[2] The SM.79 was easily recognizable due to its fuselage's distinctive dorsal "hump", and was reportedly well liked by its crews, who nicknamed it il gobbo maledetto ("damned hunchback").

[4] As such, the SM.79 quickly came to be regarded as an item of national prestige in Fascist Italy, attracting significant government support and often being deployed as an element of state propaganda.

While some problems were identified, and in some cases resolved, the SM.79's performance during the Spanish deployment was encouraging and stimulated demand for the type, including a decision to adopt it as the backbone of Italy's bomber units.

[7][9] The high performance demonstrated by the prototype attracted the attention of the Italian military, which approached Savoia-Marchetti with a request to investigate the prospects for producing a bomber version of the type.

The engines fitted to the main bomber version were three 582 kW (780 hp) Alfa Romeo 126 RC.34 radials, equipped with variable-pitch, all-metal three-bladed propellers.

Its wooden structure was light enough to allow it to stay afloat for up to half an hour in case of water landing, giving the crew ample time to escape, and the front engine offered some protection from anti aircraft fire.

[18] Three of these were 12.7 mm (0.5 in) guns, two of which were positioned in the dorsal "hump", with the forward one (with 300 rounds) fixed at an elevation of 15°, and the other manoeuvrable with 60° pivotal movement in the horizontal, and 0–70° in the vertical plane.

[18] This Lewis gun was later replaced by two 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Bredas in the waist mounts, which were more reliable and faster firing (900 rounds/min instead of 500), even though there was only sufficient room in the fuselage for one man to operate them.

[citation needed] By the Second World War, however, the Sparviero's vulnerability to newer fighters was significant, and it lost the reputation for near-invulnerability that it had gained over Spain.

[25] It took over ten years to develop effective torpedo-bombing techniques; consequently, with the failure of the SM.84 (its intended successor) and the lack of power of the Ca.314, only the SM.79 continued to serve as a torpedo bomber until 1944, despite trials conducted with many other types of aircraft, including the Fiat G.55S fighter.

One of these aircraft established further records during 1937; powered by an arrangement of three Piaggio P.XI RC.40 engines (providing a combined thrust of 2,237 kW (3,000 hp)), it averaged 423.618 km/h (263.224 mph) over 1,000 km (620 mi) with a 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) payload.

[32][28] On 26 April 1937, three SM.79 took part in the bombing of Basque town of Guernica, carried out with the Nazi German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion, at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction.

[33] The SM.79 began to lose its reputation for invulnerability when RAF Gloster Gladiators and Hawker Hurricanes were encountered over the fortress-island Malta, at the centre of the Mediterranean, in June 1940.

[34] A Sparviero had the dubious honour of being the first aircraft to fall on Maltese soil during the Second World War: on 10 July 1940, an estimated twenty SM.79s without escort arrived to bomb the dockyard, Manoel Island, Tarxien and Żabbar.

They were attacked by British Gladiators; during the ensuing engagement, one bomber, piloted by Sottotenente Felice Filippi from 195a Squadriglia, 90° Gruppo, 30° Stormo Bombardamento Terrestre, came down in flames just behind the Knight's watchtower east of Fort San Leonardo.

The British offensive in December hit the Regia Aeronautica hard and many wings (a total of nine by May 1941) were phased out because of losses caused by enemy aircraft and ground fire.

The last success of this squadron was at Souda Bay, Crete, when Buscaglia damaged another cruiser, HMS Glasgow, despite the anti-torpedo netting surrounding the ship, sending it out of commission for nine months while repairs were made.

[47] August saw heavy attacks on the 14 merchant ships and 44 major warships of the Operation Pedestal convoy, the second Allied attempt to resupply Malta past Axis bombers, minefields and U-boats.

Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia, another prominent member of the Italian torpedo-airforce who was credited with over 90,718 tonnes (100,000 tons) of enemy shipping sunk, was shot down the day after saying "We will probably all be dead before Christmas".

The risks of attempting to overcome the effective defences of allied ships were too great to expect much chance of long-term survival, but he was later rescued from the water, badly wounded.

Despite the increased activity in 1942, the results were considerably poorer than those of the previous year; the efforts made by the bombers were subject to heavy criticism and widely deemed to have been insufficient.

[46] The Gruppo Buscaglia suffered heavy losses on 4 April, when 13 unescorted SM.79s, during a ferry flight from Lonate Pozzolo to Perugia, were bounced by P-47s: five Sparvieri were shot down and 27 crew members were killed.

They had enhanced engines, armoured shields for the lateral machine guns, an additional 1,000 L (264 US gal) fuel tank in the bomb bay, and had the bombardier's nacelle removed.

Even these modifications could not provide sufficient range to achieve the necessary distance that the mission required, and so all weapons except one were removed, one member of crew was left behind, and the fuel load was increased to 5,000 L (1,320 US gal).

[57][56] Another proposal suggested using a parasite Macchi C.202 coupled with a SM.79 or A.R.4 in an arrangement similar to the German Mistel, but with the fighter remotely guiding the bomber to its target.

Among the men who became famous through serving in the Regia Aeronautica, the Sparviero crews became even more renowned than fighter aces because of the initial records set, the successful raids in Spain, especially those made by the "Green Mice" (I sorci verdi), and the torpedo missions carried out during the war which became the subject of fascist propaganda.

Among the men famous for serving in Sparvieri were: Favourable reports of the type's reliability and performance during the Spanish Civil War led to the 1938 Kingdom of Yugoslavia's order of 45 aircraft generally similar to the SM.79-I variant, designated the SM.79K.

[59] During 1937, the Romanian government decided to place an order for 24 twin-engined SM.79B bombers, fitted with 746 kW (1,000 hp) Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major 14K radial engines.

On 16 December 1940, six Sparvieros were sent over As Sallum to counter enemy armoured units, but before they could reach their target, three of the lead section were shot down with the loss of 16 men, including Commander Mario Aramu.

The wing was put out of action and the personnel were sent back to Italy aboard the RM Città di Messina, but on 14 January 1941 the ship was sunk by submarine HMS Regent, with the loss of 432 men, including 53 members of the 9°.