Caproni Ca.3: Difference between revisions

Ca.3
	Caproni Ca.36 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
Role	Heavy bomber
National origin	Italy
Manufacturer	Caproni
First flight	1916
Primary users	Regia Aeronautica; Corpo Aeronautico Militare

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The Caproni Ca.3 is an Italian heavy bomber of World War I and the postwar era. It was the most produced version of the series of aircraft that began with the 1914 Caproni Ca.1 and continued until the more powerful 1917 Caproni Ca.5 variant.

Development[edit]

The development of the Ca.1 to the Ca.2 suggested the benefits of increasing amounts of power to the very sound airframe. The Ca.3 was a development of Ca.2, by replacing the two engines mounted on the booms with the same Isotta-Fraschini engine that had been used as the central, pusher engine on that design. The prototype flew in late 1916 and was soon put into production. Known by Caproni at the time as the Caproni 450 hp, the Italian Army designated it the Ca.3. In Caproni's postwar renaming, it became the Ca.33. Between 250 and 300 of these aircraft were built, supplying the Italian Army and Navy (the latter using the type as a torpedo bomber), and the French Army. Late in the war, Robert Esnault-Pelterie licence-built an additional 83 (some sources say only 19) aircraft in France.

Note: there is some variation in published sources over early Caproni names. The confusion stems, in part, from three schemes used to label the aircraft – Caproni's in-house designations of the time, those used by the Italian Army and names created after the war by Caproni for past designs.^{[citation needed]}

Design[edit]

The Ca.3 was a three-engined biplane of wooden construction, with a fabric-covered frame. The crew of four were placed in an open central nacelle (front gunner, two pilots and rear gunner-mechanic). The rear gunner manned upper machine guns, standing upon the central engine in a protective "cage" in front of a propeller. The fixed conventional undercarriage had double mainwheels under each engine and a tailskid under the extreme tail of each boom. A substantial double nosewheel prevented damaging and dangerous nose-overs.

Armament consisted of two to four Revelli 6.5 mm or 7.7 mm machine guns, one in a front ring mount and one, two or sometimes even three in an upper ring mount. Bombs were suspended under the hull.

Operational history[edit]

The Ca.1 entered service with the Italian Army in the middle of 1915 and first saw action on 20 August, attacking the Austrian air base at Aisovizza. Fifteen bomber squadrons (1°–15° Squadriglia) were eventually equipped with Ca.1, Ca.2 and Ca.3 bombers, mostly bombing targets in Austro-Hungary. The 12° Squadriglie operated in Libya. In 1918, the 3°, 14° and 15° Squadriglia operated in France.

Apart from the Italian Army, original and licence-built examples were used by France (original Capronis were used in French CAP escadres, licence-built examples in CEP escadres). They were also used by the American Expeditionary Force. There has been some confusion regarding the use of the Ca3 by the British Royal Naval Air Service. The RNAS received six of the larger triplane Ca4s and did not operate the Ca3.^[1] The British Ca4s were not used operationally and were returned to Italy after the war. Some of the Ca.36Ms supplied after the war were still in service long enough to see action in Benito Mussolini's first assaults on North Africa.

Variants[edit]

All of the following names were applied after the war. At the time, all were known as the 300 hp by Caproni and the Ca.3 by the Army.

Ca.34 and Ca.35 with a modified central nacelle to seat the two pilots in tandem and therefore improve aerodynamics. No production.
Ca.36 with removable outer wing panels for ease of storage.
- Ca.36M or Ca.36 mod (for modificato – "modified") – a lightened and simplified variant put into production after the war. 153 were delivered between 1923 and 1927, 144 of them to the new Regia Aeronautica.
- Ca.36S – air ambulance version (small number converted from Ca.36Ms)
Ca.39 – seaplane version. Prototype CA 211.
Ca.56a – airliners created by remanufacturing war-surplus Ca.3s.

