SIAI S.12

The SIAI S.12 was a single-engined biplane reconnaissance-bomber flying boat that Societa Idrovolanti Alta Italia developed as a refinement of its S.9. It had a deep, contoured forward hull with a slim tapered rear section. The Italian Navy was not interested and placed no orders, but the type found a second life as a racer. Flown as the Savoia S.12 in the 1920 Schneider Trophy race, it was the only aircraft of its kind to complete the contest, at a speed of 107 miles per hour (172.6 km/h), and Italy won the trophy because Great Britain had withdrawn. A 410 kW Ansaldo San Giorgio V-12 engine drove its four-bladed pusher propeller, and it reached 222 kilometres per hour on 7 January 1921.