Екінші дүниежүзілік соғыстағы итальяндық SM.79 бомбалаушысы

Italian medium bomber airplane

The Savoia Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero (Italian for sparrowhawk) was a three engined Italian medium bomber developed and manufactured by aviation company Savoia Marchetti. It may be the best known Italian aeroplane of the Second World War. The SM.79 was originally developed in the early 1930s as a cantilever low wing monoplane of combined wood and metal construction. It had been designed with the intention of producing a swift eight passenger transport aircraft, capable of besting even the fastest of its contemporaries, but had quickly attracted the attention of the Italian government with its potential as a combat aircraft. Performing its first flight on 28 September 1934, early examples of the type established 26 separate world records between 1937 and 1939, qualifying it for some time as the fastest medium bomber in the world. As such, the SM.79 quickly came to be regarded as an item of national prestige in Fascist Italy, attracting significant government support and often being deployed as an element of state propaganda. Early on, the aircraft was routinely entered in competitive fly offs and air races, seeking to capitalise on its advantages, and often emerged victorious in such contests. The SM.79 first saw combat during the Spanish Civil War. In this theatre it normally operated without fighter escort, relying on its relatively high speed to evade interception. While some issues were identified, and in some cases resolved, the SM.79's performance during the Spanish deployment was encouraging and stimulated demand for the type, including a decision to adopt it as the backbone of Italy's bomber units. Both Yugoslavia and Romania opted to procure the type for their own air services, while large numbers were also procured for the Regia Aeronautica. Almost 600 SM.79 I and –II aircraft were in service when Italy entered the Second World War in May 1940; thereafter, they were deployed in every theatre of war in which the Italians fought. The SM.79 was operated in various capacities during the Second World War, initially being used mainly as a transport aircraft and medium bomber. Following pioneering work by the "Special Aerotorpedoes Unit", Italy put the type to work as a torpedo bomber; in this role, the SM.79 achieved notable successes against Allied shipping in the Mediterranean theatre of the war. A specialised drone version of the aircraft flown by remote control was also developed, although the Armistice with Italy was enacted prior to any operational deployment. It was the most numerous Italian bomber of the Second World War, with about 1,300 built. The type would remain in Italian service until 1952.

In 1934, Italian aircraft manufacturer Savoia Marchetti commenced work on what would become the SM.79. The design team was headed by aeronautical engineer Alessandro Marchetti. The company quickly set about the construction of a single prototype of its design, being keen to participate in the high profile London Melbourne race if possible. According to aviation author Giorgio Apostolo, the SM.79 had adopted a three engine configuration (two in mid wing positions and the third mounted upon the nose) due to commercial safety concerns rather than for speed. Originally, there had been plans to adopt the Isotta Fraschini Asso XI Ri as the aircraft's powerplant; however, it was decided to revert to the less powerful Piaggio Stella P. IX R. C.40, a derivative of the license produced model of the British Bristol Jupiter, on which many of Piaggio's engines were based. On 28 September 1934, the prototype SM.79 conducted its maiden flight, piloted by Adriano Bacula. Despite the company's ambitions to participate, the prototype (registration I MAGO) had been completed too late for it to be entered in the London Melbourne race. Various other world records were established during multiple test flights performed by the prototype. During October 1936, production of the SM.79 formally commenced. Initially, focus was given to producing civil aircraft while military variants continued to be developed; as such, there were a pair of principal commercial variants produced as well, these being the speed focused SM.79C (C standing for race) and the long range SM.79T (T for Transatlantic). Aircraft amongst these variants participated in various early record setting attempts during 1937 and 1938. In light of opinions amongst prospective export customers of the desirability of a nose mounted gun position (impossible due to the nose mounted third engine), Savoia Marchetti commenced work on the design of a two engined model of the type, known as the SM.79B. This model, which featured a redesigned nose section that incorporated the bomb aimer's position and an elevated position for the pilot, along with a single movable machine gun, performed its first flight during 1936. In addition to the manufacturing activity performed by Savoia Marchetti, in order to meet demand for the type, an Italian subcontractor in the form of Aeronautica Umbra, based in Foligno, also produced the type. Manufacturing of the type continued until June 1943, during which a total of 1,217 aircraft were completed, many of which were completed to bomber, torpedo bomber, and transport configurations. Aviation author Bill Gunston described the SM.79 as being by far the most important Italian offensive warplane of the Second World War, and one of the very few Italian aircraft to be produced in substantial quantities.