Operators[edit]

Argentina

Argentine Air Force

Kingdom of Italy

France

French Air Force

USA

American Expeditionary Force

Surviving aircraft and replicas[edit]

Italy[edit]

Unknown ID – Ca.36 on static display at the Italian Air Force Museum in Bracciano, Lazio.^[2]
Replica – Ca.33Z airworthy with the Jonathan Collection in Nervesa della Battaglia, Treviso.^[3]^[4]

Slovakia[edit]

Reproduction – Ca.33 on static display since June 2012 in the departure hall of M. R. Štefánik Airport in Bratislava, on loan from the Vojenské historické muzeum in Piešťany, Trnava.^{[citation needed]}

United States[edit]

Unknown ID – Ca.36 on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.^[5]

Specifications (Ca.36)[edit]

Data from ^{[citation needed]}

General characteristics

Crew: four (pilot, co-pilot, front gunner, and rear gunner/mechanic)
Length: 11.05 m (36 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 22.74 m (74 ft 7 in)
Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 95.6 m² (1,029 sq ft)
Empty weight: 2,300 kg (5,071 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 3,800 kg (8,378 lb)
Powerplant: 3 × Isotta-Fraschini V.4B 6-cyl. water-cooled in-line piston engines, 112 kW (150 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 137 km/h (85 mph, 74 kn)
Range: 600 km (370 mi, 320 nmi)
Service ceiling: 4,800 m (15,700 ft)
Rate of climb: 2 m/s (390 ft/min)

Armament
2 × 6.5 mm or 7.7 mm FIAT-Revelli machine guns

800 kg (1,764 lb) of bombs

References[edit]

^ Kenneth Munson writing in Bombers 1914–19, Blandford 1968
^ "Caproni Ca.36". Ministero Della Difesa. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
^ "Caproni Ca.33Z (1914)". Fondazione Jonathan Collection. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
^ "Caproni Ca.3". Warbirds News. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
^ "Caproni Ca. 36". National Museum of the US Air Force. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2016.

External links[edit]

Aircraft of the AEF – Caproni Ca.3
Aerei Italiani (Italian)

[1] Kenneth Munson writing in Bombers 1914–19, Blandford 1968

[2] "Caproni Ca.36". Ministero Della Difesa. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2016.

[3] "Caproni Ca.33Z (1914)". Fondazione Jonathan Collection. Retrieved 18 December 2023.

[4] "Caproni Ca.3". Warbirds News. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2021.

[5] "Caproni Ca. 36". National Museum of the US Air Force. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2016.

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[2]

