known as the SM . 87 , it was powered by three 746 kW ( 1 , 000 hp ) Fiat A . 80 engines . It could reach a speed of 365 km / h ( 227 mph ) and had a ceiling of 6 , 250 m ( 20 , 510 ft ) , a range of , and a crew of four , and could accommodate 24 passengers . Four were built . SM . 90 . The SM . 90 was a version of the SM . 75 fitted with more powerful 1 , 044 kW ( 1 , 400 hp ) Alfa Romeo 135 R . C . 32 engines . It had a longer fuselage than the SM . 75 . Only one was built . SM . 75GA . The SM . 75 GA ( for " Grande Autonomia " , meaning " Long Range " ) was a modofication of the SM . 75 powered by three 641 kW ( 860 hp ) Alfa Romeo 128 engines and fitted as well as a powerful radio and auxiliary fuel tanks to boost the aircrafts range to 7 , 000 kilometers ( 4 , 350 statute miles ) with a 1 , 100 - kilogram ( 2 , 430 - pound ) load . With a four - or five - man crew and a 200 - kilogram ( 441 - pound ) load , the SM . 75 GA could achieve a range of 8 , 005 kilometers ( 4 , 971 statute miles ) at 298 kilometers per hour ( 185 miles per hour ) flying at altitudes between 3 , 500 and 5 , 000 meters ( 11 , 483 and 16 , 404 feet ) . Operational history . Italian commercial service . The SM . 75 first flew in November 1937 from Novara , in Piedmont . It entered commercial service with Ala Littoria in 1938 and with LATI in 1939 , and was employed on services both within Europe and to South America , as well as on the Rome - Addis Ababa route established after the Italian invasion — and later conquest — of Abyssinia in the Second Italo - Abyssinian War . The SM . 75 proved easily capable of carrying a crew of four and 17 passengers and their baggage a distance of at per hour at 4 , 000 meters ( 13 , 123 feet ) , and it established a number of world records for speed - over - distance - with - payload and closed - circuit distance . One SM . 75 was modified to set endurance world records , and succeeded in 1939 when it covered around . After Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940 , civil SM . 75s continued to perform supply operations to Italy overseas territories , which dwindled as the war progressed , until the Italian armistice with the Allies went into effect on 8 September 1943 . They also continued to operate services to South America until December 1941 , when Italy declared war on the United States . Italian military service . After Italy entered World War II in June 1940 , the " Regia Aeronautica " needed aircraft with which to maintain contact with Italys imperial possessions — Abyssinia , Italian Somaliland , and Eritrea — in East Africa , which were surrounded by British - controlled territories and military forces . Available SM . 75s were militarized by the installation of a 12 . 7 - millimeter ( 0 . 5 - inch ) Breda - SAFAT machine gun mounted in a Caproni - Lanciani gun turret and the introduction of a fifth crewman to man it , and new SM . 75s were manufactured to a modified design allowing them to carry up to 24 troops over long distances and with the same performance as the airliner version . Special missions . There were several notable missions flown mainly for propaganda purposes . Leaflet mission to Asmara . In January 1942 , the commander - in - chief of the " Regia Aeronautica " , General Rino Corso Fougier , began plans for a long - range flight from Rome to Tokyo . He consulting with pilots with recent experience in long - range flights to South America and East Africa , and reached a consensus that the SM . 75 was better suited for the mission than either the SM . 82 or the Savoia - Marchetti SM . 83 because of its superior endurance , albeit at the expense of defensive armament and self - sealing fuel tanks . The SM . 75 aircraft selected for the flight , serial no . MM . 60537 , was modified to become the first long - range SM . 75 GA aircraft . The first mission of the SM . 75 GA was to drop propaganda leaflets saying " Italian colonists , Rome is not forgetting you . We shall come back ! " over British - held territory in East Africa previously occupied by the Italians . A five - man crew led by Lieutenant Colonel Amadeo Paradisi , who piloted the aircraft , flew from Rome to Benghazi in Libya . The mission began at 17 : 30 hours on 7 May 1942 , when the SM . 75 GA set out from Benghazi on the first leg , flying at a planned 3 , 000 meters ( 9 , 842 feet ) , although bad weather forced Paradisi to climb to 4 , 000 meters ( 13 , 123 feet ) . After 10 hours and 20 minutes , the SM . 75 GA arrived over Asmara in Eritrea and released the leaflets , but instead of returning as planned to Benghazi , Paradisi flew directly to Rome , first at 3 , 500 meters ( 11 , 482 feet ) , and then at 5 , 200 meters ( 17 , 060 feet ) to optimize fuel consumption . The entire mission had lasted 28 hours . At Rome , mechanics conducted several trials with the plane . On 11 May 1942 , two days after it arrived in Rome , the SM . 75GA suffered a simultaneous breakdown of all three of its engines during a ferry flight from Rome to Guidonia Montecilio . Paradisi made an emergency landing in which the aircraft was destroyed and he lost a leg , although the rest of the crew avoided injury . Rome - to - Tokyo flight . After the loss of the first SM . 75 GA , a second SM . 75 , serial number MM . 60539 , was modified to SM . 75 GA standard for the Rome - to - Tokyo flight . Ready on 9 June 1942 , it was designated the SM . 75 GA RT ( for " Rome - Tokyo " ) . Its pilot , Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Moscatelli , was placed in charge of the overall operation , which in addition to providing Italy with propaganda about Italian aviation prowess was to carry new codes for communications between Japan and her Axis partners ; the Italians believed the British had broken the existing codes . The flight was made difficult to perform by the extreme distance involved and the need to fly thousands of kilometers through the airspace of the Soviet Union , a country with which Italy was at war . Taking off from Guidonia Montecelio at 05 : 30 hours on 29 June 1942 , the SM . 