Caproni Ca.134

Caproni

Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1908
Headquarters	Italy

The Caproni Ca.134 was a reconnaissance biplane developed by the Italian manufacturer Caproni during the 1930s.

Design

The Ca.134 featured a conventional two-seat biplane layout with fixed landing gear. Its fuselage was constructed from a metal framework sheathed in metal panels, housing two tandem cockpits each equipped with windshields—the forward cockpit for the pilot and the rear for the observer. The observer’s compartment included side windows to aid in target spotting and was armed with a flexible machine gun for defense. Extending rearward, the tail assembly exhibited a biplane tailplane configuration with twin vertical stabilizers and dual control surfaces, set at a pronounced positive dihedral angle.

The wing arrangement was of an inverted sesquiplane design, where the upper wing had a smaller span than the lower wing mounted low on the fuselage. These wings were connected by an N-shaped strut on each side, reinforced with steel wire bracing, while the upper wing was supported by a central tubular cabane structure attached to the fuselage.

The undercarriage consisted of a straightforward two-wheel main gear with shock-absorbing legs enclosed in streamlined fairings often referred to as "trousers," complemented at the rear by a small tailwheel.

Power was supplied by an Isotta Fraschini Asso XI RC.40 engine, a liquid-cooled V12 producing 900 hp (662 kW), mounted at the front of the fuselage and enclosed within a metal cowling. Propulsion was delivered through a three-bladed propeller.

Armament included two Breda-SAFAT machine guns of differing calibers: a heavier 12.7 mm gun fixed in the forward position for offensive use, and a lighter 7.7 mm machine gun mounted on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit for defensive purposes.

Development

In 1936, the Ministry of Aeronautics released a requirement for a new land-based strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Caproni entered the contest with a design designated as the Ca.134. The Ca.134 underwent evaluation by the Regia Aeronautica commission at Guidonia on January 23, 1937, but it did not receive any orders. Although details about its operational use are unclear, it appears the aircraft was permanently grounded on May 11, 1939, and officially retired due to obsolescence.