| Macchi M.26 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Flying boat fighter |
| National origin | Italy |
| Manufacturer | Macchi |
| Designer | Mario Castoldi (1888-1968) |
| First flight | 1924 |
| Primary user | Italy |
| Number built | 2 |
The Macchi M.26 was an Italian flying boat fighter prototype of 1924 designed and manufactured by Macchi.
In 1924, the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) issued a requirement for a replacement for its Macchi M.7ter flying boat fighter. To compete with the SIAI S.58 for a production order as the replacement, Macchi company designer Mario Castoldi (1888-1968) developed the M.26. It was a wooden, single-seat, single-bay biplane armed with two fixed, forward-firing 7.7-millimeter (0.303-inch) Vickers machine guns. It had plywood and fabric skinning, and its wings were of equal span and unstaggered. The M.26's engine, a 221-kilowatt (296-brake horsepower) Hispano-Suiza HS 42 V8 driving a pusher propeller, was mounted on struts above the hull and below the upper wing. For an aircraft of its type, its aerodynamic design was very clean.[1]
The M.26 was completed in 1924 and made its first flight that year, demonstrating good performance. Macchi built two prototypes, but the Regia Marina[2] opted to save money by re-engining the Macchi M.7ter to extend its service life rather than purchase a new aircraft, and Macchi received no production orders for the M.26. However, a few years later Macchi based the design of its M.41 fighter on that of the M.26.[3]
Data from Green, William, and Gordon Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Aircraft Built and Flown, New York: SMITHMARK Publishers, 1994, ISBN 0-8317-3939-8
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Notes:
