IMAM (Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali) was an Italian aircraft manufacturer founded in Naples in 1923 by the engineer Nicola Romeo. In 1955 it merged into Aerfer.
On 27 October 1934, Romeo spun off the aircraft business, renamed as the Società Anonima Industrie Aeronautiche Romeo (IAR).[1] The most successful aircraft produced by IAR was the Ro.37 Lince. The first prototype Ro.37 flew in November 1933.[2] In 1935, OFM (the railway workshop) was sold to Società Italiana Ernesto Breda. Romeo later sold Società Anonima Industrie Aeronautiche Romeo to Società Italiana Ernesto Breda, which later became the Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali (IMAM).[1] The new company continued Ro.37 recon biplane, Ro.41fighter biplane, Ro.51 fighter monoplane (land/seaplane versions) and developed Ro.43/44seaplanes, Ro.57/58 twin-engined fighters and STOLRo.63.[3]
An IMAM Ro.43 floatplane catapulted by a RM cruiser in the early 1940s
Approximately 125 Ro.43 catapult floatplanes were built for the Regia Marina.[4] The type was in service at the battle of Calabria in July 1940 and the battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941.[1] In addition to their use aboard ships, a few Ro.43's (average strength, four floatplanes) were employed by the 161ª Squadriglia Caccia Marina of the Aeronautica dell'Egeo as fighter protection for the Italian-held islands in the Aegean Sea.[4]
Ro.57bis
In 1939, Meridionali projected a twin-engined single-seat fighter, the Ro.57. Powered by two 840 h.p. Fiat A.74 R.C.38 radials, the Ro.57 carried two 12.7 mm. and two 20 mm. guns in the nose, and attained a maximum speed of 500 km/h (310.5 mph). Designed by Giovanni Galasso, the IMAM Ro.57 began to leave the production lines of the Naples factory early in 1942, and entered service in small numbers with the Regia Aeronautica as a fighter-bomber because of its comparatively low speed and poor manoeuvrability. From the Ro.57 was developed the Ro.57bis, evolved from the start as a fighter bomber and dive bomber. Although it was similarly powered, two 20 mm cannon were added to the 12.7 mm machine-guns and dive-brakes were installed.[5] Carrying up to a 500 kg (1,102 lb) bomb under its fuselage, this version was fairly successful but had faded from the scene before the Armistice of Cassibile.[6]
The Ro.63, a short-range reconnaissance and light transport aircraft of comparable quality and reliability or even superior to its German competitor, the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, was not put into production in significant numbers due to the shortage of available engines.
After World War II Officine di Pomigliano per le Costruzioni Aeronautiche e Ferroviarie-Aerfer was constituted and in 1955 merged with IMAM to form Aerfer. Aerfer worked notably on the first generation Italian jet fighter prototypes Sagittario and Ariete.
Green, William (1961). Warplanes of the Second World War. Vol.2: Fighters. London: Macdonald. pp.153–154.
Thompson, Jonathan W. (1963). Italian Civil and Military aircraft 1930–1945 (1sted.). New York: Aero Publishers Inc. ISBN0-8168-6500-0.
Green, William (1967). War Planes of the Second World War. Vol.6: Floatplanes. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. pp.111–13.
Taylor, Michael John Haddrick (1980). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Vol.4. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Educational Corporation. pp.687–688.
Gunston, Bill (1993). World Encyclopaedia of Aircraft Manufacturers: From the Pioneers to the Present Day. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN9781557509390.
Lembo, Daniele (October–November 2003). "Officine Meccaniche Meridionali". Aerei Nella Storia (34). Parma: Delta editions.
Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the Italian military. With a factory located on the shores of Lake Varese, the firm originally manufactured a series of Nieuport designs, as well as seaplanes.
Aichi Kokuki KK was a Japanese aerospace manufacturer which produced several designs for the Imperial Japanese Navy. After the war, the company was reorganized as Aichi Machine Industry Co., Ltd (愛知機械工業) where they made small kei cars until 1966 when they were integrated into Nissan and developed the Nissan Sunny and Nissan Vanette.
Caproni, also known as Società de Agostini e Caproni and Società Caproni e Comitti, was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Its main base of operations was at Taliedo, near Linate Airport, on the outskirts of Milan.
Aerfer was an Italian manufacturing company created in 1955 by the merger of IMAM and Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali. The name is a contraction of Costruzioni Aeronautiche e Ferroviarie.
The Fokker C.V was a Dutch light reconnaissance and bomber biplane aircraft manufactured by Fokker. It was designed by Anthony Fokker and the series manufacture began in 1924 at Fokker in Amsterdam.
Nicola Romeo was an Italian engineer and entrepreneur mostly known for founding the car manufacturer Alfa Romeo. He served as a senator in the 18th Legislature of the Kingdom of Italy.
The Meridionali Ro.37 Lince was a two-seater Italian reconnaissance biplane, a product of the Industrie Meccaniche Aeronautiche Meridionali (IMAM) company. It appeared in 1934 and had a composite structure of wood and metal. The aeroplane first saw operational duty in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936) and Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and during the Second World War it saw duty on almost all fronts, except for Russia and the English Channel. It followed the Ro.1 as the main reconnaissance aircraft for the Italian Army.
The IMAM Ro.43 was an Italian reconnaissance single float seaplane, serving in the Regia Marina between 1935 and 1943.
The IMAM Ro.41 was an Italian light biplane fighter aircraft, serving in the Regia Aeronautica in the 1930s-1940s, mainly as a trainer.
The IMAM Ro.63 was an Italian STOL aircraft designed for short-range reconnaissance and light transport during World War II.
The IMAM Ro.51 was an Italian fighter aircraft that first flew in 1937. It was designed for the 1936 new fighter contest for the Regia Aeronautica, with practically all the Italian aircraft builders involved.
The IMAM Ro.57 was an Italian twin-engined, single-seat monoplane fighter of the Regia Aeronautica. Based on a 1939 design by Giovanni Galasso the aircraft did not enter production until 1943.
The IMAM Ro.30 was a 1930s Italian observation biplane designed and built by Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali. It was only built in limited numbers before being replaced by the Ro.37.
The IMAM Ro.44 was a fighter seaplane developed in Italy, a single seater derivative of the Ro.43 that first flew in October 1936. While the Ro.43 had serious problems, the Ro.44 was an utter failure. Armed with two 12.7 mm machine guns fitted in the nose, the rear fuselage of the R.43 was redesigned to dispense with the observer's position, and changes were made to the tail. Overall, performance remained almost identical to that of the Ro.43, although the Ro.44 was more maneuverable.
The IMAM Ro.58 was an Italian twin-engined, two-seat monoplane heavy fighter and attack aircraft, a development of the IMAM Ro.57. First flown in May 1942, it was considered a general improvement over its predecessor, mainly due to the substitution of higher power Daimler-Benz DB 601 engines for the Fiat A.74 engines used on the Ro.57. Initially it had many problems and during the maiden flight only the proficiency of the test pilot, Adriano Mantelli, saved the plane.
The Aichi E8A was a prototype Japanese reconnaissance floatplane of the 1930s. It was a two-seat single engined biplane built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Only two were built.
Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali or OFM was an Italian railway and rolling stock manufacturing company based at Naples.
The Romeo Ro.35, a.k.a.IMAM Ro.35 was a single-seat glider built in Italy in 1933.
The IMAM Ro.26, sometimes called the Romeo Ro.26, was a single-engine biplane trainer aircraft produced by the Italian aeronautical company IMAM in the early 1930s. Only one example was built.
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