The SM.79 was a cantilever low wing monoplane trimotor, with a retractable taildragger undercarriage. The fuselage used a welded tubular steel frame structure, which was covered with duralumin on the forward section, a mixture of duralumin and plywood across the upper fuselage surface, and fabric for all of the other exterior surfaces. Speeds attained were around at , with a relatively low practical ceiling of Cruise speed was at , but the best cruise speed was (60% power). The landing was characterized by a final approach with the slats extended, slowing to with extension of flaps, and finally the run over the field with only needed to land (2,050 rpm, 644 Hg pressure). The SM.79 was typically operated by a crew of five (or a crew of six upon the bomber version). The cockpit was designed for the accommodation of two pilots seated in a side by side configuration. Instrumentation in the central panel included oil and fuel gauges, altimeters for low and high altitude , clock, airspeed and vertical speed indicator, gyroscope, compass, artificial horizon, turn and bank indicator, rev counters and throttles.

The SM.79's performance was considered fairly strong. Its rate of climb was fairly high, it was fairly fast for its time, and was both rugged and responsive enough to allow it to be looped (with care). Its wooden structure was light enough to allow it to stay afloat for up to half an hour in case of water landing, giving the crew ample time to escape, and the front engine offered some protection from anti aircraft fire. With full power available and flaps set for takeoff, the SM.79 could be airborne within before quickly climbing to an altitude of within the space of 3 minutes, in 6 minutes 30 seconds, in 9 minutes 34 seconds, in 13 minutes 2 seconds, and in 17 minutes 43 seconds. The bomber version had 10 separate fuel tanks that had a maximum combined capacity of Endurance when flown at full load was reportedly around 4 hours 30 minutes at an average speed of The maximum ferry range, when flown at its optimal cruise speed, was unconfirmed; in order to reach Addis Ababa with non stop flights from Libya, SM.79s were frequently modified in order to carry more fuel, and were able to fly over The range (not endurance) with payload was around However, in practice, owing to the reduced performance and manoeuvrability of the aircraft when carrying two torpedoes, usually only one was carried. It took over ten years to develop effective torpedo bombing techniques; consequently, with the failure of the SM.84 (its intended successor) and the lack of power of the Ca.314, only the SM.79 continued to serve as a torpedo bomber until 1944, despite trials conducted with many other types of aircraft, including the Fiat G.55S fighter.

Although Italy did not win the prestigious Schneider Trophy, state support for aeronautical feats was maintained as one element of Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini's long term propaganda campaign to promote and win prestige for fascist Italy and his government. Following a pair of initial successes, further Sparvieros received specialised modifications for the purpose of establishing new speed records. The SM.79 prototype I MAGO was modified to carry a payload of of bombs internally, which enabled it to attempt speed records while carrying a payload. On 23 September 1935, it flew for with a load at an average speed of , breaking six separate world records in the process. As on the prototype, the "hump" was not fitted to some of the first production aircraft, these being transformed into performance aircraft, designated as the SM.79CS. One of these aircraft established further records during 1937; powered by an arrangement of three Piaggio P. XI RC.40 engines (providing a combined thrust of ), it averaged over with a payload. This record then improved to , while another SM.79 achieved in the / category. Unofficially, a speed of was later achieved in the same category. A group of five SM.79CSs went on to enter the Paris Damascus–Istres race. I CUPA, I FILU and I BIMU took the first three positions, while the other two were placed sixth and seventh, the latter of which was heavily damaged in Damascus. A pair of Fiat BR.20s had also competed in the same race, but were only able to achieve a joint sixth place (with a SM.79) and an eighth place. Three of the SM.79CSs were modified to increase their endurance, allowing them to traverse the Atlantic Ocean and reach Brazil. On 24 January 1938, the three aircraft took off; 11 hours later, they landed in Dakar, Senegal, where they refuelled before heading for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; on 25 January, two of the three arrived at 22:45 local time. However, one of the aircraft suffered a technical fault, forcing the crew to land at Natal, Northeastern Brazil; this SM.79 remained there for some time, and was eventually donated to the Brazilian Air Force.