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[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Italian heavy bomber of World War I and the postwar era}}
+{{Multiple issues|
+{{More citations needed|date=December 2021}}
+{{More footnotes|date=December 2021}}
+}}
 <!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
-{|{{Infobox Aircraft Begin
+{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
-  |name = Caproni Ca.3
+ |name = Ca.3
-  |image = Caproni Ca36 050309-F-1234P-003.jpg
+ |image = File:Caproni Ca36 050309-F-1234P-003.jpg
-  |caption = Caproni Ca.36 at USAF Museum
+ |caption = Caproni Ca.36 at the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]]
-}}{{Infobox Aircraft Type
+}}{{Infobox aircraft type
-  |type = Heavy bomber
+ |type = Heavy bomber
-  |manufacturer = [[Caproni]]
+ |national origin= [[Italy]]
+ |manufacturer = [[Caproni]]
-  |designer =
+ |designer =
-  |first flight = [[1916 in aviation|1916]]
+ |first flight = [[1916 in aviation|1916]]
-  |introduced =
+|introduced =
-  |retired =
-  |status =
+ |retired =
+ |status =
-  |primary user =
+ |primary user = ''[[Regia Aeronautica]]''
-  |more users =
+ |more users = ''[[Corpo Aeronautico Militare]]''
-  |produced =
-  |number built =
+ |produced =
-  |unit cost =
+ |number built =
-  |variants with their own articles =
+ |variants with their own articles =
 }}
 |}
-The '''Caproni Ca.3''' was an [[Italy|Italian]] [[heavy bomber]] of [[World War I]] and the postwar era. It was the definitive version of the series of aircraft that began with the [[Caproni Ca.1 (1914)|Caproni Ca.1]] in [[1914 in aviation|1914]].
+The '''Caproni Ca.3''' is an Italian [[heavy bomber]] of [[World War I]] and the postwar era. It was the most produced version of the series of aircraft that began with the 1914 [[Caproni Ca.1 (1914)|Caproni Ca.1]] and continued until the more powerful 1917 [[Caproni Ca.5]] variant.
-==Description==
-The Ca.3 was a three-engined [[biplane]] of wooden construction, with a fabric-covered frame. The crew of four were placed in an open central nacelle (front gunner, two pilots and rear gunner-mechanic). The rear gunner manned upper [[machine gun]]s, standing upon the central engine in a protective "cage" in front of a propeller. The fixed [[conventional undercarriage]] had double mainwheels under each engine and a tailskid under the extreme tail of each boom.  A substantial double nosewheel prevented damaging and dangerous noseovers.
-Armament consisted of two to four Revelli 6.5&nbsp;mm or 7.7&nbsp;mm machine guns, one in a front ring mount and one, two or sometimes even three in an upper ring mount. Bombs were suspended under the hull.
 ==Development==
-[[File:Caproni Ca.33.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Caproni Ca.33, c. 1920s]]
+[[File:Caproni Ca.33.jpg|thumb|Caproni Ca.33, c. 1920s]]
+The development of the Ca.1 to the [[Caproni Ca.2|Ca.2]] suggested the benefits of increasing amounts of power to the very sound airframe. The Ca.3 was a development of Ca.2, by replacing the two engines mounted on the booms with the same Isotta-Fraschini engine that had been used as the central, [[Pusher configuration|pusher]] engine on that design. The prototype flew in late [[1916 in aviation|1916]] and was soon put into production. Known by Caproni at the time as the '''Caproni 450&nbsp;hp''', the Italian Army designated it the Ca.3. In Caproni's postwar renaming, it became the '''Ca.33'''. Between 250 and 300 of these aircraft were built, supplying the Italian Army and Navy (the latter using the type as a [[torpedo bomber]]), and the French Army. Late in the war, [[Robert Esnault-Pelterie]] licence-built an additional 83 (some sources say only 19) aircraft in France.
-[[File:Caproni Ca-33 VHM Piestany.jpg|thumb|right|Nose of the Caproni Ca.33 at Vojenské Historické Múzeum, Piešťany, Slovakia, 2007]]
+''Note: there is some variation in published sources over early Caproni names. The confusion stems, in part, from three schemes used to label the aircraft – Caproni's in-house designations of the time, those used by the Italian Army and names created after the war by Caproni for past designs.''{{cn|date=December 2021}}
