STORMO! Classic Airframes 1/48 Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 I by Paolo Carli

Classic Airframes 1/48 Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 I
Sparviero (Sparrowhawk)
by Paolo Carli

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S.79 I - Bombardiere (Bomber):
The S.79 equipped fourteen of the Regia Aeronautica's's twenty-three bomber Stormi at the outbreak of the war, it was the symbol of an air force since Italo Balbo's mass flight to the US. Against modern single engine monoplane fighters such as the D.520 and Sptifire, however, the S.79 used as a bomber experienced the same realities as unescorted RAF Wellingtons attacking Heligoland Bight, unescorted Armee de l'Air bombers attacking German columns, and later large US and British bomber formations over Germany and Italy. The S.79s from 9o, 12o and 46o Stormi went briefly into action against France while those based in Sardinia attacked the Bizerte naval base. The 137 operational S.79s of the five Stormi in Sicily were employed from the first day of war against Malta. Italian attacks on Malta, both day and night, wound down during the Autumn, as units were recalled from Sicily and sent to reinforce Italian air power in Libya and Albania. By December of 1940, the number of operational S.79s on Sicily was down to thirty.

Early on in North Africa, the S.79 was sometimes used to hunt British armoured cars that were being used to harass Italian infantry in the Western Desert. One of the most tragic results of these operations was the loss of Air Marshal ltalo Balbo, Governor of Libya, who was mistakenly shot down on 28 June 1940 by Italian anti-aircraft defenses at Tobruk, while returning in his S.79 from a desert search mission. While mounting strong attacks on the British bases at Sollum, Marsa Matruk and Alexandria, the S.79 suffered losses. When the British Army counterattacked in December of 1940, the bomber component of the African 5th Air Force was reduced. 10o and 33o Stormi were sent back to Italy (the latter being disbanded in 1941) being replaced by the 33o Gruppo and by 9o and 41o Stormi. To help slow the British advance 34o Stormo was sent to Libya with the British finally being stopped at El Agheila.

The 9o, 15o and 41o Stormi were transferred back to Italy where they converted to the CANT Z.1007 bis and the Caproni 313. The 14o Stormo was disbanded on the mainland and 34o Stormo ceased to exist in Libya during the Spring of 1941. In late Spring of 1941 the overworked 8o Stormo was moved to Libya where it operated through the rest of the year.

The main target of the S.79 was the Royal Navy operating in the Mediterranean. Massed Stormi from Sardinia, Sicily and Italy in close formations rained bombs on enemy warship formations during the first year of the war although few ships were hit demonstrating how difficult it was to bomb fast moving warships, a lesson the Allies would learn later themselves. In Greece the S.79 was in action with the 46o Stormo based at Tirana, Albania. Over the harsh Balkan terrain the S.79 supported Italian troops with tactical bombings.

In April of 1941 when Italy attacked Yugoslavia they met S.79 bombers in enemy colors. The Jugoslovensko Kraljevsko Ratno Vazduhoplovstuo (JKRV) the Royal Yugoslav Air Force had received forty-five S.79s, diverted from Regia Aeronautica production lots during the Fall of 1939. When hostilities began on 5 April 1941 thirty S.79s were assigned to the 7.bombardeski Puk (7th Bombardment Regiment) at Preljine and Gorobilje, and fifteen to the 81.samostalna Grupa at Ortijes-Blagaj. Yugoslavian operations, though gallant, were limited by the immediate and effective Luftwaffe and Italian strikes on their airfields. Yugoslavian S.79s briefly carried out operations against Italian forces in Albania. Four Yugoslavian S.79s managed to escape to the Middle East where they were taken over by the RAF and given serial numbers AX702, AX703, AX704 and AX705.

Other units that used the S.79 were the Strategic Reconnaissance squadrons performing long-range photographic missions over British bases and the 'Sahara' squadrons operating from desert oasis carrying out local reconnaissance and attacks against British Commando units.

Sources:
1) R. Gentilli and D. Greer, Savoia Marchetti S.79 in Action No.71, Squadron-Signal Publications, 1986
2) C. Gori, SIAI S.79 2a Parte, Ali D'Italia #11, La Bancarella Aeronautica, Torino, 2000

S.79, 18-1, 18a Squadriglia, 27o Gruppo, 8o Stormo, North Africa 1941.

Construction

The starting box will be the Classic Airframe in 1/48 and the kit will be extensively detailed to make it in my style.

