Caproni Ca.4

The Caproni Ca.4 was a massive three‑engine bomber developed by the Italian firm Caproni during the final years of World War I. Conceived in 1917 by Gianni Caproni and his engineering team, the aircraft first flew in June 1918 as the “Bombardiere” and entered limited service with the Regia Aeronautica in 1919. Its distinctive layout combined a central fuselage pod with a deep, rectangular wing‑section flanked by two lower wings, forming a true triplane configuration that gave the machine an unprecedented wingspan of roughly 30 metres (98 ft). Power was supplied by three 260‑hp Isotta Fraschini V.4B V‑12 engines—one mounted in the nose and two in the inner wing bays—driving two‑blade propellers. The Ca.4 could carry up to 1 800 kg (4 000 lb) of bombs, featured defensive gun positions in the nose, dorsal and ventral stations, and possessed a robust wooden frame covered with fabric and thin plywood. Though only a handful were built, the Ca.4 demonstrated the feasibility of long‑range strategic bombing and influenced later multi‑engine heavy bombers such as the Italian Savoia‑Marchetti SM.79 and the early British Handley‑Page designs. Its sheer size, payload capacity, and multi‑engine layout marked a turning point in the evolution of military aviation, foreshadowing the mass‑production bomber concepts that would dominate World II.

Caproni

Classification

Production & History

Design & Classification