Caproni Ca.4

Ca.4
Caproni Ca.40 heavy bomber prototype
Role Heavy bomber; later variants included airliners
Manufacturer Caproni
First flight 1917
Introduction 1918
Primary users Italian Army
United Kingdom (Royal Naval Air Service)
United States
Number built 44 to 53


The Caproni Ca.4 was an Italian heavy bomber of the World War I era.

Development

After designing the successful Ca.3, Gianni Caproni of the Caproni works designed a much bigger aircraft. It shared the unusual layout of the Caproni Ca.3, being a twin-boom aircraft with one pusher engine at the rear of a central nacelle and two tractor engines in front of twin booms, making a push-pull configuration. The twin booms carried a single elevator and three fins.[1] The main landing gear was fixed and consisted of two sets of four wheels each.[1] The most distinguishing feature of the new aircraft was, that it was built in a rare triplane layout, instead of the more common biplane.

The huge new bomber was accepted the Italian Army under a military designation Ca.4, but it was produced in several variants, differing in factory designations.

Description

The Ca.4 was a three-engine, twin-fuselage[2] triplane of wooden construction with a fabric-covered frame. An open central nacelle was attached to the undersurface of the center wing. It contained a single pusher engine, pilot, and forward gunner. The remaining engines were tractor mounted at the front of each fuselage. At least one variation of the central nacelle seated the crew in a two-seat tandem format with the forward position for a gunner/pilot and the rear position for the pilot. Others used a forward gunner with side by side pilot positions to the rear of the gunner. Two rear gunners were positioned one in each boom behind the center wing. An engineer or second pilot could also be accommodated there.

Armament consisted of four (but up to eight) Revelli 6.5 mm or 7.7 mm machine guns in front ring mounting and two boom ring mountings. Bombs were suspended in a bomb bay, which was a long and narrow container fixed to a lower wing. Photographs show at least four different arrangements with regard to the bombing nacelle.

Variants

The Ca.48 airliner
The Ca.52 (Caproni Ca.42) - second production series of Ca.4-Ca.40 family - Aircraft of N°227 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service

Note: during the war, all these aircraft were designated Ca.4 by the Italian Army. At the time, Caproni referred to the various designs by the total power of their engines. After the war, Caproni devised a new designation scheme for their own designs—these are used below.

Production figures differ in publications. The most likely number is 38 of all Ca.4 variants (other quoted figures are: 38 of Ca.40 and Ca.41 and 6 Ca.42 or 32 Ca.42 and 21 of other variants). Numerous publications incorrectly refer to all variants as the Ca.42.

Operational history

Ca.4s were tested by the Italian Air Force in 1917 and began operations in 1918. They were used for attacking targets in Austria-Hungary. In April 1918, six Ca.42s were issued to the British RNAS (No. 227 Sqn) but were never used operationally and were returned to Italy after the war.[3] At least three CA.42s were sent to the United States for evaluation. After the war, the Ca. 4 was replaced in Italy by the Ca.36.

Despite its unstable and fragile appearance, the Ca.4 was well designed. Its size, without regards to its height, was not any larger than that of other foreign heavy bombers. With Liberty engines, it had a fast speed, similar to other heavy bombers, while its bomb load had one of the largest capacities of that era, surpassed only by that of the Imperial German: Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI. If it had been flown with other engines, its performance would have suffered.

On 2 August 1919, after its wings apparently collapsed in mid-flight at an altitude of 3,000 feet (912 meters), a Ca.48 airliner crashed at Verona, Italy, during a flight from Venice to Taliedo, Milan.[4] All on board died. [Note 1] It was Italy's first commercial aviation disaster and one of the earliest heavier-than-air airliner disasters.

Operators

 Kingdom of Italy
 United Kingdom
 United States

Specifications (Ca.42)

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also


Related lists

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The casualties were variously reported as 14,[4] 15,[5] and 17[6]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "The civilian transport aircraft of Caproni (1918-1939)." europeanairlines.. Retrieved: 25 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "The Caproni Bombing Triplane CA-4-1915." Flight, Volume XI, Issue 25, No. 547, 19 June 1919, pp. 797–799. Retrieved: 29 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Munson 1968
  4. 1 2 Flight, 7 August 1919, p. 1053.
  5. ↑ "On the Wings of the Sparrow." Venice Airport Lido. Retrieved: 25 March 2012.
  6. ↑ Guttman 2008, p. 55.

Bibliography

  • Angelucci, Enzo. The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980. San Diego, California: The Military Press, 1983. ISBN 0-517-41021-4.
  • "The Caproni Bombing Triplane CA-4-1915." Flight, Volume XI, Issue 25, No. 547, 19 June 1919, pp. 797–799. Retrieved: 12 January 2011. (Contemporary technical description of the Ca.41 and Ca.42, focusing on the latter, with photographs and drawings.)
  • Guttman, Jon, "Crazy Capronis," Aviation History, July 2008.
  • Munson, Kenneth. Bombers 1914-1919. London: Blandford, 1968.

External links

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