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.
By late World War I, developments in aircraft technology made older bomber designs unable to penetrate targets defended by modern fighters. Caproni's response to this problem was to uprate the power significantly on the existing Ca.3 design, with some versions of the Ca.5 eventually carrying engines with nearly five times the total power that the first Ca.1 had.
Apart from greater power, various refinements were made to the design, including modifications to the main nacelle and undercarriage, and completely new wings. The first prototype flew in late 1917 and the type remained in production until 1921. Some 659 of all versions were built by Caproni, and another three were licence-built in the US (two Ca.44s by Standard, and one Ca.46 by Fisher). Planned licensed production in France was cancelled with the end of the war.
During the war, Caproni designated these aircraft according to the total power of their engines. Afterwards, the company redesignated them.
Designedit
The Ca.5 was a three-engine biplane of a wooden construction, covered with fabric. The crew of four was placed in an open central nacelle (front gunner, two pilots and rear gunner-mechanic). The rear gunner manned upper machine guns, standing upon the central engine in a protective "cage", just before a propeller.
Armament consisted of two to four Revelli 6.5 mm or 7.7 mm machine guns, one on a front ring mount and one, two or sometimes even three on an upper ring mount. Bombs were suspended under the hull.
Variantsedit
Ca.44 - main production version, originally powered by three Fiat A.12 engines of 149 kW (200 hp) each, hence the name Caproni 600 hp. Later, the A-12bis was used, and aircraft so equipped were known as Caproni 600/900 hps
Ca.45 - variant selected for French service, powered by three Isotta Fraschini V.6s of 186 kW (250 hp) each. (Caproni 600/750 hp, or simply Caproni 750 hp)
Ca.46 - late-war variant with three 269 kW (360 hp) Liberty engines.
Ca.47 - (or I.Ca) seaplane version of Ca.44 (ten built)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caproni Ca.44.
Layman, Dick (June 1993). "Les Ca-5 de l'US Navy" [The Ca-5s of the US Navy]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (4): 11–14. ISSN 1243-8650.
caproni, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citati. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Caproni Ca 5 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations December 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 Ca 5Role Heavy bomberNational origin ItalyManufacturer CaproniFirst flight 1917Status RetiredPrimary user Corpo Aeronautico MilitareProduced 1917 1921Number built 662 Contents 1 Development 2 Design 3 Variants 4 Operators 5 Specifications Ca 44 6 See also 7 BibliographyDevelopment editBy late World War I developments in aircraft technology made older bomber designs unable to penetrate targets defended by modern fighters Caproni s response to this problem was to uprate the power significantly on the existing Ca 3 design with some versions of the Ca 5 eventually carrying engines with nearly five times the total power that the first Ca 1 had Apart from greater power various refinements were made to the design including modifications to the main nacelle and undercarriage and completely new wings The first prototype flew in late 1917 and the type remained in production until 1921 Some 659 of all versions were built by Caproni and another three were licence built in the US two Ca 44s by Standard and one Ca 46 by Fisher Planned licensed production in France was cancelled with the end of the war During the war Caproni designated these aircraft according to the total power of their engines Afterwards the company redesignated them Design editThe Ca 5 was a three engine biplane of a wooden construction covered with fabric The crew of four was placed in an open central nacelle front gunner two pilots and rear gunner mechanic The rear gunner manned upper machine guns standing upon the central engine in a protective cage just before a propeller Armament consisted of two to four Revelli 6 5 mm or 7 7 mm machine guns one on a front ring mount and one two or sometimes even three on an upper ring mount Bombs were suspended under the hull Variants editCa 44 main production version originally powered by three Fiat A 12 engines of 149 kW 200 hp each hence the name Caproni 600 hp Later the A 12bis was used and aircraft so equipped were known as Caproni 600 900 hps Ca 45 variant selected for French service powered by three Isotta Fraschini V 6s of 186 kW 250 hp each Caproni 600 750 hp or simply Caproni 750 hp Ca 46 late war variant with three 269 kW 360 hp Liberty engines Ca 47 or I Ca seaplane version of Ca 44 ten built Ca 50 Ca 44s modified as air ambulances Ca 57 or Breda M 1 airliner conversion of war surplus Ca 44s Operators edit nbsp Kingdom of ItalyCorpo Aeronautico Militare nbsp United StatesUnited States NavySpecifications Ca 44 editData from citation needed General characteristicsCrew four pilot co pilot front gunner and rear gunner mechanic Length 12 6 m 41 ft 4 in Wingspan 23 4 m 76 ft 9 in Wing area 150 m2 1 600 sq ft Max takeoff weight 4 600 kg 10 141 lb Powerplant 3 Fiat A 12 6 cyl water cooled in line piston engine 149 kW 200 hp eachPerformance Maximum speed 160 km h 99 mph 86 kn Armament Guns 2 6 5 mm 0 256 in or 7 7 mm 0 303 in FIAT Revelli machine guns Bombs 533 kg 1 175 lb of bombsSee also editRelated development Caproni Ca 1 1914 Caproni Ca 2 Caproni Ca 3Aircraft of comparable role configuration and era Handley Page Type O Sikorsky Ilya Muromets Vickers VimyRelated lists List of bomber aircraft List of World War I Entente aircraftBibliography edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caproni Ca 44 Layman Dick June 1993 Les Ca 5 de l US Navy The Ca 5s of the US Navy Avions Toute l aeronautique et son histoire in French 4 11 14 ISSN 1243 8650 Portals nbsp Italy nbsp Companies nbsp Aviation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Caproni Ca 5 amp oldid 1154915659, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
