For decades, the name Aermacchi was synonymous with Italian aeronautical excellence. Renowned in the inter-war years for its striking red racing aircraft and later for fighter designs that saw combat during the Second World War, the company entered the jet age with a legacy already firmly established. Yet its most enduring influence would come after 1945, shaped largely by the vision of one man: Ermanno Bazzocchi. Joining Aermacchi as a young engineer in the late 1930s, Bazzocchi rose to prominence in the post-war period as the architect of a new generation of jet-powered training aircraft. His work redefined how pilots were trained worldwide, establishing concepts and design principles that would influence air forces for decades to come. The culmination of this approach was the MB.326, developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s—a robust, adaptable, and affordable jet trainer that soon became affectionately known to pilots and ground crews alike as the Macchino or simply the Macchi.

Exported to more than a dozen air forces around the world, the MB.326 trained thousands of pilots and, despite often being overshadowed by more glamorous combat aircraft, proved itself in a surprising number of high-intensity conflicts. In several theatres it demonstrated an ability to operate effectively in roles far beyond its original training remit, frequently outperforming more advanced opponents. In the early 1970s, its successor, the MB.339, continued this legacy, achieving further commercial success and remaining in frontline service well into the twenty-first century.

After more than ninety years of independent existence, Aermacchi was ultimately absorbed into what is today Leonardo S.p.A. Yet Bazzocchi’s influence did not end with the disappearance of the company as a standalone marque. His design philosophy and approach to advanced jet training live on, most visibly in the M-346, another highly successful Italian jet trainer that continues to shape pilot training across the world. Drawing on extensive research and richly illustrated with colour profiles and photographs, this volume traces the worldwide operational history of the MB.326 and MB.339, placing them within the broader technological and doctrinal evolution of post-war air power. More than a study of two aircraft types, it is an examination of a design lineage—and a legacy—that continues to influence modern air forces to this day.