The 12° Stormo (Wing) was the first to be equipped with the SM.79, starting in early 1936, and was involved in the initial evaluation of the bomber, which continued throughout 1936. The Wing went operational on 1 May 1936 with the SM.79 successfully completing torpedo launches from a target distance of in August 1936. The torpedo bomber variant was much more unstable and harder to control than the civilian version (and much less precise than its successor, the SM.81). Its capabilities were still being explored when the Spanish Civil War broke out, and a number of SM.79s were dispatched to support the Nationalists. Following its service in the Spanish Civil War, the Sparviero came into use with 111° and 8° Wing. By the end of 1939, there were 388 Sparvieros in Italian service, spread across 11 wings that were either partially or totally equipped with this aircraft. The type also participated in the Italian occupation of Albania during autumn 1939. By the beginning of the Second World War, a total of 612 aircraft had been delivered, making the Sparviero the most numerous bomber in the whole of the Regia Aereonautica, assigned to a total of 14 wings (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 41 and 46).

The SM.79 saw action for the first time when serving with the Aviazione Legionaria, an Italian unit sent to assist Franco's Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. The Sparviero started its operational service at the end of 1936 when 8° Stormo B. T. (Bombardamento Tattico), with Gruppi XXVII° and XXVIII°, under the command of Tenente Colonnello Riccardo Seidl, was sent to Spain. Deployed to the Balearic Islands, the unit was named "Falchi delle Baleari" (Balearic Falcons) and operated over Catalonia and the main cities of eastern Spain, attacking the Second Spanish Republic, killing 2,700 civilians and injuring more than 7,000. During the three years of the civil conflict, in excess of 100 SM.79s served as bombers for the Aviazione Legionaria, of these, only four were recorded as being lost in combat.

The SM.79 began to lose its reputation for invulnerability when RAF Gloster Gladiators and Hawker Hurricanes were encountered over the fortress island Malta, at the centre of the Mediterranean, in June 1940. A Sparviero had the dubious honour of being the first aircraft to fall on Maltese soil during the Second World War: on 10 July 1940, an estimated twenty SM.79s without escort arrived to bomb the dockyard, Manoel Island, Tarxien and Żabbar. They were attacked by British Gladiators; during the ensuing engagement, one bomber, piloted by Sottotenente Felice Filippi from 195a Squadriglia, 90° Gruppo, 30° Stormo Bombardamento Terrestre, came down in flames just behind the Knight's watchtower east of Fort San Leonardo. The air victory was credited to Flying Officer Frederick Taylor. At least one Italian bailed out, but his parachute was on fire and he did not survive.

