Translation of photo back
Caproni Thinks Big
The need for heavier aircraft than the Ca.3 led Caproni to study a larger bomber. The Italian firm retained the three-engine, twin-boom design that had brought it success, but decided to adopt a triplane wing to keep the wing loading within acceptable limits. The prototype made its first flight in 1918 and had a nacelle directly inspired by that of the Ca.3. This nacelle was later replaced by a more aerodynamic egg-shaped one.
Italian-Style Bombing
The Ca.4 crew consisted of four men, two of whom sat in the nacelle and the other two in firing positions set up in the engine nacelles. Initially used for night bombing missions, it carried out daytime missions towards the end of the conflict, with the gradual disappearance of the Austro-Hungarian fighter force. Delivered to Squadriglie 181 and 182, it formed the backbone of the Italian Navy's strategic bomber force. Six Ca.4s were delivered to the British Royal Naval Air Service before it was absorbed by the new Royal Air Force, which preferred the Vimy.
Main user countries: Italy, Great Britain.
Main versions Ca.41
Powered by three Fiat A 12 or Isotta-Fraschini engines
Ca.42, powered by three American Liberty engines
.Ca.42 CHARACTERISTICS
Type: Heavy bomber.
Engines: Three 400 hp Liberty engines.
Performance: Maximum speed, 140 km/h.
Empty weight: 4,000 kg;
maximum takeoff weight: 7,500 kg.
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 29.90 m;
length: 15.10 m;
height: 6.30 m;
wing area: 200 mē.
Armament: Three 7.7 mm machine guns and 1,000 kg of bombs.
On this bomber, the bombs were arranged in a very unusual manner: they were stacked one on top of the other, attached externally on either side of a rack located below the lower wing.