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Страна: Италия

Год: 1915

J.Davilla Italian Aviation in the First World War. Vol.3: Aircraft M-W (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 75)

Savoia-Pomilio S.P.1, S.P.2, & S.P.3

  Savoia Pomilio was named after its two founders, ingegnier maggiore Umberto Savoia and tenente Ottorino Pomilio.
  There first design was based on the M.F.11s that had been license built in Italy.
  The Italian reconnaissance and fighter arms came to depend, at least initially, on French aircraft.The Voisins 3, Caudron G.3, Caudron G.4, and, most importantly, the M.F.11, formed the backbone of the army co-operation units.
  By 1916 it was clear that more modern types were needed, preferably types that could be built by the early Italian aircraft industry. M.F.11s were built by Fiat (designated F.5b) with 100-hp Fiat engines, this from Savoy had 110-hp Colombo motors, and Nieuport-Macchi built 50 machines.


S.P.1

  It must have appeared that the M.F.11 would be the most ideal machine to copy. It was popular, effective, and easy to mass produce. The Savoia Pomilio chose to offer to the Aviazione Militaire a variant of the M.11 that was essentially a direct copy of the French machine. Designated the S.P.1, the main difference form the French machine was the selection of a 100-hp Fiat A10 in place of the commonly used 70-hp Renault. The S.P.1s were, aside from their engines, direct copies of the so-called Farman 1914 (M.F.11).


S.P.2

  The S.P.2 airframe was heavier because its structure had to be reinforced to carry a 260-hp Fiat A.12 motor. This new power plant enabled the S.P.2 to carry both a camera and a nose-mounted machine gun. In fact the S.P.2bis (approximately ten built) could carry 25-mm Fiat cannon. These S.P.2bis were used by the Sezioni Difesa and provided a night fighting capability for the seziones to protect key cities.
  Other armament options permitted by the S.P.2’s heavier payload included;
  - one Fiat-Revelli 6.6-mm machine gun
  - a rear-firing Fiat-Revelli 9-mm double barrel sub-machine gun, fastened to the upper wing to provide for rearward defense
  - Villa Perosa sub machine gun; it weighed only 62 kg and fired up to 2,400 rounds per minute
  Other equipment that could be carried included a Marconi MNM wireless transmitter, which in 1917 could be driven by an onboard electric generator. A planimetric camera built by Lamperti & Garbagnati could be carried which allowed for better definition of the surrounding topography.
  Testing began on 10 July 1916 from Mirafiori airfield. Testing lasted four months, at which time the S.P.2s were leaving the factory at the rate of ten a month.
  The DTAM noted that frontline personnel criticized the poor take off and handling characteristics of the heavy S.P2s. Stalls and crash landing were blamed on inadequate pilot training. The chief of flight testing, brigadiere Guido Guidi, gave a vigorous take off and landing demonstration in a fully loaded S.P.2 to convince the aircrews of the sounds of the design. He succeeded, but very few of those aircrew would have possessed Guidi’s piloting abilities.
  The S.P.2, was to equip eight army co-operation/reconnaissance squadriglias, while six other squadriglias would use the twin engine SP 4s. The S.P.4s would operate in mountain regions due to the added safety of having twin engines, plus the possibility of carrying a heavier weapons payload. Also the S.P.4s were intended to equip nine squadriglias assigned at the Armata level.
  Produced by both Pomilio and SIT, the Pomilios often had different nacelle configurations. Some were oval, others had pointed noses. The decking also varied with some being completely plywood covered,while others had some metal panels. Where and when these differences originated from remains unknown.
  Tenente Brach-Papa tested the S.P.2 and, on July 16, flew one to 6,175 meters. The heavier airframe resulted in poor manoeuvrability, enhancing the type’s already considerable vulnerability to enemy fighters. The S.P.2 was not a success meaning that the 402 examples built would be of limited use in combat.
  Savoia Pomilio S.P.2s and 3s were intended to re-equip the artillery and reconnaissance squadriglias and used the first version of the 200-hp Fiat A.12 in-line engine, a few S.P2s were already assigned to some front line units in late summer 1916. Although faster and with a superior climb rate than the M.F.11s and Caudron G.3s they were replacing, the crew found them difficult to fly as they were heavier and less maneuverable due to their higher weight. The only solution was to replace them with a lighter version with a shorter wing, the S.P.3. A total of 300 examples of this version, designated as the S.P.3, would be built.

