| F.5 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Caproni |
| Primary user | Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) |
| Number built | 13 [1] plus 1 F.4 prototype |
| History | |
| Introduction date | ca. 1939-1940 [1] |
| First flight | 19 February 1939 [1] |
| Variants | Caproni Vizzola F.4(precursor) Caproni Vizzola F.6 |
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. [1]
The F.5 was developed in parallel with the Caproni Vizzola F.4, with which it shared a common airframe. Design began in late 1937 by a team led by F. Fabrizi. The aircraft had a welded steel-tube fuselage and wooden wings; the fuselage was covered with flush-riveted duralumin, while the wing had a stressed plywood skin. The F.5 (standing for Fabrizi 5) had a two-row 14-cylinder Fiat A.74 R.C. 38 radial engine, unlike its cousin the F.4, which Fabrizi and his design team intended to be powered by a water-cooled engine. The F.4 project was not pursued immediately because the Italian Ministry of Aeronautics held its proposed engine in disfavor, but development of the F.5 continued. [2]
The F.5 prototype first flew on 19 February 1939. The aircraft displayed very high maneuverability during official testing, prompting an order for both a second prototype and 12 preproduction models. The last of the preproduction aircraft was selected for use as a prototype in a renewed F.4 program, but the rest of the F.5 order was delivered to the Italian Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force). [2]
No F.5 production models were built as Caproni decided to produce the more developed Caproni Vizzola F.6M fighter instead.
The Regia Aeronautica assigned the 11 preproduction F.5 fighters to the 300° Squadriglia, 51° Stormo for operational use. By 1942, they were serving as night fighters in the 167° Gruppo. [2]
The F.5 was offered to foreign customers. Peru purchased a license to build the F.5 in 1939, with the aircraft to be built by Caproni's Peruvian subsidiary, the Fábrica Nacional de Aviones Caproni Peru (FAN). However, the Peruvian nationalisation of FAN in 1940, followed by the signing of a military cooperation agreement between Peru and the United States in 1942 meant that no F.5s were ever built there. [3]
Kingdom of Italy 
Data fromItalian Civil and Military Aircraft 1930-1945 [1]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
