Secondo Campini

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Secondo Campini (born August 28, 1904 in Bologna , † February 7, 1980 in Milan ) was an Italian engineer who mainly worked in the aviation industry.

Life

Early years

Secondo Campini was already interested in technology in his youth. In 1928 he completed his engineering studies at the Polytechnic in Bologna with top marks.

In 1929 he designed a motorized air jet engine operated with an air and gas mixture and two years later Campini founded his own company in Milan with VENAR (abbreviated for Velivoli e natanti a reazione ) ( Eng.planes and ships with jet propulsion ). It was the first company in the world to study and develop aircraft and watercraft with jet propulsion. In the same year Campini applied for a patent for his drive, which was registered in 1934.

In 1931 the Ministry of Aviation commissioned the construction of a jet-propelled boat. This was subjected to tests in Venice the following year, not only exceeding the requirements of the ministry, the boat reached a speed of 28 kn (52 km / h), but the new drive convinced the Marina Militare to carry out further research for various practical implementations operate.

Campini Caproni CC2 during a test flight on November 30, 1941

Gianni Caproni also became aware of Campini , who recognized the potential of the new drive and provided Campini with his company's production facility in Milan's Taliedo district. From 1933 Campini began a series of tests with the new drive in Taliedo. From this emerged the design for the CC 1 jet aircraft , which did not go beyond the project status, but already included some elements of later jet aircraft, such as a pressurized cabin .

The CC2

In 1934 the Italian Air Force signed a supply contract with Campini for the construction of two aircraft prototypes and a further test airframe with the jet propulsion system he had developed. Since Campini did not have sufficient funds to fulfill the order alone, he entered into a partnership with Caproni and merged VENAR to form the new company Campini Caproni with headquarters in Taliedo. Even after the company merger, however, he was responsible for technical management of the company. Despite the partnership, the contractual delivery date could not be met due to technical difficulties at the turn of the year 1936/37. In the period that followed, the test airframe, exhibited today in the Leonardo da Vinci Science and Technology Museum in Milan, succeeded in producing a thrust of around 6.9 kN (around 700 kg).

Campini didn't just work on these projects. In 1935 he applied for a patent in the United States for an aircraft with the jet engine he had designed, but it was never realized. In 1939 he designed a two-seater helicopter with the new propulsion system called the SC 3 and SC 5. This project also remained unfinished. On August 27, 1940, the first prototype of the aircraft commissioned by the Italian Air Force, known as the Campini-Caproni CC2 , was successfully tested by the pilot Mario de Bernardi . The second prototype successfully lifted off the ground for the first time in April 1941. A series of further test flights followed up to September 1942, until the project, despite the international sensation generated by the first flight, was abandoned because the machine performed below expectations. Other projects, such as twin-engine bombers, referred to by Campini as Projects CS 7, CS 8, CS 10 and CS 11, were also not implemented.

Towards the end of the Second World War, the drive developed by Campini served as a template for the slightly modified engine Tsu-11 designed by Japanese engineers. The latter was intended for the Yokosuka MXY-7 Model 22 glide bomb , but was no longer used in series production.

World War II and post-war period

In the meantime, the Italian Air Force had ordered turbine jet engines and the Italian Navy for two single-seat miniature submarines with recoil propulsion from Campini. The work on the Campini – De Bernardi submarine , developed jointly with Mario De Bernardi and named after both, was outsourced from Taliedo to Rovereto after the increasingly frequent air raids by the Allies on Milan during the first half of 1943 . The Imperial Japanese Navy and, after September 8, 1943, the German Navy were also interested in the project. The latter placed an order for 50 boats in March 1944, but it was not fulfilled. At least one prototype was assembled in the Caproni workshop in Riva and subjected to tests in Lake Garda .

After the Second World War, Campini and Caproni parted ways. Campini reopened a laboratory workshop in Milan. In 1948 he went to the United States after the automaker Preston Tucker offered him a collaboration. In the following years he worked for the American government on military projects, including the flying wing Northrop YB-35 . In 1951 he returned to Milan and from then on worked in the field of turbine jet engines, in particular with regard to reducing fuel consumption and manufacturing costs. At the same time he conducted studies to use this drive in automobiles. From 1965 he dealt with questions of suborbital flight . After retiring from active working life in 1970, he died in Milan in 1980 at the age of 75.

literature

  • Roberto Bettiolo, Giancarlo Marcozzi: Campini Caproni. Storia e tecnica del primo aviogetto italiano IBN Editore, Rome 2008 ISBN 978-88-7565-056-8 .
  • Annalisa Cramerotti: Il mezzo d'assalto Campini - De Bernardi in: Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra (ed.): Annali N. 23 2015, Osiride Edizioni, Rovereto 2016.
  • Mattia Ferraris:  Campini, Secondo. In: Massimiliano Pavan (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 34:  Primo supplemento AC. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1988.
  • Achille Rastelli: Caproni e il mare. Progetti e realizzazioni per la guerra navale di un grande gruppo industriale milanese. Museo Aeronautica Gianni e Timina Caproni di Taliero, Milan 1999 ISBN 978-88-87261-05-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Mattia Ferraris:  Secondo Campini. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI).
  2. ↑ a b c Short biography of Campini (Italian) accessed on March 8, 2018
  3. ↑ Roberto Bettiolo, Giancarlo Marcozzi: Campini Caproni. Storia e tecnica del primo aviogetto italiano pp. 108-114
  4. ↑ Roberto Bettiolo, Giancarlo Marcozzi: Campini Caproni. Storia e tecnica del primo aviogetto italiano pp. 24-26
  5. ^ Achille Rastelli: Caproni e il mare. Progetti e realizzazioni per la guerra navale di un grande gruppo industriale milanese. P. 96
  6. ↑ Annalisa Cramerotti: Il mezzo d'assalto Campini - De Bernardi pp. 225-236
  7. ↑ Roberto Bettiolo, Giancarlo Marcozzi: Campini Caproni. Storia e tecnica del primo aviogetto italiano p. 118 and 129
personal data
SURNAME Campini, Secondo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian aeronautical engineer
DATE OF BIRTH August 28, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Bologna
DATE OF DEATH February 7, 1980
Place of death Milan