S.P. 2 Production
Manufacturer Ordered Built Period
SIA 200 102 July - Dec. 1916
100 Jan. - July 1916
O. Poudiio? 200 26 July-Dec. 1916
131 Jan.-July 1917
43 July-Dec. 1917
Source: The Savoia Pomilios by Gregory Alegi


S.P.3

  The S.P.3 was only 17 kg lighter than the S.P.2, but its reduced wingspan (from 16.74 m to 14.71 m) and the changes made to the interplane struts, increased the speed by 10 km/h, bringing it to 145 km/h. Manoeuvrability was also improved. Thus, the S.P.3 was superior to the S.P.2, but the degree of improvement could not make up for the aircraft’s limited performance and lack of rearward defense.
  As with with the preceding S.P.2, there were variations on nacelle configurations. Alegi has suggested the flat sided nacelles were built by SIA, while the rounded ones came from SIT.

S.P. 3 Production
Manufacturer Ordered Built Period
SIA 200 200 1917
SIT 100 70 July-Dec. 1917
30 Jan.-July 1917
Totals 330 270
Source: The Savoia Pomilios by Gregory Alegi

  The alterations introduced in the S.P.3 brought the maximum speed up from 135 to 145 km/h and made the machine more maneuverable, but they could not overcome the limits of the pusher configuration. Fiat (whose aircraft carried the SIA - Italian Aviation Society designation) acquired a reputation for difficult-to-fiy aircraft. The numerous landing incidents were attributed to the inadequate training of the pilots and to their lack of familiarity with an aircraft that was more powerful than the M.F.11s and Caudron G.3s. Furthermore, Fiat (as had the French manufacturer Farman) had stayed too long with the pusher formula, long after it was obvious that this layout involved attacks from the rear that the crew would be helpless to defend against.
  This was confirmed by the obvious superiority of the tractor layout, as the first reports on the SAML two-seaters had shown.
  Unfortunately, in the time it took to create a satisfactory Italian version of the M.F.11, the time of the combat pusher aircraft was over. All the S.P.s were vulnerable to rearward attacks, which is exactly the weakness that the Austro-Hungarian fighters exploited. It has been suggested that the S.P. series were an interim type until the Pomilio PC, then under development, would become available. This might have worked as the S.P.s were certainly easy to produce, but the PC had major developmental troubles requiring the continued use of M.F.11s and S.P.2s and 3s with operational squadriglias.
  A 2a armata aviation report dated 20 May 1917 emphasized the type’s heaviness heaviness and poor handling. The aircraft also had a tendency to stall and there were frequent crash landings, although the report took pains to emphasize that these were mainly due to the inexperience of the pilots or their unfamiliarity with such a powerful machine. It was also clearly stated that the pusher configuration was outdated.
  During the Tenth Battle of Isonzo (12 May to 8 June, 1917), the units with Savoia-Pomilios in particular suffered from a lack of observers and equipment, which added to the poor performance of these obsolescent aircraft. Furthermore, the tendency of their propellers to break grounded many aircraft.
  The new 27a, 28a, 33a and 36a Squadriglias arrived at the Isonzo front in the summer of 1917; they were all equipped with S.P.3s, which, while a definite improvement over the Voisin 3s, were not much better than the M.F.11s they would be replacing. Yet, while the S.P.3 crews were being trained for front line operations, including familiarization with the fronts they would operate over, it was necessary to continue to use the G.3s in 42a, 43a, and 44a.
  During the first few days of the Caporetto attack, the units equipped with S.P.3s could no longer be assured of fighter escort as the fighter units had also been widely dispersed. For this reason the S.P.3s were ordered to be returned to the training centers.


Pomilio S.P. 2 Two-Seat Reconnaissance Aircraft with One 260-hp FIAT A-12 Engine
  Wingspan 16.78 m; length 10.95 m; wing area 78 sq m
  Empty weight 1,250 kg; loaded weight 1,700 kg
  Maximum speed 135 km/h; climb to 3,000 m in 26 minutes; celling 5,000 m; endurance four hours
  402 built


Pomilio S.P. 3 Two-Seat Reconnaissance Aircraft with One 260-hp FIAT A-12 Engine
  Wingspan 14.41 m; length 10.95 m; wing area 60 sq m
  Empty weight 1,233 kg; loaded weight 1,683 kg
  Maximum speed 145 km/h; climb to 3,000 m in 25 minutes; celling 5,000 m; endurance four hours
  300 built

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Описание:

  • J.Davilla Italian Aviation in the First World War. Vol.3: Aircraft M-W (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 75)
  • J.Davilla, A.Soltan French Aircraft of the First World War (Flying Machines)