-The development of the Ca.1 to the [[Caproni Ca.2|Ca.2]] suggested the benefits of increasing amounts of power to the very sound airframe. The Ca.3 was a development of Ca.2, by replacing the two engines mounted on the booms with the same Isotta-Fraschini engine that had been used as the central, [[Pusher configuration|pusher]] engine on that design.
+==Design==
-The prototype flew in late [[1916 in aviation|1916]] and was soon put into production. Known by Caproni at the time as the '''Caproni 450&nbsp;hp''', the Italian Army designated it the Ca.3. In Caproni's postwar redesignation, it became the '''Ca.33'''. Between 250 and 300 of these aircraft were built, supplying the Italian Army and Navy (the latter using the type as a [[torpedo bomber]]), and the French Army. Late in the war, [[Robert Esnault-Pelterie]] built the type under licence in France, building an additional 83 (some sources say only 19) aircraft.
+The Ca.3 was a three-engined [[biplane]] of wooden construction, with a fabric-covered frame. The crew of four were placed in an open central nacelle (front gunner, two pilots and rear gunner-mechanic). The rear gunner manned upper [[machine gun]]s, standing upon the central engine in a protective "cage" in front of a propeller. The fixed [[conventional undercarriage]] had double mainwheels under each engine and a tailskid under the extreme tail of each boom.  A substantial double nosewheel prevented damaging and dangerous nose-overs.
+Armament consisted of two to four Revelli 6.5&nbsp;mm or 7.7&nbsp;mm machine guns, one in a front ring mount and one, two or sometimes even three in an upper ring mount. Bombs were suspended under the hull.
-''Note: there is some variation in published sources over early Caproni designations. The confusion stems, in part, from three separate schemes used to designate these aircraft - Caproni's in-house designations of the time, those used by the Italian Army, and designations created after the war by Caproni to refer to past designs.''
 ==Operational history==
+[[File:Caproni Ca-33 VHM Piestany.jpg|thumb|Nose of the Caproni Ca.33 at Vojenské Historické Múzeum, Piešťany, Slovakia, 2007]]
-The Ca.1 entered service with the Italian Army in the middle of 1915 and first saw action on 20 August 1915, attacking the Austrian air base at [[Aisovizza]]. 15 bomber squadrons (1-15 ''Squadriglia'') were eventually equipped with Ca.1, Ca.2, and Ca.3 bombers, mostly bombing targets in [[Austro-Hungary]]. The 12th squadron operated in [[Libya]]. In 1918, three squadrons (3, 14 and 15) operated in France.
-Apart from the Italian Army, original and licence-built examples were used by France (original Capronis were used in French CAP ''escadres'', licence-built examples in CEP ''escadres''). They were also used by the [[American Expeditionary Force]]. There has been some confusion regarding the use of the Ca3 by the British Royal Naval Air Service. The RNAS received six of the larger triplane Ca4s and did not operate the Ca3.<ref>Kenneth Munson writing in Bombers 1914-19, Blandford 1968</ref> The British Ca4s were not used operationally and were returned to Italy after the war.
+The Ca.1 entered service with the Italian Army in the middle of 1915 and first saw action on 20 August, attacking the Austrian air base at [[Aisovizza]]. Fifteen bomber squadrons (1°–15° ''Squadriglia'') were eventually equipped with Ca.1, Ca.2 and Ca.3 bombers, mostly bombing targets in [[Austro-Hungary]]. The 12° ''Squadriglie'' operated in [[Libya]]. In 1918, the 3°, 14° and 15° ''Squadriglia'' operated in France.
-Some of the Ca.36Ms supplied after the war were still in service long enough to see action in [[Benito Mussolini]]'s first assaults on North Africa.
+Apart from the Italian Army, original and licence-built examples were used by France (original Capronis were used in French CAP ''escadres'', licence-built examples in CEP ''escadres''). They were also used by the [[American Expeditionary Force]]. There has been some confusion regarding the use of the Ca3 by the British [[Royal Naval Air Service]]. The RNAS received six of the larger triplane Ca4s and did not operate the Ca3.<ref>Kenneth Munson writing in Bombers 1914–19, Blandford 1968</ref> The British Ca4s were not used operationally and were returned to Italy after the war. Some of the Ca.36Ms supplied after the war were still in service long enough to see action in [[Benito Mussolini]]'s first assaults on North Africa.
