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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. After World War II,
the company began producing motorcycles as a way to fill the
post-war need for cheap, efficient transportation. The company
later specialised in civil and military pilot training aircraft.
In July 2003, Aermacchi was integrated into the Finmeccanica
Group (now Leonardo) as Alenia Aermacchi, which increased its
shareholding to 99%. |