A small number of SM.79s saw service in Ethiopia; according to Apostolo, it was the most advanced aircraft to be deployed to the theatre by either side. On the western side of Italian East Africa, at Diredawa, 6a and 7a Squadriglie of 44° Gruppo operated twelve SM.79s each. Italy also had six SM.79s as part of the reserve forces but two of them were under repair. The Sparviero was the only type present that had not participated in the Second Italo Abyssinian War. The SM.79s of Italian East Africa first saw action on 13 June 1940, when nine of them took off from Diredawa to attack Aden. The SM.79 flown by Sottotenente Ruffini was hit by anti aircraft fire from a British warship and crashed. Two Gloster Gladiators then intercepted the remaining bombers; Pilot Officer Stephenson's Gladiator attacked the Sparviero of Capitano Serafini, which had been damaged by anti aircraft fire, but the Gladiator was hit by the SM.79's dorsal gunner, forcing it to crash land. Serafini managed to land at Assab, but his aircraft was a write off; another Savoia Marchetti was damaged, but landed at the same base. These few aircraft were later reinforced by others which were modified to fly at an economical speed over Sudan for the hazardous ferry flight of over They could not, however, do much to help Italian forces in Ethiopia, which were forced to surrender in spring 1941. The same period saw the five Iraqi SM.79Bs and the 45 SM.79Ks in Yugoslavian service unable to mount a successful defence in either Iraq or Yugoslavia. During the North African campaign, around 100 SM.79s served in 10, 14, 15 and 30 Wings, bombing mainly non strategic targets in the desert. The British offensive in December hit the Regia Aeronautica hard and many wings (a total of nine by May 1941) were phased out because of losses caused by enemy aircraft and ground fire. (the remains were still there in 2003). At the beginning of 1941 only around 40 SM.79s were still present in Libya, and by the end of 1941 only one operational squadron remained. In the Second Battle of El Alamein, many Sparvieros were used for defensive tasks, such as countering SAS teams in the desert, and in anti ship roles. From autumn 1940, SM.79s were used against the Kingdom of Greece, then Yugoslavia. They continued to be hampered in their operations by the Royal Air Force, but also by poor weather conditions. Over the Mediterranean, the Sparvieros were used in reconnaissance missions and anti ship attacks.

On 25 July 1940, the Sparviero formally commenced service as a torpedo bomber (Aerosilurante in Italian) as a new operational unit, the "Special Aerotorpedoes Unit" (headed by Colonel Moioli), was established following several years of experiments involving the type. After having ordered the first 50 torpedoes from Whitehead Torpedo Works, on 10 August 1940, the first aircraft landed at T5 airfield, near Tobruk. Despite the lack of an aiming system and a specific doctrine for tactics, an attack on shipping in Alexandria was quickly organized. There had been experiments for many years but still, no service, no gear (except hardpoints) and no tactics were developed for the new role. This was despite previous Italian experiments into the practice of aerial torpedoing in 1914, 26 years earlier. On 15 August 1940, the type's first combat sortie saw five SM.79s that had been modified and prepared for the task dispatched to El Adem airfield. Among their pilots were Buscaglia, Dequal and other pilots destined to become "aces." The journey was made at an altitude of and after two hours, at 21:30, they arrived over Alexandria and began attacking ships, but unsuccessfully. The departure airport had only of runway for takeoff, so two of the fuel tanks were left empty to reduce weight, giving an endurance of five hours for a 4.33 hour journey. Only Buscaglia and Dequal returned, both aircraft damaged by anti aircraft fire. Buscaglia landed on only one wheel, with some other damage. The other three SM.79s, attacking after the first two, were hindered by a fierce anti aircraft defence and low clouds and returned to their base without releasing their torpedoes. However, all three ran out of fuel and were forced to jettison the torpedoes which exploded in the desert, and then force landed three hours after the attack. Two crews were rescued later, but the third (Fusco's) was still in Egypt when they force landed. The crew set light to their aircraft the next morning, which alerted the British who then captured them. These failures were experienced within a combat radius of only about , in clear contrast with the glamorous performances of the racer Sparvieros just a few years before. In April many successes were recorded by SM.79s of the 281a and 280a Squadriglie. They sank two merchant ships, heavily damaged the British cruiser (rendering her out of service for nine months for repair and refit) and later also sank the F class destroyer However, one SM.79 was shot down north west of Gozo on 3 June, landing in the sea and staying afloat for some time. Further Italian successes came in August, when the light cruiser was damaged. The large merchant ship SS Imperial Star (12,427 GRT)) was damaged by an SM.79 on 27 September during Operation Halberd which resupplied Malta; unable to tow it to Malta it was scuttled by HMS Oribi. In the same Operation the battleship was torpedoed and damaged by a SM.79 which in turn was shot down. The 130° and 132° Gruppi were also active during the autumn. On 24 October, they sank the merchant vessels and , on 23 November they sank the merchant vessels Glenearn and Xhakdina, and on 11 December they heavily damaged Jackal. The year ended with a total of nine Allied ships sunk and 30 damaged; for 14 torpedo bombers lost and another 46 damaged in action. This was the best year for the Italian torpedo bombers and also the year when the SM.84, the SM.79's successor was introduced. Overall, these numbers meant little in the war, and almost no other results were recorded by Italian bombers. Horizontal bombing proved to be a failure and only dive bombers and torpedo bombers achieved some results. Most of the major British ships lost were due to U boat attacks, with the damaging of , and the sinking of and , whereas the most significant success of Italian torpedo bombers were the damaging of HMS Nelson and of some cruisers. After the Raid on Alexandria by Italian frogmen of Decima MAS, the British fleet was left without major ships in their Mediterranean fleet, leaving the Axis better situated to control the sea. August saw heavy attacks on the 14 merchant ships and 44 major warships of the Operation Pedestal convoy, the second Allied attempt to resupply Malta past Axis bombers, minefields and U boats. Nine of the merchant ships and four of the warships were sunk, and others were damaged, but only the destroyer and the merchant ship MV Deucalion were sunk by Italian torpedo bombers. Although damaged, the tanker , a key part of the convoy, was towed into Grand Harbour to deliver the vital fuel on 15 August 1942 to enable Malta to continue functioning as an important Allied base, a major Allied strategic success. By winter 1942, in contrast to Operation Torch, 9 December was a successful day when four SM.79s sank a Flower class corvette and a merchant ship, with the loss of one aircraft. Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia, another prominent member of the Italian torpedo airforce who was credited with over 90,718 tonnes (100,000 tons) of enemy shipping sunk, was shot down the day after saying "We will probably all be dead before Christmas". The risks of attempting to overcome the effective defences of allied ships were too great to expect much chance of long term survival, but he was later rescued from the water, badly wounded. On 18 November, the light cruiser was torpedoed and badly damaged during Operation Stone Age. Despite the increased activity in 1942, the results were considerably poorer than those of the previous year; the efforts made by the bombers were subject to heavy criticism and widely deemed to have been insufficient. Many debated the possibilities of torpedo manufacturing defects or even sabotage: the first 30 used in 1940 had excellent reliability, but a number of later torpedoes were found to be defective, especially those made at the Naples factory. During Operation Harpoon, over 100 torpedoes were launched, but only three of these had hit their targets.

