Ca.5

The Caproni Ca.5 series was Italy’s most powerful strategic bomber of the First World War, designed by the prolific aeronautical engineer Gianni Caproni and produced by his company, the Caproni Aeronautical Works, between 1918 and the early 1920s. Evolving from the earlier Ca.3 triple‑engine biplane, the Ca.5 featured a markedly larger airframe, a reinforced wooden‑and‑metal structure, and three powerful inline engines—typically one 300‑hp Fiat A.12 in the nose and two 260‑hp Isotta Fraschini V.4B units mounted on the lower wings. This configuration gave the aircraft a maximum speed of roughly 170 km/h, a service ceiling near 5,000 meters, and a payload capacity of up to 2,000 kilograms of bombs, making it one of the heaviest bombers of its era. Its three‑crew layout included a pilot, navigator/bombardier, and a rear gunner, while defensive armament comprised multiple machine‑gun positions. Operationally, the Ca.5 saw limited combat on the Italian front before the armistice, but it proved influential in shaping post‑war bomber concepts, demonstrating the viability of multi‑engine, high‑payload platforms and paving the way for the larger interwar bombers that would dominate World War II.