-This plane is also remembered for a tragedy on May 4, 1919, which killed the French General Dr. Milan Rastislav Stefanik, who was the minister of war in the Czechoslovak Republic at the time. The accident occurred at the conclusion of a flight from [[Campoformido]] near [[Udine]] to [[Bratislava]] (capital of Slovakia). On his initial approach, the pilot determined that the ground was too wet to land on, so he increased power to the engines and began to aim the plane to a landing patch further afield which appeared to be dry. While doing so, one of the engines exploded, causing the aircraft to nosedive. General Stefanik and the three Italian crew members were pronounced dead at the scene. A subsequent investigation determined that the most likely cause of engine failure was a failure of the airblast cooling of the engine, probably induced by the increased strain cause by the pilot's sudden demands on the engine after the aborted landing. There were allegations that a Czech anti-aircraft artillery company had fired on the aircraft, either because they mistook the plane's Italian markings for Hungarian markings or that they had done so as part of a conspiracy to see Gen. Stefanik killed, in order to prevent him from instigating proposed changes in the Czech government. These allegations were never proven, and the failure of the engine's blast cooling is widely accepted as the best explanation for the accident.
 ==Variants==
-''All of the following designations were applied after the war. At the time, all were known as the 300&nbsp;hp by Caproni and the Ca.3 by the Army.''
+''All of the following names were applied after the war. At the time, all were known as the 300&nbsp;hp by Caproni and the Ca.3 by the Army.''
 *'''Ca.34''' and '''Ca.35''' with a modified central nacelle to seat the two pilots in tandem and therefore improve aerodynamics. No production.
 * '''Ca.36''' with removable outer wing panels for ease of storage.
-** '''Ca.36M''' or '''Ca.36 mod''' (for ''modificato'' - "modified") - a lightened and simplified variant put into production after the war. 153 were delivered between [[1923 in aviation|1923]] and [[1927 in aviation|1927]], 144 of them to the new Regia Aeronautica.
+** '''Ca.36M''' or '''Ca.36 mod''' (for ''modificato'' – "modified") – a lightened and simplified variant put into production after the war. 153 were delivered between [[1923 in aviation|1923]] and [[1927 in aviation|1927]], 144 of them to the new Regia Aeronautica.
-** '''Ca.36S''' - air ambulance version (small number converted from Ca.36Ms)
+** '''Ca.36S''' – air ambulance version (small number converted from Ca.36Ms)
+* '''Ca.39''' – [[seaplane]] version. Prototype CA 211.
-* '''Ca.37''' - prototype single-engined two-seat [[attack aircraft|ground attack]] aircraft
-* '''Ca.39''' - [[seaplane]] version. Prototype CA 211.
+* '''Ca.56a''' – [[airliner]]s created by remanufacturing war-surplus Ca.3s.
-* '''Ca.56a''' - [[airliner]]s created by remanufacturing war-surplus Ca.3s.
 ==Operators==
-;{{ARG}}
+'''{{ARG}}'''
 *[[Argentine Air Force]]
-;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
+'''{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}'''
 *''[[Corpo Aeronautico Militare]]''
 *''[[Regia Aeronautica]]''
-;{{FRA}}
+'''{{FRA}}'''
 *[[French Air Force]]
-;{{flag|USA|1912}}
+'''{{flag|USA|1912}}'''
 *[[American Expeditionary Force]]
 ==Surviving aircraft and replicas==
-[[File:Caproni CA.3 2009-06-06.jpg|thumb|Ca.3 at Italian Air Force Museum, 2009]]
+[[File:Caproni CA.3 2009-06-06.jpg|thumb|Ca.36 at the [[Italian Air Force Museum]]]]
 === Italy ===
