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.

The production aircraft was designated the M.5 and like the prototypes was powered by a single Isotta Fraschini V.4B engine in pusher configuration.

Late production aircraft had a more powerful Isotta Fraschini V.6 engine and redesigned wingtip floats, they were designated M.5 mod.

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.

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 Charles Hammann, an enlisted pilot at the time, received the first Medal of Honor awarded to a United States naval aviator.