Macchi M.15

The Macchi M.15 was an Italian reconnaissance aircraft, bomber and trainer, designed by Alessandro Tonini and Piero Bergonzi and built by Macchi.

Macchi M.15
Role	Reconnaissance aircraft, bomber, and trainer
National origin	Italy
Manufacturer	Macchi
Designer	Ing Alessandro Tonini and Ing Piero Bergonzi
First flight	1918
Primary user	Italy
Produced	1918-1922
Number built	20

Design and development

The M.15, which first flew in 1922, was a two-seat biplane with wings of unequal span, its upper wing being of wider span than its lower wing. Its interplane struts were inclined in a "V" configuration. Its 238-kilowatt (320-horsepower) Fiat A.12 engine drove a two-bladed propeller in a tractor configuration and gave it a top speed of 185 kilometers per hour (115 miles per hour). It had fixed landing gear.^[1] The Macchi M.15bis was a three-seat passenger transport with similar attributes to the M.15 that appeared from 1922.^[2] No more than 20 examples of both were built.

Operators

Kingdom of Italy

• Regia Aeronautica

Specifications (M.15)

Data from ^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: two
• Length: 8.57 m (28 ft 1.4 in)
• Wingspan: 13.47 m (44 ft 2.3 in)
• Height: 3.37 m (11 ft 0.67 in)
• Wing area: 42.00 m² (452.07 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 1,230 kg (2,712 lb)
• Gross weight: 1,743 kg (3,843 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Fiat A.12 , 238 kW (320 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 185 km/h (115 mph, 100 kn)
• Range: 600 km (373 mi, 324 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,685 ft)

Armament

• 2 x 7.65-millimeter (0.312-inch) machine guns

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Aero A.11
• Letov Š-6

Related lists

• List of Interwar military aircraft