-* Unknown ID – Ca.36 on static display at the [[Italian Air Force Museum]] in [[Bracciano|Bracciano, Lazio]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Caproni Ca.36 |url=http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/museo_storico_eng/collezione_aeromobili/HangarTroster/Pagine/CaproniCa3.aspx |website=Ministero Della Difesa |accessdate=6 November 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326203918/http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/museo_storico_eng/collezione_aeromobili/HangarTroster/Pagine/CaproniCa3.aspx |archivedate=26 March 2015 |deadurl=yes |df= }}</ref>
+* Unknown ID – Ca.36 on static display at the [[Italian Air Force Museum]] in [[Bracciano|Bracciano, Lazio]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Caproni Ca.36 |url=http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/museo_storico_eng/collezione_aeromobili/HangarTroster/Pagine/CaproniCa3.aspx |website=Ministero Della Difesa |accessdate=6 November 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326203918/http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/museo_storico_eng/collezione_aeromobili/HangarTroster/Pagine/CaproniCa3.aspx |archivedate=26 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
+* Replica – Ca.33Z airworthy with the Jonathan Collection in [[Nervesa della Battaglia|Nervesa della Battaglia, Treviso]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Caproni Ca.33Z (1914) |url=http://www.jonathanaereistorici.it/news-e-eventi/item/29-caproni-ca-33z-1914.html |website=Fondazione Jonathan Collection |access-date=18 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Caproni Ca.3 |url=https://warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/replica-caproni-ca-3-bomber-stretches-her-legs.html |website=Warbirds News |date=10 February 2020 |accessdate=13 December 2021 |archiveurl= |archivedate= }}</ref>
 === Slovakia ===
-* Reproduction – Ca.33 on static display since June 2012 in the departure hall of [[M. R. Štefánik Airport]] in [[Bratislava|Bratislava, Bratislava]]. It is on loan from the [[Vojenské historické muzeum]] in [[Piešťany|Piešťany, Trnava]].{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}
+* Reproduction – Ca.33 on static display since June 2012 in the departure hall of [[M. R. Štefánik Airport]] in [[Bratislava]], on loan from the [[Vojenské historické muzeum]] in [[Piešťany|Piešťany, Trnava]].{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}
 === United States ===
@@ Line 106: / Line 105: @@
 -->
 |max speed kmh=137
-|range km=599
+|range km=600
-|ceiling m=4,844
+|ceiling m=4,800
-|climb rate ms=2.083
+|climb rate ms=2
 <!--
         Armament
@@ Line 114: / Line 113: @@
 |armament=
 × 6.5 mm '''or''' 7.7 mm [[Fiat-Revelli Modello 1914|FIAT-Revelli machine guns]]
-*{{convert|800|kg|lb|abbr=on|0}}) of bombs
+*{{convert|800|kg|lb|abbr=on|0}} of bombs
 }}
 ==See also==
-{{Aircontent|
+{{Aircontent
 |related=
-*[[Caproni Ca.1 (1914)|Ca.1]] -
+* [[Caproni Ca.1 (1914)]]
-*[[Caproni Ca.2|Ca.2]] -
+* [[Caproni Ca.2]]
-*[[Caproni Ca.5|Ca.5]]
+* [[Caproni Ca.5]]
 |similar aircraft=
 |lists=
-* [[List of military aircraft of Entente Powers in WWI]]
 * [[List of bomber aircraft]]
+* [[List of World War I Entente aircraft]]
 |see also=
 * [[Push-pull configuration]]
@@ Line 133: / Line 132: @@
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 ==External links==
-{{commons category|Caproni Ca.3}}
+{{Commons category-multi|Caproni Ca.3|Caproni Ca.36}}
+* [http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/caproni3.htm Aircraft of the AEF – Caproni Ca.3]
-{{commons category|Caproni Ca.36}}
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040629164625/http://www.aerei-italiani.net/SchedeT/aereoca2.htm Aerei Italiani] (Italian)
-* [http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/caproni3.htm Aircraft of the AEF - Caproni Ca.3]
-* [http://www.aerei-italiani.net/SchedeT/aereoca2.htm Aerei Italiani] (Italian)
 {{Caproni aircraft}}
+{{Portal bar|Italy|Companies|Aviation}}
-{{wwi-air}}
+{{Authority control}}
-[[Category:Italian bomber aircraft 1910–1919]]
 [[Category:Caproni aircraft|Ca.003]]
+[[Category:1910s Italian bomber aircraft]]
 [[Category:Military aircraft of World War I]]
 [[Category:Three-engined push-pull aircraft]]
 [[Category:Twin-boom aircraft]]
 [[Category:Biplanes]]
+[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1916]]