Savoia-Marchetti SM.85

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.85 was a single-seat twin-engined dive bomber developed by Italy in the late 1930s. 
==History==
The SM.85 was developed in response to Mussolini’s demand for an aircraft capable of sweeping Britain’s Mediterranean Fleet out of what the Duce liked to refer to as mare nostrum ‘our sea’. At the time of Italy’s entry into the war, on 10 June 1940, the SM.85 equipped one Gruppo: Capitano Ercolano Ercolani’s 96°, Page 15, consisting of the 236a and 237a squadriglia, Page 37 which was based on the island of Pantelleria, almost midway between Sicily and the coast of Tunisia. Operationally, the ‘Flying Banana’ - so dubbed because of its distinctive upward curvature both fore and aft when viewed in proﬁle - was a total failure. The main shortcoming was the fact that the dive brakes could not be deployed at speeds in excess of 124 mph (200 km/h), which put the SM.85 in danger of stalling, making it an easy target for fighters..
After nearly a month of inactivity, the SM.85’s moment of glory came when three aircraft spent several hours fruitlessly searching for units of the British ﬂeet reported off Malta. This was the ‘Flying Banana’s’ sole contribution to the Italian dictator’s dreams of ridding ‘his sea’ of the enemy’s presence. For by now Pantelleria’s climate - fierce heat by day, dampness at night - had done its worst. Parked out in the open, the SM.85s’ wooden structures were beginning to warp badly. 
Still convinced of his air force's need for a dive-bomber, Mussolini turned, not for the last time, to his Axis partner for assistance, leading to a special mission, headed by Generale Pricolo, Chief of the Italian Air Staff, to negotiate the purchase of sufficient Ju 87s, initially to equip two full gruppi. By the end of July 1940, the ﬁrst 15 Italian pilots had arrived at the Luftwaffe’s Stuka-Schulz 2 at Graz-Thalerhof in Austria to begin training. A similar number arrived the following month. Page 15
The withdrawal of the SM.85 from service had been completed within eight weeks of the abortive search for British shipping, as the 96° Gruppo's two subordinate squadriglie, 236a and 237a, had achieved operational readiness with 15 Ju 87s, based at Cosimo in South East Sicily. Weal, John. Page 16
Savoia-Marchetti produced a derivative with liquid cooled engines, which was designated SM.86.Wikipedia
==References==
Category:Italian
Category:Land Based
Category:World War 2
Category:Monoplane
Category:Multi engined
Category:Piston engined
Category:Dive Bomber