75 GA RT landed later that day away at Zaporozhye in German - occupied Ukraine , the easternmost airfield available to the Axis powers . At 18 : 00 hours on 30 June 1942 , carrying no documents or correspondence that might embarrass the Japanese ( who were not at war the with Soviet Union ) and with its crew under orders to burn the aircraft and its documents if forced down in enemy - held territory , the overloaded SM . 75 GA RT made the difficult and potentially dangerous takeoff from the grassy 700 - meter ( 2 , 297 - foot ) runway at Zaporozhye , weighing 21 , 500 kilograms ( 47 , 400 pounds ) while having 11 , 000 kilograms ( 24 , 250 pounds ) - - 10 , 340 liters ( 2 , 721 gallon s ) - - of fuel on board . Operating under strict radio silence , the aircraft continued unscathed through the night — despite encountering Soviet anti - aircraft fire , bad weather conditions , and a Soviet fighter , probably a Yakovlev Yak - 1 — flying over the north coast of the Aral Sea , skirting Lake Baikal and the Tarbagatai Mountains and over the Gobi Desert . Maps of Soviet positions proved inaccurate , and Moscatelli had to climb to 5 , 000 meters ( 16 , 404 feet ) to avoid detection , causing the aircrafts oxygen supply to run out earlier than planned . A sandstorm over Mongolia also endangered the SM . 75 GA RT , but its crew sighted the Yellow River at 22 : 00 hours on 30 June 1942 and , on the last of its fuel , landed east of Zaporozhye on the 1 , 300 - meter ( 4 , 270 - foot ) runway , at Pao Tow Chien , over 1 , 000 meters ( 3 , 280 feet ) above sea level in Japanese - occupied Inner Mongolia , at 15 : 30 hours on 1 July 1942 . The aircraft was painted with Japanese markings so that it would be safe in Japanese airspace , took an interpreter aboard , and then flew the final leg of the journey to Tokyo . The SM . 75 GA RT departed Tokyo on its return journey on 16 July 1942 . Arriving at Pao Tow Chien , its Japanese markings were removed and replaced with Italian ones . It took off at 21 : 45 hours on 18 July 1942 from Pao Tow Chien , retraced its route , and , after 29 hours and 25 minutes in the air and having covered , it landed at Odessa in the Ukraine . Moscatelli then completed the operation by flying the aircraft on to Guidonia Montecelio . The Italians publicised this event on 2 August 1942 despite the Japanese government ' s reluctance for diplomatic reasons , which cooled relations between the two countries ; the Italians made no attempt to repeat the flight . Bombing mission to Abyssinia . In 1943 , two SM . 75 GA aircraft undertook a bombing mission , the only one made by an SM . 75 , intended to destroy American bombers stored at an airbase in Gura in Abyssinia . To reach the objective , which was over away , the two S . 75 GAs — with civil registration " I - BUBA " and " I - TAMO " , but renominated with serial numbers MM . 60539 and MM . 60543 , respectively . for military use — were laden heavily with 11 , 000 kilograms ( 24 , 250 pounds ) of fuel , and modified by fitting a " Jozza " bomb - aiming system and a bomb bay capable of carrying 1 , 200 kilograms ( 2 , 650 pounds ) of bombs . The most experienced crews were selected for the mission , led by officers named Villa and Peroli . The mission started at 06 : 30 hours on 23 May 1943 from Rhodes , the easternmost " Regia Aeronautica " base at the time . Each of the two aircraft , weighing 10 , 200 kilograms ( 22 , 490 pounds ) empty , had a takeoff - weight of 24 , 000 kilograms ( 52 , 910 pounds ) . The SM . 75 GAs engines were optimized for endurance and economy rather than for power , which made the takeoff difficult with the heavy load of fuel and bombs . Initially flying at low altitude , at 10 : 00 hours the modified SM . 75 GAs climbed to 3 , 000 meters ( 9 , 842 feet ) . Having used an excessive amount of fuel , Peroli diverted to bomb Port Sudan instead ; he returned safely to Rhodes at 05 : 30 hours on 24 May 1943 after 23 hours in the air . Villa , meanwhile , pressed on alone and arrived over the Gura airbase — which was heavily defended despite being well behind the front line — at 18 : 45 hours and released his bombs . Although one bomb failed to drop and remained on board , presenting the threat of an explosion , Villas mission was successful , and his aircraft returned to Rhodes safely one hour and 15 minutes after Peroli , landing at 06 : 45 hours on 24 May 1943 , having covered over a period of 24 hours and 15 minutes . Italian Co - Belligerent Air Force . After Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943 , some SM . 75s entered service with the Italian Co - Belligerent Air Force , which fought on the Allied side for the remainder of the World War II . Only few aircraft survived the war and actually remained in service until 1949 . Hungary . Italy exported five SM . 75 aircraft to Hungary for service with the Hungarian airline MALERT . After Hungary entered World War II , these aircraft were pressed into service with the Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő ( MKHL ) , Hungarian Air Force . During the short conflict against Yugoslavia , in the afternoon of 12 April 1941 , four SM . 75s , loaded with paratroopers , took off from Veszprém . Unfortunately , the leading aircraft , code E - 101 , crashed immediately afterwards . Twenty three Hungarians lost their lives , including 19 paratroopers . It was the heaviest loss in the war against Yugoslavia . On 6 May 1941 , the Hungarian Air Force had at its disposal four S . M . 75 , as paratroop transport . Germany . After Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943 , Germany seized some SM . 75s which entered service with the " Luftwaffe " .