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Caproni Ca.133

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Top speed
  
230 km/h

Length
  
15 m

Retired
  
1948

Manufacturer
  
Caproni

Wingspan
  
21 m

Introduced
  
1935

First flight
  
1934

Caproni Ca.133 Caproni Ca133 Wikipedia

The Caproni Ca.133 was a three-engined transport/bomber aircraft used by the Italian Regia Aeronautica from the Second Italo-Abyssinian War until World War II.

Contents

Caproni Ca.133 Caproni Ca133

Originally developed as a civilian airliner and successor to the Ca.101, the Ca.133 prototype first flew in December 1934, and production began in 1935. The military versions of the aircraft were used as transports and light bombers and saw action on all fronts.

Caproni Ca.133 Caproni Ca133

A stretched transport version of the aircraft was produced as the Caproni Ca.148.

Design

Caproni Ca.133 Aircraft template

Designed by ingegnere Rodolfo Verduzio, the Caproni 133 was aerodynamically and structurally an improved Ca.101. Like its predecessor, the Ca.101, was a robust and inexpensive aircraft, designed to be easily maintained in difficult conditions and economical to operate. It had a welded steel-tube structure, mixed construction, with metal and fabric covering, main wheel spats, flaps and modified tail surfaces.

Caproni Ca.133 httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

The wing was high-mounted, roughly elliptical, and made of wood and steel. The undercarriage was spatted and fixed. The aircraft was powered by three engines, one in the nose, and one under each wing mounted in faired nacelles, with NACA cowlings, supported by steel tubes.

Caproni Ca.133 Caproni Ca 133 transport

The civil version could accommodate up to 16 passengers. It was used by Ala Littoria. The military version was widely used by Regia Aeronautica, mostly in Italian East Africa. As a bomber it incorporated two small internal bomb bays where it could hold up to 500 kg (1,100 lb). Larger ordnance could be mounted externally. It was armed with four 7.7 mm (.303 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, one dorsal, one ventral, and two lateral. Bomber aircraft operated as military transports, redesignated Ca 133T, had their interiors modified to accommodate 18 fully equipped soldiers.

Second Italo-Abyssinian War (1935–1936)

The Ca.133 was well-suited for colonial use, and it became the most successful of all Italian colonial aircraft.

Caproni Ca.133 Caproni Ca133

The more advanced Savoia-Marchetti SM.81s were too valuable to be used in 'low level wars' and were also more costly. The war was thus fought mainly with the Ca.101, Ca.111 and Ca.133.

Around 100 Ca.133s took part in the conflict, and as well as 'normal' bombing and strafing, they were often equipped with mustard gas and Phosgene chemical bombs. These weapons were forbidden by the Geneva Protocol of 1925, but in this war (and in Libya) the Italians ignored the convention.

The Ca.133s were also used as transports to support the army, as well as reconnaissance aircraft.

Without any air opposition, and flak almost exclusively based on small-calibre arms, air power was a decisive factor in Italy's final victory, culminating in the capture of Addis Ababa in early 1936. Even so, COIN (COunter INsurgency) operations continued until the start of World War II.

Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

While in Ethiopia they were widely used, in Spain the Ca.133 was found to be too slow, and highly vulnerable to enemy Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 aircraft, also to heavy anti-aircraft fire.

World War II (1939–1945)

The Regia Aeronautica soon realized that despite its improvements, the type was suitable only for colonial use in North and East Africa. At the outbreak of war the Ca.133 equipped 14 Squadriglie da Bombardamento in these theatres. In mainland Italy, the Ca.133 was used mostly as a light transport aircraft supporting fighter and bomber squadrons by carrying supplies, personnel and spare parts.

In East Africa, in the first days of combat, it was still used as bomber and attack aircraft. On 12 June 1940, in the south region, three Ca.133s of 66a Squadriglia from Yavello attacked an Allied column of half a dozen trucks and 200 men. Ca.133s of 65a Squadriglia, from Neghelli, attacked the Allied positions around Moyale on two occasions, each time with three aircraft. That night, ten Caproni Ca.133s bombed the port of Aden and Khormaksar airfield, already attacked during daylight hours by seven SM.81s of 29° Gruppo. Three other Capronis attacked Cassala airfield in the Sudan.

It was also used as an air ambulance with the Ca.133S (Sanitary) variant. Over 250 Ca.133s were in service in September 1939, when the war broke out. Some survived until the Armistice in 1943.

Postwar

A handful were retained for civilian service with the airline Ala Littoria. Some were exported to Austria.

The last Ca.133 was phased out by the Aeronautica Militare in 1947, and the last Ca.148 flew until 1956 with the Italian Aeroclub.

Variants

Ca.133
Bomber and transport; 76 aircraft produced
Ca.133S
Medical transport, 30 aircraft produced
Ca.133T
Troop transport, 283 aircraft produced
Ca.148
Stretched eight-seat civil/military transport, 54 aircraft produced

Military Operators

 Austria
  • Kommando Luftstreitkräfte received five aircraft.
  • Fliegerregiment 1
  • Fliegerregiment 2
  •  Kingdom of Italy (Wartime)
  • Regia Aeronautica
  • Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force
  •  Italian Social Republic
  • Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana
  •  Spain
  • Spanish Air Force
  •  United Kingdom (Wartime)
  • Royal Air Force
  • No. 117 Squadron RAF
  •  Italy (Postwar)
  • Italian Air Force
  • Air Staff Liaison Flight
  • Civil Operators

     Italy
  • Ala Littoria received 12 aircraft.
  • Specifications (Ca.133)

    Data from World Encyclopedia of Civil Aircraft

    General characteristics

  • Crew: five for bomber, two for transport
  • Length: 15.36 m (59 ft 4.75 in)
  • Wingspan: 21.24 (69 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 4.0 m (13 ft 2 in)
  • Wing area: 65 m² (700 ft²)
  • Empty weight: 4,190 kg (9,237 lb)
  • Loaded weight: 6,700 kg (14,771 lb)
  • Powerplant: 3 × Piaggio Stella VII.C 16 air-cooled radial engines, 343 kW (460 hp) each
  • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 230 km/h (120 kn, 140 mph)
  • Cruise speed: 200 km/h (110 kn, 120 mph)
  • Range: 1,350 km (729 nmi, 838 mi)
  • Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,000 ft)
  • Wing loading: 100 kg/m² (21 lb/ft²)
  • Power/mass: 210 W/kg (130 hp/lb)
  • Armament

  • Guns: 4 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns
  • Bombs: 1,200 kg (2,646 lb)
  • References

    Caproni Ca.133 Wikipedia