This is the boxart, Classic Airframes 1/48 SM.79 Early Version - CA 452:

and here's what's in the box:

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The aircraft modeled is SIAI S.79 of the 18th squadron, 27th group, 8th wing B.T. near Martuba in May 41:

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Let's begin:
First of all I began to sand the fuselages to thin the plastics, the aim is to reproduce the entire internal structure through the use of polystyrene rods with a section of 0.88 and 0.50 mm

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here you can see the section differences:

To complete everything I opened the tiles of the machine gunner's position, the upper bomb compartment, the entrance door for the crew and the side windows for the weapons in the fuselage:

Using the scale drawings I proceeded to build all the internal bones and the upper structure:

The bomb-aimer's ventral gondola and machine gun post:

First of all, I mark where the bomb-aimer's 'boots' go and rebuild them with plastic of the appropriate shape:

Assembly of the resin cockpit:

And addition of cockpit details:

Slightly oversized oil tank:

The on-board radio I had to repaint:

Scratch-built construction of the 'typewriter' with the lid down and the cable guide for launching bombs:

One of hundreds of dry tests:

Creation of the perforated ribs and positioning, in this regard I say that I only put them in the visible points because the work is long and tedious to do:

And now construction of the dorsal 'hump'. At first I thought about building a plastic template and then assembling the trellis together:

As you can see the work is mediocre and impossible to complete because the structure is divided into two parts and the second is not reachable and can be positioned with the fuselage closed. After thinking about how to proceed I deceided to glue the hump and then saw it off the fuselage! The result was excellent, I was able to work on it almost comfortably and everything went smoothly:

I also built the ammunition boxes for the defensive armament:

Addition of the Breda:

At this point I switched to the wings which have been heavily modified.

First I opened the bomb bay:

Then I separated the flaps to show them lowered:

And I worked on the slats to have them open too:

Lastly, I worked on the engine nacelles and the related undercarriage compartment.
First I built the housings for the wheels:

After gluing them I detailed the inside of the wheel wells:

I completely redone the structure of the landing gear as after the modifications those of the kit no longer went well:

I glued the wings and drilled the holes for the oil coolers both above and on the leading edge because they are absent:

Being a short run I expected some problems and indeed...

The closing the fuselages which took a lot of time to putty and cyanoacrylate:

Internal structure of the 'hump' finished and ready to be positioned:

Create the guides for the tiles:

Built supports and all accessories for sidearms:

Pilot side-window modeled in the open position:

Bomb aimer/gunner gondola in place:

I bought the beautiful Italian Kits engines as an aftermarket accessory. The engines are really well made and complete with exhaust manifold and carburetor so I deceided to model them with the engine cowlings off:

Another coat of putty and I get ready for the painting phase.

Camouflage:
I would like to clarify that the photos of the original subject found in various texts show only the side of the plane for which the upper camouflage is interpreted.

The colors used are:
Grigio azzurro chiaro: Gunze H332
Verde Mimetico 1: MRP 328
Marrone mimetico 2: Mig 0079
Giallo mimetico 3: MRP 323

After having applied the gray I proceeded to apply a marbled (weathered) effect:

And a close up of this effect washed down a bit:

Application of camouflage yellow 3 (GM3) and painted the wing tips and fuselage strip in white:

And now green and brown:

Slat arms were added:

Positioned the engines:

I created masks for the unit code and individual aircraft numbers:

And now the decals:

Landing gear, bomb doors and ventral gondola:

Prepare the ground surface on which the plane will be placed and scratch-built the field crane for the engines:

And some shots of the plane on the diorama:

In real life all detail can be seen perfectly such as the addition of the map on the radio operator's table, the detail obtained is truly remarkable. I'm happy with the result.

Technical Data

Aircraft: SIAI-Marchetti SM.79
Manufacturer: SIAI-Marchetti
Type: Bomber
Year: 1937
Engine: Three Alfa Romeo A.R. 126 RC 34, 9-cylinder radial, air-cooled, 750 hp each
Wingspan: 69 ft 7 in (21.20 m)
Length: 53 ft 2 in (16.20 m)
Height: 13 ft 5t in (4.10 m)
Weight: 23,180 lb (10,500 kg) (Loaded)
Maximum Speed: 267 mph (430 km/h) at 13,120 ft (4,000 m)
Ceiling: 23,000 ft (7,000 m)
Range: 1,180 miles (1,900 km)
Armament: 4-5 machine guns; 2,756 lb (1,250 kg) of bombs
Crew: 6

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