Prior to 1943, the survival chances of the Aerosiluranti had diminished steadily: on average, a SM.79 would be shot down after just three missions. The year opened with attacks against Allied shipping off North Africa, during which they were unable to accomplish many successes. During July, the Allies invaded Sicily with an immense fleet. The Sparvieri were already obsolete and phased out of service in bomber Wings and its intended successors, the SM.84 and Z.1007, were considered to be failures, while the latter were not produced in enough numbers. As a consequence, the latest version of the Sparviero was retained for performing torpedo attacks, being considerably faster than its predecessors. Before the invasion, there was a large force of torpedo aircraft: 7 Gruppi (groups), 41, 89, 104, 108, 130, 131 and 132nd equipped with dozens of aircraft, but this was nevertheless a weak force. Except for the 104th, based around the Aegean Sea, the other six Gruppi comprised just 61 aircraft, with only 22 serviceable. Almost all the available machines were sent to the Raggruppamento Aerosiluranti, but of the 44 aircraft, only a third were considered flight worthy by 9 July 1943. Production of new SM.79s continued to fall behind and up to the end of July only 37 SM.79s and 39 SM.84s were delivered. Despite the use of an improved engine, capable of a maximum speed of , these machines were unable to cope with the difficult task of resisting the invasion. They were too large to allow them to evade detection by enemy defences, and their large aircrew requirement resulted in heavy losses of personnel. In the first five days SM.79s performed 57 missions, at night only, and failed to achieve any results, with the loss of seven aircraft. Another three aircraft were lost on 16 July 1943 in a co ordinated attack with German forces on , which was hit and put out of combat for many months. SM.79s were not equipped with radar, so the attacks had to be performed visually, hopefully aided by moonlight, while the Allies had ship borne radar and interceptor aircraft. On 8 September, when the Armistice with Italy was announced, the Regia Aeronautica had no fewer than 61 SM.79s, of which 36 were operational. Following the signing of the Armistice, the SM.79s based in southern Italy (34 altogether) were used by the Italian Co Belligerent Air Force as transport aircraft in support of the Allies; those that remained in the North (believed to number roughly 36 aircraft) continued to fight along German forces as part of the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana or were incorporated into the Luftwaffe. A small number of SM.79s remained in service in the post war Aeronautica Militare, where they served as passenger transports into the early 1950s.

