Caproni Ca.309

Last updated
Ca.309
Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli 1943 Sicily 342-FH 000111.jpg
Caproni Ca.309 in Palermo, Sicily. September, 1943.
Role Reconnaissance
Manufacturer Caproni
First flight1937
Retired1948
Primary users Regia Aeronautica
Hungarian Air Force
Yugoslavia
Paraguayan Air Arm

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. [1]

Contents

Development

The Caproni Ca.309 was designed by Cesare Pallavicino, based on the Ca.308 Borea transport. It was intended to replace the obsolete IMAM Ro.1 biplane, and to serve as a reconnaissance and ground-attack aircraft.

The Ca.309 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a piston engine fitted to each wing.

The aircraft was also produced in Bulgaria. That variant, 24 of which were built, was known as the Kaproni-Bulgarski KB 6/KB 309 Papagal.

Operations

Ca.309 in Palermo, Sicily. 1943. Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli 1943 Sicily 342-FH 000314.jpg
Ca.309 in Palermo, Sicily. 1943.

The Ca. 309 served in Libya during the first part of World War II with the Auto-Saharan Company, with good operational results. [2]

After the loss of the African colonies the surviving planes were returned to Italy, where they were used as transports. Two Ghiblis were bought by the Paraguayan government for its Military Air Arm. They were used as transport planes from 1939 to 1945 and in that year they were transferred to Líneas Aéreas de Transporte Nacional (LATN), the Paraguayan first airline which was run by the Military Aviation. They were in active service until the early 1950s and later sold to a private Argentine owner.

Operators

Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Kingdom of Italy
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria
Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay

Flag of Norway.svg  Norway

Specifications (Ca.309 production)

Data fromItalian Civil and Military Aircraft 1930–1945 [5]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Related lists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloch MB.200</span> Type of aircraft

The MB.200 was a French bomber aircraft of the 1930s designed and built by Societé des Avions Marcel Bloch. A twin-engined high-winged monoplane with a fixed undercarriage, over 200 MB.200s were built for the French Air Force, and the type was also licence built by Czechoslovakia, but it soon became obsolete, and was largely phased out by the start of the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breda Ba.65</span> Italian ground-attack aircraft in 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savoia-Marchetti S.73</span> Italian airliner

The Savoia-Marchetti S.73 was an Italian three-engine airliner that flew in the 1930s and early 1940s. The aircraft entered service in March 1935 with a production run of 48 aircraft. Four were exported to Belgium for SABENA, while seven others were produced by SABCA. The main customer was the Italian airline Ala Littoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat CR.20</span> Type of aircraft

The Fiat CR.20 was an Italian biplane fighter used during the 1920s and 1930s. Designed by Celestino Rosatelli, it represented an intermediate step from the early biplane CR.1 and the later, successful series CR.30, CR.32 and CR.42.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewoitine D.27</span> Type of aircraft

The Dewoitine D.27 was a parasol monoplane fighter aircraft designed by Émile Dewoitine in 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IMAM Ro.37</span> Italian reconnaissance biplane

The Meridionali Ro.37 Lince was a two-seater Italian reconnaissance biplane, a product of the Industrie Meccaniche Aeronautiche Meridionali (IMAM) company. It appeared in 1934 and had a composite structure of wood and metal. The aeroplane first saw operational duty in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936) and Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and during the Second World War it saw duty on almost all fronts, except for Russia and the English Channel. It followed the Ro.1 as the main reconnaissance aircraft for the Italian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.310</span> Italian reconnaissance aircraft used in World War II

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breda Ba.44</span> Type of aircraft

The Breda Ba.44 was a biplane airliner developed in Italy in the mid-1930s and which saw limited military service when impressed into the Regia Aeronautica as transports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potez 540</span> 1933 French reconnaissance bomber aircraft

The Potez 540 was a French multi-role aircraft of the 1930s. Designed and built by Potez, it served with the French Air Force as a reconnaissance bomber, also serving with the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. Although obsolete as a bomber, it remained in service in support roles and in France's overseas colonies at the start of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.313</span> Reconnaissance bomber developed by Caproni in Italy prior to World War II

The Caproni Ca.313 was an Italian twin-engine reconnaissance bomber of the late-1930s. It was a development of the Ca.310. Its variants were exported to several other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewoitine D.1</span> Type of aircraft

The Dewoitine D.1 was a French single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1920s, built by the French industrial company Dewoitine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.73</span> Type of aircraft

The Caproni Ca.73 was an Italian airliner produced during the 1920s which went on to serve as a light bomber in the newly independent Regia Aeronautica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.113</span> Type of aircraft

The Caproni Ca.113 was an advanced training biplane produced in Italy and Bulgaria in the early 1930s. Designed as a follow-on to the Ca.100, it was a more powerful and robust aircraft capable of aerobatics. It was a conventional design with two cockpits in tandem, single-bay staggered wings of equal span, and mainwheels covered by large spats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.164</span> Type of aircraft

The Caproni Ca.164 was a training biplane produced in Italy shortly prior to World War II. It was a largely conventional biplane intended as a follow-on to the Ca.100 and sharing that aircraft's layout with a slightly smaller upper wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.311</span> Type of aircraft

The Caproni Ca.311 was a light bomber-reconnaissance aircraft produced in Italy prior to and during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stinson Voyager</span> 1940s American light utility monoplane

The Stinson Voyager was an American light utility monoplane built during the 1940s by the Stinson Aircraft Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caudron C.440 Goéland</span> Type of aircraft

The Caudron C.440 Goéland ("seagull") was a six-seat twin-engine utility aircraft developed in France in the mid-1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wibault 7</span> French monoplane fighter

The Wibault 7 was a 1920s French monoplane fighter designed and built by Société des Avions Michel Wibault. Variants were operated by the French and Polish military and built under licence for Chile as the Vickers Wibault.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviación Nacional</span> Military unit

The terms "Aviación Nacional", "Fuerza Aérea Nacional" and "Ejército Nacional del Aire" refer to military air units supporting General Franco against the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War and includes:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaproni Bulgarski KB-11 Fazan</span> Bulgarian plane

The Kaproni Bulgarski KB-11 Fazan was a 1940s Bulgarian army liaison and utility monoplane built by Kaproni Bulgarski, a subsidiary of the Italian aviation conglomerate Società Italiana Caproni.

References

  1. Hiroshi Ishida (5 March 2014). "Miyazaki's 'The Wind Rises' pays homage to Italian aircraft designer". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  2. "Section Storia: History of the "Ghibli" in Libya during WWII (in Italian)". Archived from the original on 2010-08-23. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  3. "Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli", Ali e uomini[Wings and men] (in Italian), archived from the original on 2010-08-23, retrieved 2011-01-17.
  4. "Italian Air Force Aircraft Types". www.aeroflight.co.uk.
  5. Thompson, Jonathon W. (1963). Italian Civil and Military Aircraft 1930–1945 . USA: Aero Publishers Inc. pp.  106-108. ISBN   0-8168-6500-0.

Bibliography