Savoia Marchetti SM.82 NCL.39
 

Hello,

Currently on ebay is a photo of a Savoia Marchetti SM.82 with the marking NCL.39. I'm guessing NCL stands for Nucleo,but this could very meaningsignificance of the marking is?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/37524971930...UAAOSwa55lwqFa

Regards,

Clint

Re: Savoia Marchetti SM.82 NCL.39
 

The badge is that one of the italian airline L.A.T.I., so the code should mean Nucleo Comunicazioni L.A.T.I.
The Nuclei Comunicazioni were the name of the italian militarized airlines: Ala Littoria, L.A.T.I., Avio Linee Italiane (ALI).
Thank you for posting, I've never seen such a code before

ciao

Gianandrea

Re: Savoia Marchetti SM.82 NCL.39
 

Thanks for the reply Gianandrea. Hopefully more of this type of code emerges in due course.Total speculation I admit,but I'd like to ask a further question. Did any of L.A.T.I.'s SM.82 have a construction number ending in 39?

Regards,

Clint

Re: Savoia Marchetti SM.82 NCL.39
 

Usually, the Regia Aeronautica codes hadn't any connection with the construction numbers.
Reading the chapter devoted to S.82 in the volume 9 of the "Dimensione Cielo" serie I see that the first S.82 delivered to L.A.T.I. - modified in order to perform transatlantic flights to Brazil - had civil codes and MM numbers (they came from Regia Aeronautica batches): I-BAIA MM 60291 nc 23 was the first one, delivered on 11 september 1940, followed by I-BRAZ MM 60309 nc 41 (17 october 1940), I-BOLI MM 60326 nc 49 (27 december 1940), I-BENI (10 february 1941), I-BATO (6 march 1941), I-BACH MM 60591 nc 107.
At the begin of 1942 there were "other" S.82 in charge: I-BELM and NCL-37,38,39,40: I suppose that these last ones were "normal" S.82 because they had any civil registration.

Because these NCL codes were in sequence, It's very unlikely that they had a link with the construction number: in fact, that would imply that the aircraft with construction number from 37 to 40 - built in 1940 - would have been gathered in the Nucleo Comunicazioni L.A.T.I. many months after their construction and after the construction of the purpose built S.82 for L.A.T.I.


ciao


Gianandrea