Savoia-Marchetti S.55

what is it?

The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 is a twin-engine twin-hull monoplane flying boat designed and produced by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Savoia-Marchetti. It filled both commercial and military roles. The S.55 first flew in August 1924 and S.55s were soon setting records for speed, payload, altitude and range, and they made a number of successful high profile Atlantic crossings, including the first mass formation crossings.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 24 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 205 km/htop speed
• range 1,200 kmwithout refuelling
• size 8,260 kgmax take-off weight
• built 243made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 102 years ago, in 1924.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 24 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,200 km: 7× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1924-08

introduced

1926

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

243

role

flying boat

origin

🇮🇹 Italy

makers

SIAI-Marchetti

engines

2× Isotta Fraschini Asso 500

crew

3

length

16.5 m

wingspan

24 m

height

5 m

max take-off weight

8,260 kg

top speed

205 km/h

cruise speed

233 km/h

range

1,200 km

ceiling

5,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.