Caproni Ca.2

Caproni

Industry	Aerospace, Defense
Founded	1908 in Italy
Founder	Giovanni Battista Caproni
Headquarters	Italy
Products	Aircraft, including Caproni Ca.2 bomber

The Caproni Ca.2 represented an Italian heavy bomber utilized during World War I.

Development

The Ca.2 emerged as a modest upgrade to the 1914 Caproni Ca.1 twin-boom bomber. Early operational experience with the Ca.1 revealed the need for enhanced engine power. To address this, Caproni substituted the aircraft’s central pusher engine with a more potent model, which was known at the time as the Caproni 350 hp. The Italian military designated this variant as the Ca.2. Postwar, Caproni did not assign it a distinct number in their revised classification system.

Production was limited to nine units, which were delivered to the Italian Army alongside Ca.1s between August 1915 and December 1916.

The advantages gained from the upgraded powerplant prompted Caproni to further pursue this approach, culminating in the development of the definitive Caproni Ca.3.

Description

The Caproni Ca.2 was configured as a trimotor biplane, featuring one engine mounted at the rear of the central fuselage pod and two additional engines positioned at the front of twin booms supporting the tail assembly. Constructed primarily from wood and covered with fabric, it accommodated a crew of four within an open central nacelle: a front gunner, two pilots, and a rear gunner-mechanic. The rear gunner operated upper-mounted machine guns while standing above the central engine inside a protective framework located just ahead of its propeller. The aircraft utilized tricycle landing gear for ground operations.

Its armament included between two and four Revelli machine guns chambered in either 6.5 mm or 7.7 mm calibers—one mounted on a forward ring mount and one to three on an upper ring mount. Bombs were carried beneath the central nacelle.

Operators

Template:Country data Kingdom of Italy

• Corpo Aeronautico Militare

References

• Aerei Italiani (in Italian)