Caproni Ca.5

The Caproni Ca.5 was an Italian heavy bomber of the First World War and the postwar years, the final version of the series that began with the Caproni Ca.1 in 1914. Caproni raised the power of the existing Ca.3 design significantly, so that some versions carried engines with nearly five times the total power of the first Ca.1, and also refined the main nacelle and undercarriage and fitted completely new wings. It was a three-engine wooden biplane covered with fabric, with a crew of four in an open central nacelle and bombs hung under the hull. The first prototype flew in late 1917 and the type stayed in production until 1921, with some 659 built by Caproni and three more under licence in the United States. The main version, the Ca.44, was powered by three Fiat A.12 engines.