Macchi L.2

Macchi L.2
Role	Biplane flying boat Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Macchi
First flight	January 1916
Introduction	October 1916
Status	retired
Primary user	Italian Navy
Number built	10
Developed from	Macchi L.1

The Macchi L.2 was an Italian biplane flying boat developed from the earlier Macchi L.1, itself a copy of a captured Austrian Lohner flying boat.

Development

In an attempt to improve the performance of the L.1 flying-boat Macchi, the design was improved with a reduced span on the swept biplane wings and a more powerful 119 kW (160 hp) Isotta Fraschini V.4B engine. The L.2 was a three-bay unequal-span biplane flying boat with a two-man crew in side-by-side cockpits. It was powered by a single Isotta Fraschini engine, strut-mounted between the two wings and driving a pusher propeller. It was armed with a single machine gun on a trainable mounting and could also carry four light bombs. Ten L.2s were delivered to the Italian Navy, but they were soon replaced by the newer L.3.

Operators

 Kingdom of Italy

• Italian Navy Aviation

Specifications (L.2)

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985). Orbis Publishing. p. 2392.

General characteristics

• Crew: two
• Gross weight: 1,450 kg (3,197 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Isotta Fraschini V.4B , 119 kW (160 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 140 km/h (87 mph, 76 kn)
• Range: 385 km (239 mi, 208 nmi)

Armament

• 1 × Fiat machine gun
• 4 × light bombs

See also

Related development

• Lohner L
• Macchi M.3

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Donnet-Denhaut flying boat
• FBA Type H

Related lists

• List of flying boats and floatplanes
• List of World War I Entente aircraft

References

Nieuport-MacchiMacchiAermacchiJoint venturesPurchased designs