Throughout the conflict, SM.79s were credited with the sinking of a number of Allied warships, including the destroyer HMS Fearless on 23 July 1941, the destroyer HMS Bedouin on 15 June 1942, the destroyer HMAS Nestor on 16 June 1942, the destroyer HMS Foresight on 13 August 1942, the sloop HMS Ibis on 10 November 1942, the corvette HMS Marigold on 9 December 1942, the auxiliary anti aircraft ship HMS Pozarica on 29 January 1943. Additionally, several more Allied warships were torpedoed and suffered serious damage as a result of attacks by the SM.79s. These included the heavy cruiser HMS Kent on 18 September 1940, the light cruiser HMS Liverpool twice, on 8 October 1940 and on 14 June 1942, the light cruiser HMS Glasgow on 7 December 1940, the light cruiser HMS Manchester on 23 July 1941, the light cruiser HMS Phoebe on 27 August 1941, the battleship HMS Nelson on 23 September 1941, the light cruiser HMS Arethusa on 18 November 1942, and the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable on 16 July 1943.

During 1942, General Ferdinando Raffaelli reportedly came up with the idea of packing an SM.79 with explosives and a radio control device. On 12 August 1942, as the Operation Pedestal convoy was steaming off the Algerian coast, a SM.79 drone, a Z.1007bis guide plane and an escort of five FIAT G.50 fighters flew out to intercept it. Once the pilot of the SM.79 had set his aircraft on a course toward the Allied ships he bailed out, leaving the Z.1007bis crew to guide the flying bomb the rest of the way by radio. Historians have generally accepted that this incident was an accident.

Favourable reports of the type's reliability and performance during the Spanish Civil War led to the 1938 Kingdom of Yugoslavia's order of 45 aircraft generally similar to the SM.79 I variant, designated the SM.79K. They were delivered to Yugoslavia in 1939, but most were destroyed during the 1941 Axis invasion by their crews or by advancing Axis forces. During several sorties against German and Italian forces they managed some success in Kačanik Gorge. Some of these aircraft escaped to Greece, carrying King Peter Karadjordjevic and his entourage. A few survived, one to be pressed into service with the pro Axis forces of the NDH, and four which became AX702 AX705 in the RAF.

A number of twin engined versions were sold to Brazil (three with Alfa Romeo 128 RC.18 engines) and Iraq (four with Fiat A.80 RC.14 engines).

