The Caproni Ca.133 was a three-engined
transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
/
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
aircraft used by the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
''
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...
'' from the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...
until
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Originally developed as a civilian
airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
and successor to the
Ca.101, the Ca.133
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
first flew in December 1934, and production began in 1935. The military versions of the aircraft were used as transports and
light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance.
The earliest light bombers were intended to dro ...
s and saw action on all fronts.
A stretched transport version of the aircraft was produced as the Caproni Ca.148.
Design
Designed by ''ingegnere''
Rodolfo Verduzio
Rodolfo is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Rodolfo (footballer, born 1992), Brazilian footballer Rodolfo José da Silva Bardella
* Rodolfo Albano III, Filipino politician
* Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. (1928-2012), Filipino actor ...
, the Caproni 133 was aerodynamically and structurally an improved Ca.101.
[Mondey 2006, p. 34.] 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.
[Mondey 2006, p. 76.]
The wing was high-mounted, roughly elliptical, and made of wood and steel. The
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
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
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
cowlings, supported by steel tubes.
The civil version could accommodate up to 16 passengers.
It was used by
Ala Littoria
Ala Littoria S.A. was the Italian national airline that operated during the fascist regime in the 1930s and 1940s.
History
''Ala Littoria'' was formed by a merger of Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM), Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (SANA) ...
.
The military version was widely used by
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...
, mostly in
Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Seco ...
.
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.
Operational service
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.
The more advanced
Savoia-Marchetti SM.81
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 ''Pipistrello'' (Italian: bat) was the first three-engine bomber/transport aircraft serving in the Italian ''Regia Aeronautica''.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 188. When it appeared in 1935, it represented a real s ...
s 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
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
and
Phosgene
Phosgene is the organic chemical compound with the formula COCl2. It is a toxic, colorless gas; in low concentrations, its musty odor resembles that of freshly cut hay or grass. Phosgene is a valued and important industrial building block, espe ...
chemical bombs.These weapons were forbidden by the
Geneva Protocol
The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons in ...
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
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
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
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
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
The Polikarpov I-15 (russian: И-15) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed ''Chaika'' (''russian: Чайка'', "Seagull") because of its gulled upper wings,Gunston 1995, p. 299.Green and Swanborough 1979, p. 10. it was o ...
and
I-16 I16 may refer to:
* Interstate 16, an interstate highway in the U.S. state of Georgia
* Polikarpov I-16, a Soviet fighter aircraft introduced in the 1930s
* Halland Regiment
* , a Japanese Type C submarine
* i16, a name for the 16-bit signed integ ...
aircraft, also to heavy anti-aircraft fire.
World War II (1939–1945)
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. The ''Regia Aeronautica'' soon realized that despite its improvements, the type was suitable for combat in North and East Africa. At the outbreak of war the Ca.133 equipped 14 ''Squadriglie da Bombardamento'' in these theatres.
[Sharpe 2000, p. 143.]
In East Africa, it was still used as bomber and attack aircraft. Occasionally it even managed to shoot down enemy aircraft.
[Sutherland and Canwell 2009, p. 94.] 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
Moyale is a market town on the border between Ethiopia and Kenya, and is the administrative centre for two Ethiopian Districts of Ethiopia, woredas, Moyale, Oromia (woreda), Moyale of Oromia, Oromia Region and Moyale, Somali (woreda), Moyale of ...
on two occasions, each time with three aircraft. That night, ten Caproni Ca.133s bombed the port of
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
and
Khormaksar airfield, already attacked during daylight hours by seven SM.81s of 29° ''Gruppo''. Three other Capronis attacked
Cassala airfield in the
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
.
[Sutherland 2009, p. 32.]
On 23 January 1941, a Ca.133 shot down an
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...
flown by Lt E.A. Gebhardt of 60 SAAF Squadron, that crashed before anyone could bale out.
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
Ala Littoria S.A. was the Italian national airline that operated during the fascist regime in the 1930s and 1940s.
History
''Ala Littoria'' was formed by a merger of Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM), Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (SANA) ...
''. Some were exported to Austria.
The last Ca.133 was phased out by the ''
Aeronautica Militare
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
'' in 1947, and the last Ca.148 flew until 1956 with the Italian Aeroclub.
Variants
![Caproni Ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Caproni_Ca.148.jpg)
;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
Operators
Military operators
;
*
''Kommando Luftstreitkräfte'' received five aircraft.
**
''Fliegerregiment'' 1
**
''Fliegerregiment'' 2
; (Wartime)
*''
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...
''
*
Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force
;
*''
Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana
The National Republican Air Force ( it, Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, ANR) was the air force of the Italian Social Republic, a World War II German puppet state in Italy.
Description
This air force was tasked with defending the industria ...
''
;
*
Spanish Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 10 December
, equipment ...
; (Wartime)
*
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
**
No. 117 Squadron RAF
No. 117 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed to be a bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a transport and communications unit in World War II.
History
Formation and World War I
No. 117 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed ...
; (Postwar)
*
Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
**
Air Staff Liaison Flight
Civil operators
;
*''
Ala Littoria
Ala Littoria S.A. was the Italian national airline that operated during the fascist regime in the 1930s and 1940s.
History
''Ala Littoria'' was formed by a merger of Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM), Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (SANA) ...
''
received 12 aircraft.
Specifications (Ca.133)
See also
Notes
References
* ''Ca.133 reconnaissance table'', Storia militare magazine n.83.
* Mondey, David. ''The Hamlyn Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II''. London: Bounty Books, 2006. .
* Sharpe, Mike. ''Aircraft of world War II''. Rochester (Kent) Grange Books, 2000. .
* Sutherland, Jon & Diane Canwell: ''Air War East Africa 1940–41 The RAF versus the Italian Air Force''. Barnsley (South Yorkshire) Pen and Sword Aviation, 2009. .
External links
Century-of-flight.net
{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation
Ca.133
1930s Italian airliners
1930s Italian military transport aircraft
1930s Italian bomber aircraft
Trimotors
World War II Italian bombers
World War II Italian transport aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1934