Caproni Ca.73

Last updated
Ca.73
Caproni Ca.73 front quarter view.jpg
Caproni Ca.73 airliner
RoleAirliner, later used as a bomber
Manufacturer Caproni
First flight 1925
Primary user Regia Aeronautica

The Caproni Ca.73 was an inverted sesquiplane aircraft designed produced by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Caproni.

Contents

It was originally developed for the civil market, performing its maiden flight during 1925 and being introduced as an airliner, capable of carrying up to 10 passengers at a time. The aircraft found a second use when the newly independent Regia Aeronautica sought a more capable light bomber to quickly replace its First World War era inventory. It was adapted to serve in a military capacity, being outfitted with multiple defensive machine guns and bomb racks. It continued to be used in front line military roles into the mid 1930s.

Design and development

The Caproni Ca.73 was an inverted sesquiplane with a biplane tail, a rigid central section, and powered by a pair of engines mounted in a push-pull configuration within a common nacelle that was mounted on struts in the interplane gap above the fuselage. The fuselage was positioned wholly below the lower wing, an arrangement that was considered to be less prone to accidents during landings as well as being fairly bouyant in the event of a forced landing upon water. Considerable reinforcement of the base of the fuselage was present so that the aircraft could better cope with such landings. [1]

In an airliner configuration, the interior of the fuselage contains a pair of seats in a side-by-side arrangement for the two pilots, while ten passenger seats were also present, arranged into two rows with a central aisle between. [1] Alongside the carriage of passengers, the aircraft could also haul up to 300lb of baggage or air mail. The later-build military variant remained quite similar to the commercial aircraft; changes revolved around the equipment fitout of the fuselage, which consisted of various military armaments in place of the passenger equipment. [2] This armament consisted of three machine guns for self-defence; one was mounted in the bow, another was behind the cell, and the final was underneath the cell. The firing fields of these three guns overlapped, enabling total coverage of every point of the airspace around the aircraft. [3] A payload of 1,000 kg (2,205 lb.) of bombs can also be carried within the fuselage, being intentionally placed at the aircraft's centre of gravity. [3]

The aircraft was typically powered by a pair of Isotta Fraschini Asso 500 engines, each capable of generating up to 500 hp, that were mounted in a tandem push-pull configuration within a common nacelle that was mounted on struts in the interplane gap above the fuselage to form a sturdy yet simplistic central structure. [1] The oil tank was positioned between the two engines while the fuel tanks were located inside of the lower wing. Fuel was drawn out of these wing tanks by a pair of windmill pumps into a two gravity tanks positioned in the upper wing from where it flowed to both engines. [1]

In terms of its flying characteristics, the aircraft was considered to be relatively easy to operate, possessing flight controls that were both quite responsive and fairly light, the latter being achieved via the suitable balancing of the ailerons and rudder. [1] The aircraft was also well-centred and unaffected by a mid-flight engine outage. Furthermore, in the event of a single engine outage while carrying a payload of up to 1,500 kg (3,307 lb.), it could easily maintain an altitude of 1,000 m (3,280 ft.). [4] The aircraft's climb performance was also considered to be relatively good for the era; while carrying a useful payload of 2,300 kg (5,070 lb.), it could attain 1,000 m in seven minutes, 2,000 m in 14 minutes and 30 seconds, 3,000 m in 23 minutes; 4,000 m in 37 minutes, and 5,000 m in 66 minutes. [3]

Operational history

The publication of General Giulio Douhet's seminal treatise on strategic bombing Il dominio dell'aria (The Command of the Air) in 1921 had left Italy's military planners acutely aware of a lack of this capability. Established as a separate service in 1923, the Regia Aeronautica initially relied upon First World War-vintage Caproni Ca.3 bombers, and a replacement was promptly sought. The immediate solution was to repurpose the existing Ca.73 as a warplane by adding a gunner's position in the nose, dorsally, and ventrally amidships. Bombs were carried on external racks on the fuselage sides.

By 1931, the Ca.73, alongside the improved Ca.74, comprised the bulk of the night bombers operated by the Regia Aeronautica. [5] The type remained in frontline service until 1934, and from 1926 onwards participated in Italy's military actions in North Africa.

