Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 Pipistrello

Common card · No. 464475

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 Pipistrello (Italian: bat) was the first three-engine bomber–transport aircraft serving in the Italian Regia Aeronautica. When it appeared in 1935, it was fast, well armed and had a long range. It proved effective during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and the Spanish Civil War. Despite being too slow to remain competitive as a bomber in the later years of World War II, it was one of the most flexible, reliable and important aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica from 1935 to 1944, and was adapted to second-line duties in a wide range of tasks.

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