| AP.1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Attack aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Caproni |
| Designer | Cesare Pallavicino |
| First flight | 27 April 1934 |
| Introduction | 1936 |
| Primary user | Regia Aeronautica |
| Number built | 54 + 3 prototypes [1] |
| Variants | Caproni Ca.335 |
The Caproni Bergamaschi AP.1 [2] was an Italian monoplane attack aircraft designed by Cesare Pallavicino, coming from the Breda firm.
Developed from the Ca.301, a single-seat fighter version of a similar design that was not put into production, the AP.1 was a two-seater version, fitted with a more powerful Alfa Romeo radial engine. Designed to serve both as a fighter and an attack aircraft, it was a low-wing monoplane with a fixed landing gear of mixed construction, having trouser-covered legs. Although it was a monoplane at a time when many of the air forces of the world were flying biplanes, the Caproni was still an anachronism with fixed landing gear (at that time, most new aircraft designs featured retractable landing gears).
The AP.1 prototype first flew on 27 April 1934. An initial series of 12 aircraft was delivered within 1936. In the same year, the Regia Aeronautica ordered a second series with improvements including a more powerful Alfa Romeo engine and more aerodynamic landing gear. In service, the large landing gear trousers were often removed for ease of maintenance.
The Caproni AP.1 equipped a total of eight squadriglie (Italian air unit equivalent to half an RAF squadron) of the assault wings of the Regia Aeronautica. It took part in the Spanish Civil War, but its unsatisfactory performance led to its quick replacement with the Breda Ba.64, Ba.65 and Ba.88 types.
Four examples were purchased by El Salvador in 1938 for use in the Escuadrilla de Caza of the Salvadoran Air Force, in response to Honduras buying North American NA-16. A fifth aircraft was supplied for no additional cost to replace an aircraft which crashed during an air display by an Italian test pilot to celebrate delivery of the AP.1s. The AP-1s at first proved popular in service, and after El Salvador's entry into the Second World War in December 1941, were used to carry out anti-submarine patrols along El Salvador's coast. Shortage of spare parts for the aircraft's engines and damage to the wooden structure due to the tropical conditions and termites limited serviceability by mid-1943, and they were withdrawn from use in December 1944. [3] [4] In 1937, Paraguay placed an order for 22 AP.1s (18 landplanes and 4 floatplanes) as part of a re-equipment programme following the end of the Chaco War, but after the overthrow of Rafael Franco's government in August 1937 led to the order being cut to seven landplanes, with 10 landplanes and four floatplanes joining the Regia Aeronautica. Paraguay's AP.1s entered service in 1939, with three aircraft remaining in service during the Paraguayan Civil War in 1947, flying a few reconnaissance and ground attack missions against the rebel forces. They were withdrawn from use in 1949. [5]
Kingdom of Italy: Regia Aeronautica 
Paraguay: Paraguayan Military Aviation 
El Salvador: El Salvador Air Force 
Spanish State : Spanish Air Force Data from Italian Civil and Military Aircraft 1930–1945 [6]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
The Macchi C.200 Saetta, or MC.200, was a fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy. Various versions were flown by the Regia Aeronautica who used the type throughout the Second World War.
The Fiat CR.42 Falco is a single-seat sesquiplane fighter developed and produced by Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione. It served primarily in the Italian Regia Aeronautica in the 1930s and during the Second World War.
The Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, or Air Force of the South, was the air force of the Royalist "Badoglio government" in Southern Italy during the last years of World War II. The ACI was formed in Southern Italy in October 1943 after the Italian Armistice in September. As by this point the Italian Kingdom had defected from the Axis and had declared war on Germany, the ACI pilots flew for the Allies.
The CANT Z.1007 Alcione (Kingfisher) was an Italian three-engined medium bomber, with wooden structure. Designed by Filippo Zappata, who also designed the CANT Z.506 it had "excellent flying characteristics and good stability" and was regarded by some as "the best Italian bomber of World War II" although its wooden structure was easily damaged by the climate, as experienced in North Africa and in Russia. It was used by the Italian Regia Aeronautica, Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana and Luftwaffe during World War II.
The Breda Ba.65 was an Italian all-metal single-engine, low-wing monoplane used by Aviazione Legionaria during the Spanish Civil War and Regia Aeronautica in the first half of World War II. It was the only Italian ground-attack aircraft that saw active service in this role. It saw service almost exclusively in the North African and Middle-Eastern theatre. In addition to more than 150 aircraft operated by the Italian forces, a total of 55 were exported and used by the air forces of Iraq, Chile and Portugal.
The Caproni Ca.133 was a three-engined transport/bomber aircraft used by the Italian Regia Aeronautica from the Second Italo-Abyssinian War until World War II.
The National Republican Air Force was the air force of the Italian Social Republic, a World War II German puppet state in Italy.
The Breda Ba.64 was an Italian single-engine ground-attack aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica during the 1930s.
The Caproni PS.1, also known as the Pallavicino PS-1 and Caproni Ca.303, was an Italian four-seater sportsplane, designed and built specifically to compete in Challenge 1934, the European touring plane championships.
The Caproni Ca.310 Libeccio was an Italian monoplane, twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft used in World War II. Derived from the similar Ca.309, it had its combat debut during the Spanish Civil War and took part in the earlier phases of World War II in Libya. Some were used in attack groups as a temporary replacement for the unsatisfactory Breda Ba.65. The last Ca.310 was retired by the Italian Air Force in 1948.
The Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli was an Italian aircraft used in Libya and North Africa from 1937 to 1943. Its nickname 'Ghibli' refers to a Libyan desert wind and has served as the inspiration for animation Studio Ghibli's name.
The Caproni Ca.135 was an Italian medium bomber designed in Bergamo in Italy by Cesare Pallavicino. It flew for the first time in 1935, and entered service with the Peruvian Air Force in 1937, and with the Regia Aeronautica in January 1938.
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.84, not to be confused with the Savoia-Marchetti S.84 airliner prototype, was an Italian bomber aircraft of World War II. It was designed by Savoia-Marchetti as a replacement for its successful SM.79, and shared its three-engine layout. Despite entering service with the Regia Aeronautica in 1941, it was retired from service before the SM.79 and never fully replaced it.
The Caproni Ca.111 was a long-range reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber produced in Italy during the 1930s. It was a derivative of the Ca.101.
The Caproni Vizzola F.5 was an Italian fighter aircraft that was built by Caproni. It was a single-seat, low-wing cantilever monoplane with retractable landing gear.
The Caproni Ca.114 was a fighter biplane produced in Italy in the early 1930s which was flown operationally in Peru in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Caproni Vizzola F.4 was an Italian fighter aircraft prototype that was designed in 1937 and built from 1939. It was a single-seat, low-wing cantilever monoplane with retractable landing gear.
Cesare Pallavicino was an Italian aeronautical engineer, heading the design department at Caproni from 1935 to 1941. He designed several important Italian aircraft, including the Breda Ba.15, Breda Ba.18, Breda Ba.19, Breda Ba.27, Breda Ba.35 and Breda Ba.39; and Caproni Ca.135, Caproni Ca.309, Caproni Ca.311, Caproni Ca.312, Caproni Ca.313, Caproni Ca.314 and Caproni Ca.315. He also designed the Caproni Ca.355, SABCA S 47, Caproni Ca.335, Caproni Ca.350 and Caproni Ca.380 aircraft of World War II.
The Caproni Ca.105 was a multirole high wing single engine monoplane developed by the Italian aeronautical company Aeronautica Caproni in the late 1920s.
The Caproni Ca.142 was a three-engined multirole aircraft built by Caproni in the mid-1930s.
