Ca.6

The Caproni Ca.6 was an early Italian monoplane designed by Gianni Caproni and first flown in spring 1912 at Pavullo nel Frignano, serving as a technology demonstrator for the fledgling Caproni company. The Ca.6 was built around a light wooden lattice fuselage covered with doped linen, and it featured a high‑wing, single‑bay configuration braced with steel wires. Power was supplied by a 50 hp Le Rhône rotary engine driving a two‑bladed wooden propeller, giving the machine a top speed of roughly 100 km/h and a modest climb rate that made it suitable for pilot training and short‑range reconnaissance. It had a simple fixed undercarriage with two wheels and a tail skid, and an open cockpit placed just forward of the wing. Although only a handful were produced, the Ca.6 introduced structural and aerodynamic ideas – such as streamlined engine cowlings and flexible wing bracing – that were refined in later Caproni bombers like the Ca.33 and Ca.40. As one of the first successful Italian monoplanes, the Ca.6 helped lay the groundwork for Italy’s rapid expansion in military aviation during the war and cemented Caproni’s role as a pioneering aircraft manufacturer.