Caproni Ca.71
| Caproni Ca.71 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Night fighter |
| National origin | Italy |
| Manufacturer | Caproni |
| First flight | 1927 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Variants | Caproni Ca.70 |
The Caproni Ca.71, originally Ca.70L, was a two-seat biplane night fighter produced in Italy in 1927. It was derived from the Caproni Ca.70 of 1925.
Design
Undaunted by the lack of interest the Lewis machine gun on a Scarff ring in the rear cockpit.[1]
The Ca.71 differed from the Ca.70 in engine installation. The Ca.70's tractor-mounted
kilowatts (400 to 500 horsepower). The lone Ca.71 built had a 298-kW (400-hp) 12-cylinder Lorraine-Dietrich Vee-type engine and was slightly heavier than the Ca.70, but otherwise was identical to the Ca.70.[1]
Operational history
The Ca.71 first flew in 1927. It was slightly slower and had a slightly lower rate of climb than the Ca.70, although its capacity to accommodate a more powerful engine may have allowed it to overcome this. At any rate, the Regia Aeronautica had no more interest in procuring the Ca.71 than it had in the Ca.70, and no further examples were built.[1]
Operators
Specifications (Ca.71)
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 9.55 m (31 ft 4 in)
- Wingspan: 15 m (49 ft 3 in)
- Height: 3.78 m (12 ft 5 in)
- Wing area: 55 m2 (590 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 1,310 kg (2,888 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,760 kg (3,880 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Lorraine-Dietrich 12DbV-12 water-cooled piston engine, 298 kW (400 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn)
- Rate of climb: 3.92 m/s (772 ft/min)
- Time to altitude: 4,000 m (13,123 ft) in 17 minutes
Armament
- Guns: *2 × fixed, forward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) Vickers machine guns
- 1 x flexible 7.7 mm (.303 in) Lewis machine gunin rear cockpit
See also
Notes
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caproni Ca.71.
- Green, William, and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Aircraft Built and Flown. New York: SMITHMARK Publishers, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
