SIAI-Marchetti was an Italian aircraft manufacturer primarily active during the interwar period. History The original company was founded during 1915 as SIAI (Società Idrovolanti Alta Italia - Seaplane Company of Upper Italy). As suggested by its name, the firm initially specialised in the manufacture of seaplanes, the vast majority of which were intended for the Italian armed forces. Perhaps its most prominent early aircraft was the SIAI S.16, a seaplane that had been configured to perform both aerial reconnaissance and bomber roles, but also proved itself quite capable of long-distance flights. During 1925, Italian aviator Francesco de Pinedo of the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) used an SIAI S.16ter he named Genariello for a record-setting flight from Rome to Australia and Tokyo to demonstrate his idea that seaplanes were superior to landplanes for long-distance flights. Having departed Rome on 21 April, Pinedo and his mechanic, Ernesto Campanelli, visited dozens of countries, often stopping for multiple weeks at a time, particularly in Australia, before successfully arriving in Tokyo on 26 September 1925. Shortly following the end of the First World War, the company was rebranded as Savoia following its acquisition of the Società Anonima Costruzioni Aeronautiche Savoia, an Italian aircraft company founded by Umberto Savoia in 1915. The name Marchetti was added to the company's name shortly following the recruitment of its long-serving chief designer, Alessandro Marchetti, during 1922. Savoia-Marchetti gained prominence with the innovative S.55 flying boat. During 1926, the S.55P prototype successfully established 14 separate world records in categories including speed, altitude, and distance with a payload. Production models were produced for both civilian and military export customers; numerous S.55s were used during the Second World War and for a number of years beyond the conflict, despite the arrival of many newer types. Savoia-Marchetti became relatively well known for its flying boats and seaplanes, aided by the numerous endurance and speed records that had been set by its products. The company earned the favour of numerous Italian officials, including Air Marshal Italo Balbo. Accordingly, the company was involved in the rapid development and prototyping of a wide portfolio of aircraft types during the 1930s. One such aircraft was the SM.75 trimotor monoplane transport aircraft, which was developed in response to an enquiry by the Italian airline Ala Littoria for a modern, middle- to long-range airliner and cargo aircraft; it featured an early implementation of retractable main landing gear