Macchi M.5

{{Short description|Italian flying boat fighter}}  {{Infobox aircraft | name = Macchi M.5 | logo = | logo_size = | image = Macchi M.5.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Single-seat fighter flying boat | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = Italy | manufacturer = [[Aermacchi|Nieuport-Macchi]] | design_group = | designer = | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = Italian Navy Aviation | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 244 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = 1917 | retired = | first_flight = 1917 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = }}

[[File:Macchi M.5 front quarter above.jpg|thumb]] [[File:MACCHI-M5.jpg|thumb|Replica M.5]] The '''Macchi M.5''' was an Italian single-seat [[Fighter aircraft|fighter]] [[flying boat]] designed and built by [[Nieuport-Macchi]] at Varese. It was extremely manoeuvrable and agile and matched the land-based aircraft it had to fight.<ref name="Orbis 1985, page 2393">Orbis 1985, page 2393</ref>

==Development== The first [[prototype]] of a single-seat [[Biplane|sesquiplane]] fighter was the '''Type M''' which first flew in 1917. Developed by engineers Buzio and Calzavera it had a single-step hull and an open [[cockpit]] forward of the wings and was similar to the earlier [[Macchi M.3]]. It was followed by another prototype with a revised tail unit designated the '''Ma''' and further developed as the '''M bis''' and '''Ma bis'''. The production aircraft was designated the M.5 and like the prototypes was powered by a single [[Isotta Fraschini V.4|Isotta Fraschini V.4B]] engine in [[pusher configuration]]. Deliveries soon commenced in the summer of 1917 to the ''Aviazione per la Regia Marina'' (Italian Navy Aviation). Late production aircraft had a more powerful [[Isotta Fraschini V.6]] engine and redesigned wingtip floats, they were designated '''M.5 mod'''. Macchi produced 200 aircraft and another 44 were built by ''Società Aeronautica Italiana''.

==Operational history== During [[World War I]], the M.5 was operated by five Italian [[maritime patrol]] squadrons as a fighter and [[convoy]] escort, and some were embarked on the ''[[Regia Marina]]'' [[seaplane carrier]] ''[[Giuseppe Miraglia]]''. Towards the end of World War I, M.5 aircraft were flown by both [[United States Navy]] and [[United States Marine Corps]] airmen. For his actions while flying an M.5 over the [[Adriatic Sea]] off the coast of [[Austria-Hungary]] on 21 August 1918, U.S. Navy [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] [[Charles Hammann]], an enlisted pilot at the time, received the first [[Medal of Honor]] awarded to a United States [[naval aviator]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/macchi5.htm|title = Macchi M.5}}</ref>

In 1923, when the ''[[Regia Aeronautica]]'' was formed, 65 M.5s were still in service, although they all had been scrapped within a few years.

==Operators== ;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} *[[Regia Marina]] *''[[Corpo Aeronautico Militare]]'' ;{{USA}} *[[United States Navy]] *[[United States Marine Corps]] ;{{flag|Brazil}} *[[Brazilian Navy]] – Twelve Brazilian pilots trained in these aircraft, but the war ended before they could participate it.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

==Specifications (Macchi M.5)== {{Aircraft specs |ref=<ref name="Orbis 1985, page 2393"/> |prime units? = met |crew=one |length m=8.08 |length ft=26 |length in=6 |span m=11.90 |span ft=39 |span in=0.5 |height m=2.85 |height ft=9 |height in=4.5 |wing area sqm=28 |wing area sqft=301.4 |empty weight kg=720 |empty weight lb=1,587 |gross weight kg=990 |gross weight lb=2,183 |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=[[Isotta Fraschini V.4|Isotta Fraschini V.4B]] inline piston engine |eng1 kw=119 |eng1 hp=160 |max speed kmh=189 |max speed mph=117 |endurance=3 hours 40 minutes |ceiling m=6,200 |ceiling ft=20,340 |armament = *2 × fixed, forward-facing [[.303 British]] (7.7 mm) [[Vickers machine gun]]s }}

==See also== {{aircontent  |see also= |related= |similar aircraft= |lists= *[[List of flying boats and floatplanes]] }}

==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}} *{{cite book |last=Taylor|first=Michael J. H.|title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation|year=1989|publisher=Studio Editions|location=London}} *{{cite book |title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)|publisher= Orbis Publishing}}

[[Category:1910s Italian fighter aircraft]] [[Category:Flying boats]] [[Category:Macchi aircraft|M.05]] [[Category:Sesquiplanes]] [[Category:Single-engined pusher aircraft]] [[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1917]]