. Caproni Ca 5

Type: Heavy Bomber

Dimensions: wingspan, 76 feet, 9 inches; length, 41 feet, 4 inches; height, 14 feet, 5 inches

Weights: empty, 5,512 pounds; gross, 11,685 pounds

Power plant: 3 x 300-horsepower Fiat A-12 liquid-cooled inline engines

Performance: maximum speed, 94 miles per hour; ceiling, 14,764 feet; range, 400 miles

Armament: 3 x 7.7mm machine guns; up to 3,000 pounds of bombs

Service dates: 1915-1928

taly possessed the largest strategic bomber pro­gram of World War I, one that exceed contempo­rary British and German efforts both in size and ca­pacity. The various Caproni aircraft involved were strong, functional machines and were well-suited to the tasks at hand.

Count Gianni Caproni founded his aircraft firm in 1908, and he manufactured successful civilian de­signs for several years. Italy, however, was unique among Western powers in that discussions pertaining to military applications of airpower were widespread. Caproni underscored this interest in 1913 when he constructed the world’s first strategic bomber, the Ca 30. This was a large triplane with a single nacelle housing the crew and three pusher engines. Subse­quent refinements culminated in the Ca 31, in which two of the pusher engines were mounted at the head of the booms in tractor configuration. This ungainly but practical machine entered production in 1914 as the Ca 1. Several were operational in August 1915 when, following Italy’s declaration of war against

Austria, two Capronis dropped bombs on Aisovizza. The age of strategic warfare had dawned.

As the war progressed, Caproni continually in­troduced better engines and performance in his tri­plane bombers. Because most of the targets were at great distances, and mountain ranges had to be crossed, the company placed greater emphasis on more powerful engines, greater lift, and payload. The Ca 4 was a major subtype that featured 350-horse­power engines with varying arrangements of nose – and tailgunners. The latter position required gunners to stand upright—fully exposed to frigid mountain air. The final Caproni bomber of the war was the Ca 5, which maintained the same general layout as before but reverted back to biplane status. Like all aircraft of this design, it was rather slow and ponder­ous, but it was ruggedly built and easy to fly. By war’s end, 740 of the giant craft had been assembled in var­ious subtypes, and they did excellent work. Several were subsequently converted into civilian airliners, while others performed military service until 1928.