While the SM.79 was often considered overall to be a relatively sturdy and well developed aircraft, the type had experienced their share of misfortune. In Spain, SM.79 MM.28 16 (with a total crew of 17) was destroyed in the air on 12 April 1938, when one of its bombs detonated in the bomb bay. MM.28 25 (again with a crew of 17) was lost when another SM.79 damaged by anti aircraft guns collided with it on 23 March. A further SM.79, MM.28 16 was damaged by an anti aircraft shell, and landed with dead and wounded on board (4 January 1939). On 30 June 1939 two of the aircraft, 13 6 and 13 7, both carrying a full fuel load, collided and crashed, with the entire crew of nine killed on impact. At the beginning of World War II, on 13 June 1940, six Sparvieri of 9° Stormo (Wing) bombed Ghisonaccia airfield, in Corsica, but one was shot down by anti aircraft guns and became the first Sparviero downed in World War II. The 9° Stormo continued to suffer heavy losses in Africa. Initially used to harass light forces operating in the desert, the Sparvieros were subsequently sent against the British advanced columns in Operation Compass. On 16 December 1940, six Sparvieros were sent over As Sallum to counter enemy armoured units, but before they could reach their target, three of the lead section were shot down with the loss of 16 men, including Commander Mario Aramu. The wing was put out of action and the personnel were sent back to Italy aboard the RM Città di Messina, but on 14 January 1941 the ship was sunk by submarine , with the loss of 432 men, including 53 members of the 9°. The wing was later re formed with Z.1007s. 9–11 July 1940: Battle of Calabria, one SM.79 (38th Gruppo) was downed by a Blackburn Skua of On 11 July, another SM.79 (90th Gruppo) was downed by a Gloster Sea Gladiator of 1 August 1940: an SM.79 was shot down by a Skua from Ark Royal. This was General Stefano Cagna's aircraft. 2 September, Operation Hats: the new Fairey Fulmar fighters based on downed a 41° Stormo SM.79. 4 September: another SM.79 (34th Gruppo) was downed by Fulmars. 12–14 October 1940, Operation MW 2: two SM.79 (36° Stormo) were downed by Fulmars from Illustrious. 10 January 1941, Battle of Taranto: a single Fulmar from Illustrious downed two SM.79s of 30° Stormo. 20–22 April 1941: one SM.79 (278ª Squadriglia, torpedo unit) was shot down on the 21st, another, from 34° Gruppo was shot down the next day, by Fulmars from
8 May 1941, Operation Tiger: two SM.79s (38°Gruppo) were downed by the Ark Royals Fulmars
21–25 July 1941, Operation Substance: 23 July, one SM.79 (38th) and two (283rd) torpedo bombers and on the 25th, one SM.79 (89th Gruppo) were shot down, all by Fulmars from Ark Royal. 12–17 June 1942, Operation Harpoon: Fulmars and Sea Hurricanes downed four SM.79s of 36° Stormo (torpedo bombers) on 14 June. On 15 June another SM.79 (52° Gruppo) was shot down. 10–15 August 1942, Operation Pedestal: two SM.79s (109° and 132° Gruppo) were downed on 12 August. The total number of reconnaissance, bomber and torpedo bombers downed in these two years by naval fighters was, not counting aircraft heavily damaged and eventually lost, 24 aircraft, 2% of total production. A major safety issue in the operation of the SM.79 was the difference between the calculated and effective range figures, which led to several mishaps. Two accidents highlight the deficiencies in range of the Sparvieros. One such incident befell the ferry flight of 27th Gruppo. This unit was transferred from Alghero to North Africa. The 16 Sparvieros took off at 11:50 of 4 April 1941, but one of the eight aircraft of the 18ª Squadriglia in the first wave had an accident and crashed on the airport strip. The other eight from 52ª Squadriglia could only take off 40 minutes later, while the first seven circled over the airfield. The 15 Sparvieros flew together until reaching Misurata, but the 18th squadriglia had flown for much longer and was short of fuel. Subsequently, its SM.79s crashed one after the other with only two landing safely. At least two were completely destroyed, and three damaged. On that day, on a simple ferry flight of 1,100 km, the 18th lost five Sparvieros and at least one crew, with many wounded. The flight of 52ª Sq lasted for 4 hours and 45 mins but 18ª Sq flew for 5h and 15 mins, without any payload, at an average speed of only 210 km/h.

Another such incident involved MM.23881 of the 278th, which took off from Berka on 21 April 1941, piloted by Captain Oscar Cimolini, with the intention of searching for enemy shipping near Crete. After an attack around 20:00 hours, it began the trip back to its base. The crew became disoriented and, unable to communicate due to a broken radio, missed their airfield in bad weather conditions. Exhausting their fuel supply the aircraft made a forced landing some away from its base. Some of the crew of six had suffered some injuries, but at least one crew member was able to leave to search for help. He walked for over in the desert, was overcome and died only eight kilometres from the Jalo–Giarabub road, where his remains were found by chance in 1960. Subsequent searches found the still largely intact SM.79 on 5 October 1960. The skeleton of one crew member (probably the pilot) was found still inside the cockpit; two more bodies were found outside the wreck. The other two crew members were never found; the finding of an additional clock on Romanini's body indicated that at least another crewman had accompanied him through the desert, but had died earlier on the march.