AKL-201704 AviaCollection / AviaKollektsia series 04/2017: Savoia-Marchetti SM.62, S.62BIS and MBR-4 Flying Boats. Photos, schemes, colour pictures. 32 pages, soft cover, text in Russian.

The plane proved to be stable and well controlled. On December 9, pilots Passaleva and Pescatori took off with various loads. The next day, the maximum and minimum speeds were determined, as well as the rate of climb at different altitudes. The flights had to be interrupted due to an identified oil leak from the engine. On December 20, they began to determine the take-off and landing characteristics, but they could not be fully established due to the worsening weather.On December 30, Passaleva took off from 1000 kg of cargo and flew 1000 km with it, reaching an average speed of 166.4 km / h - a world record for aircraft of this class. In the same flight, he covered 500 km at a speed of 190.6 km / h and 100 km - 194.2 km / h, which was also counted as two world records.Then the S.62 was piloted by pilots Passaleva and Bernotti. Factory tests were completed on January 11, 1927. Then the flying boat was transferred to the Air Force test center in Viña di Valle. In Italy then, as in the Soviet Union, naval aviation was part of the Air Force. The military assigned the vehicle the registration number MM 92 (according to other sources - MM 114). There, two turrets were installed on the plane.In Viña di Valle, the Marchetti plane was compared with the flying boat CANT 21 - another wooden biplane for the same Asso 500 engine. The armament is the same, two 7.69-mm machine guns. The CANT 21 had a similar layout to the S.62, being slightly smaller and lighter. As a result, this plane slightly won in speed and climb rate, but was inferior in practical ceiling and payload. For example, the S.62 showed a top speed of 200 km / h, and the CANT 21 - 203 km / h.On March 19, 1927, two seaplanes, piloted by pilots Passaleva and Vakula, competed in the climb with a load of 1000 kg. Passaleva climbed 5100 m on S.62, setting another world record.But in parallel with the work on the S.62, Marchetti upgraded the S.59, using the same moto setup with the Asso 500 engine. The increase in thrust made it possible to significantly improve flight performance and add bomb armament. Plane. named S.59bis, now it could be used not only as a naval reconnaissance aircraft, but also as a light bomber with a load of up to 280 kg. Flying boats S.62 and CANT 21 were "clean" scouts. The new modification really liked the command of the Italian Air Force, and after official tests it was accepted into service. Large orders were issued for this machine, which exceeded the production capabilities of SIAI, and the CANT and Makki factories also began to build it. Until 1930, they produced 182 aircraft, which were also exported to Argentina and Romania.