Società Aerea Mediterranea
Airlines of Italy (1928–1934, 1959-1977)
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WARNING
This page deals with two different airlines, different in origin, period of operations, activities, fleet, management etc. The only thing in common is the name, Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM).
1928-1934 SAM
Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM) was an Italian cargo and passenger airline based in Rome, Italy, which operated between 1928 and 1934. It was founded on March 26, 1928, with the ultimate goal of uniting under a single company, through a "large-scale absorption" strategy, all the private airlines operating in Italy and rationalize all domestic and international routes. This policy, advocated by the then Secretary of State for Aviation Italo Balbo, would lead to the creation of Ala Littoria, Italy's first state-owned scheduled airline. General Francesco De Pinedo, also a renowned pilot, was appointed president of SAM.
Late 1920s
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The company's first flights began on April 21, 1928, on the Ostia (Rome seaplane base)-Olbia-Palermo and Ostia-Cagliari routes. The following year, a flight to Tunis (Tunisia) was added. Initially, SAM's fleet consisted of Savoia-Marchetti S.55 seaplanes. In December 1928, De Pinedo resigned as president (apparently due to disagreements with other managers) and left the post to Alberto Garelli (still on good terms with Balbo). On April 16, 1931, Umberto Klinger became the company's new president, while Antonio Venturini took over as general manager. The first was a friend and fellow countryman of Balbo, the second had been a military pilot in WWI.
1930s
In July 1931, the network of destinations was expanded with the Ostia-Brindisi-Tirana flight. That same year, two Savoia-Marchetti S.71s entered service, and two years later, several Savoia-Marchetti S.66s. On December 23, the Ministry of Air Force acquired Transadriatica and the fleet and personnel were simultaneously transferred to SAM. Over the next two years, SAM further expanded its domestic and colonial routes, also taking over short- and medium-haul routes. In 1932, the destinations were divided into three sectors: "Adriatico" (based in Venice), "Tirreno" (based in Ostia), and "Levante," based in Tirana.
On June 1, 1934, SAM absorbed Aero Espresso Italiana and the company's fleet also began to include the Junkers F-13 and Junkers G-24. On October 28, the air carrier officially changed its name to Ala Littoria, becoming Italy's first national airline. This date coincided with the 12th anniversary of the Fascist Party "March on Rome".
Fleet
1959-1977 SAM
Italy has always held a strong attraction for citizens of other nations, even those geographically distant from Europe. In the late 1950s, strengthened by its merger with LAI, Alitalia deemed the time had come to establish a subsidiary dedicated to charter flights. The restrictions imposed by IATA on flag carriers had already pushed many European large air carriers to establish subsidiaries dedicated solely to charter flights (for example, SAS's Scanair and Swissair's Balair).
Thus, with a 30%% investment of Umberto Klinger (former president of Ala Littoria and now very much interested in on demand flights from Venice), Società Aerea Mediterranea was legally registered on 3 December 1959.[1] The first flight was performed on 19 April 1961. It was also intended that in addition to IT flights, local cargo and secondary domestic passenger services could have been carried out on behalf of the parent company.[2] In fact, 4 Douglas DC-3s were immediately transferred from the Alitalia fleet and started flying domestic routes in December 1961. They remained in service until 1962. In this year two Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commandos joined the ranks and remained in service until late 1960s. All domestic services were transferred to Aero Trasporti Italiani in 1964 and the company concentrated on charter operations.
It appears that one of Alitalia's goals was to sell off its aging aircraft while keeping them within the country.[3] Thus, SAM gradually acquired the parent company's Douglas DC-6s and Douglas DC-6Bs. Some observers pointed out that SAM was essentially a technical structure and completely lacked the marketing, sales, and sales tools. This also explains why the company's balance sheets were always in the red.[4] The situation improved since 1968, when the airline began receiving the first two Sud Aviation Caravelle decommissioned by Alitalia.[5] Indeed, some of these aircraft served as backups to the parent company's medium-range fleet (particularly the DC 9/30s).
In 1972 Alitalia took over the whole SAM management but in 1974 the flag carrier and IRI (large state holding) top managements decided that the airline was to be merged into the parent company. SAM operations continued with ever decreasing emphasis until 1977, when the last Caravelle was stored.[6]
Fleet
Accidents
- On 8 March 1962, a Douglas DC-6B (registered I-DIMO) in flight from Khartoum International Airport in Sudan to Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport crashed into Monte Velino (2,487 meters above sea level), in Abruzzo region. All five crew members died in the accident. It was reported the aircraft flew below safe altitude because of electronic interferences from Telespazio ground stations.
