Spotlight
68 FLYPAST December 2018
Artwork
Flying Macchi M.39
MM.76, Maj Mario
de Bernardi won the
Schneider Trophy
in Hampton Roads,
Virginia in November- ANDY HAY-2018
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T
he handsomely styled
Macchi M.39 was
designed by Mario
Castoldi to compete in
the Schneider Trophy. The aircraft
brought home the top prize in
1926 with World War One fighter
pilot Major Mario de Bernardi at
the controls.
A thoroughbred competition
aircraft, just five airworthy M.39s
were built, two of those as trainers.
Because the Schneider Trophy
race course – held that year at
Hampton Roads, Virginia, US –
featured numerous sharp left turns,
Castoldi paid particular attention to
maximising speed within the turn.
The resulting aircraft was the first
low wing monoplane its designer had
drawn up for Macchi, and featured
floats which also served as fuel tanks.The M.39 programme was
not without setbacks. The first
to fly – trainer MM.72 – did
so successfully on July 6, 1926,
but on September 16 that year
another of the trainers
crashed into Italy’s Lake
Varese, claiming the life of
its pilot. Nevertheless,
on November 13, de
Bernardi flew our subject
MM.76 to victory in the
US, also setting a new world
speed record for seaplanes of
246.497mph (396.698km/h).
Four days later he went faster
still, reaching 258.874mph
over the 1.9 mile Hampton
Roads course. Today, MM.76 is
preserved at the Italian Air Force
Museum at Vigna di Valle in
central Italy.Schneider
Trophy
low wing monoplane its designer hadnot without setbacks. The first
to fly – trainer MM.72 – did
so successfully on July 6, 1926,
but on September 16 that year
another of the trainers
crashed into Italy’s Lake
Varese, claiming the life of
its pilot. Nevertheless,
on November 13, de
Bernardi flew our subject
MM.76 to victory in the
US, also setting a new world
speed record for seaplanes of
246.497mph (396.698km/h).
Four days later he went faster
still, reaching 258.874mph
over the 1.9 mile Hampton
Roads course. Today, MM.76 is
preserved at the Italian Air Force
Museum at Vigna di Valle in
central Italy.he handsomely styled
Macchi M.39 wasThe M.39 programme was
not without setbacks. The firstCorsaCorsa
Rosso
Artist Andy Hay pro les the trophy-winning Macchi
M.39 racing seaplane