Variants

Caproni Ca.73ter bomber photo from NACA Aircraft Circular 51 Caproni Ca.73 bomber left side photo NACA Aircraft Circular 51.jpg
Caproni Ca.73ter bomber photo from NACA Aircraft Circular 51

Operators

Military operators

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

Specifications (Ca.73)

Caproni Ca.73 bis 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile March,1927 Caproni Ca.73 bis 3-view L'Aerophile March,1927.png
Caproni Ca.73 bis 3-view drawing from L'Aérophile March,1927

Data fromNational Advisory Committee for Aeronautics [6]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related lists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.3</span> Italian heavy bomber of World War I and the postwar era

The Caproni Ca.3 is an Italian heavy bomber of World War I and the postwar era. It was the most produced version of the series of aircraft that began with the 1914 Caproni Ca.1 and continued until the more powerful 1917 Caproni Ca.5 variant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.5</span> Italian heavy bomber of World War I

The Caproni Ca.5 was an Italian heavy bomber of World War I and the postwar era. It was the final version of the series of aircraft that began with the Caproni Ca.1 in 1914.

The Letov Š-16 was a Czechoslovak single-engined, two-seat biplane bomber. It was designed by Alois Šmolík at Letov Kbely. The Š-16 first flew in 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.309</span> Italian reconnaissance and military transport aircraft

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.135</span> Type of aircraft

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.100</span> Type of aircraft

The Caproni Ca.100 was the standard trainer aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica in the 1930s. Large numbers of this tandem, two-seat, biplane were built, powered by different engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.111</span> Type of aircraft

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.

<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">Caproni Vizzola F.5</span> Italian fighter

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 Piaggio P.32 was an Italian medium bomber of the late 1930s, produced by Piaggio, and designed by Giovanni Pegna. It was a modern design for its time, but was a failure due to lack of powerplants commensurate with its high wing loading.

<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">Caproni Ca.355</span> Italian WWII dive bomber

The Caproni Ca.355 Tuffo was a low-wing single-engine dive bomber, designed and built by the Italian Caproni company in 1941, which never proceeded beyond a single prototype. Derived from Ca.335 Mistral, the Ca.355 was proposed to equip the Regia Aeronautica, but it was found to offer little advantage over the German Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" and the project was abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.331</span> Italian light bomber/night fighter prototype

The Caproni Ca.331 Raffica was an Italian aircraft built by Caproni in the early 1940s as a tactical reconnaissance aircraft/light bomber and also as a night fighter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piaggio P.23R</span> Type of aircraft

The Piaggio P.23R, also known as the Piaggio P.123 for propaganda purposes, was an Italian commercial transport aircraft prototype designed and built by Piaggio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.90</span> Type of aircraft

The Caproni Ca.90 was a prototype Italian heavy bomber designed and built by Caproni. When it first flew in 1929, it was the largest land-based aircraft then extant in the world, the Siemens-Schuckert R.VIII having been slightly larger.

The Caproni Ca.350 was an Italian single-engined project for a two-seat fighter-bomber/reconnaissance aircraft of the 1930s. Designed by Cesare Pallavicino to meet a requirement of the Regia Aeronautica, it was an innovative and fast design, to have been powered by an Isotta Fraschini Zeta R.C.42, but no aircraft were built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.95</span> Type of aircraft

The Caproni Ca.95 was a large, three engine, long range, heavy bomber prototype built in Italy in 1929. It could carry a 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) bomb load and had three defensive gun positions. Only one was built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caproni Ca.134</span> 1930s Italian reconnaissance aircraft

The Caproni Ca.134 was a biplane reconnaissance aircraft built by the Italian company Caproni in the 1930s.

The Caproni Ca.66 and Caproni Ca.67 were Italian night bomber aircraft designed to re-equip the post-World War I Regia Aeronautica.

The Caproni Ca.79 was an Italian light bomber produced in the mid-1920s.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 NACA 1927, p. 1.
  2. NACA 1927, pp. 2-4.
  3. 1 2 3 NACA 1927, p. 2.
  4. NACA 1927, pp. 1-2.
  5. Ridley, Norman (2023). Military Air Power in Europe Preparing for War. Pen and Sword. ISBN   1399066870.
  6. NACA 1927, pp. 1-7.

Bibliography