Although the Italian public expressed a great deal of concern that the Asso 1000 engine was not ready for Schneider Trophy competition—Isotta-Fraschini built 27 of them for the 1929 Schneider Trophy race, but some exploded during testing—the Italian Air Minister, Italo Balbo (1896–1940), believed that the M.67 had the best chance of winning the race and selected it to represent Italy.
On 16 September 1926, the Italian Schneider team captain stalled one of the trainers over Lake Varese, crashed into the lake, and was killed, but development of the M.39 continued.
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An M.39 piloted by Major Mario de Bernardi (1893–1959) won the 1926 Schneider Trophy, and the type also set world speed records that year.
Mario Castoldi (1888–1968) designed the M.52, following the formula he used in designing the successful Macchi M.39, which Major Mario de Bernardi (1893–1959) piloted to victory and a world seaplane speed record in the 1926 Schneider Trophy race and to another world seaplane speed record four days later.
Oskar Bider was killed in an anccident before the ambitious project was realized, but from Zürichhorn respectively (as of today) the area of the Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen (lido) the Swiss airline Ad Astra Aero operated with seaplanes, among them seven Macchi-Nieuport and five Savoia flying boats and the first large flying boat, Dornier Wal.