The Caproni Ca.310 ''Libeccio'' (Italian: southwest wind)
was an Italian
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
, twin-
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...
used in
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 ...
. Derived from the similar
Ca.309, it had its combat debut during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
and took part in the earlier phases of World War II in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
. Some were used in attack groups as a temporary replacement for the unsatisfactory
Breda Ba.65
The Breda Ba.65 was an Italian all-metal single-engine, low-wing monoplane used by ''Aviazione Legionaria'' during the Spanish Civil War and '' Regia Aeronautica'' in the first half of World War II. It was the only Italian ground-attack aircr ...
. The last Ca.310 was retired by the Italian Air Force in 1948.
Design and development
The Ca.310 was designed as a low-wing monoplane
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
/
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 ...
, being essentially a version of the semi-military Ca.309 with retractable
landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
and uprated engines. The
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
was of welded steel tube construction with a covering of light alloy panels and fabric, while the
empennage
The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...
/tail unit was of wooden construction with
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
skin on its fixed portions and fabric covering on control surfaces.
Above the fuselage, mounted in line with the wing
trailing edges was a manually operated dorsal
turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* Mi ...
armed with a single
Breda-SAFAT machine gun.
Operational history
Caproni pinned great hopes on the Ca. 310's effectiveness as a combat aircraft, only to be dashed when its performance fell short of expectations. This lack of performance resulted in both
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
being disappointed with the export models they received in 1938. The Ca.310 had been evaluated by the ''
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 Air Force) which ordered a small batch. A unit of 16 aircraft was sent to Spain in July 1938 for operational trials as a reconnaissance/bomber by the Italian expeditionary force operating alongside the Nationalist insurgents in the Spanish Civil War.
The Norwegian aircraft were acquired as part of a
dried and salted cod
Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export ...
(''Klippfisk'') barter deal between Norway and Italy.
The original order, including options, was for 24 aircraft, but after seeing that the aircraft did not perform well, the Norwegian authorities refused to accept any further Ca.310s. Instead, a delivery of 12
Caproni Ca.312
The Caproni Ca.313 was an Italian twin-engine reconnaissance bomber of the late-1930s. It was a development of the Ca.310. Its variants were exported to several other countries.
Design and development
The Ca.313 was designed by Cesare Pallavici ...
s with upgraded engines and improved performance was substituted, but not delivered before the
German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940. A similar scenario occurred with other export contracts, especially with a hoped-for
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 ...
order for bomber
trainers being curtailed during negotiations with Caproni when Italy entered the war as an Axis power.
![Caproni Ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Caproni_Ca.310_bomber_at_Flyhistorisk_Museum%2C_Sola.JPG)
A series of 12 Ca.310bis were produced for
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. This variant differed mainly in having an unstepped, glazed nose. The prototype Ca.310bis served as the development for the
Caproni Ca.311 __NOTOC__
The Caproni Ca.311 was a light bomber- reconnaissance aircraft produced in Italy prior to and during World War II. It was a member of the large family of Caproni designs derived from the Ca.306 airliner prototype of 1935, and more d ...
.
The 33 Hungarian Ca.310s returned to Italy were refurbished by Caproni and reissued to the 50˚ ''Stormo d’Assalto''. The Ca.310 was not considered an effective combat aircraft and when it saw service during World War II, it was as a reconnaissance aircraft and as a
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 ...
in areas where no serious opposition was expected.
Peruvian Aeronautical Corps Ca.310s took part in the July 1941
Ecuadorian–Peruvian War. Together with
North American NA.50s, the Peruvian Ca.310s flew bombing missions against Ecuadorian cities and supported
Army of Peru
The Peruvian Army ( es, Ejército del Perú, abbreviated EP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missions ...
ground forces.
Variants
;Ca.310 : Twin-engined reconnaissance aircraft, powered by two
Piaggio Stella P.VII C.16/35 seven-cylinder radial piston engines.
;Ca.310 Idro: Twin-float
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
version.
;Ca.310bis:Effectively the prototype of the
Caproni Ca.311 __NOTOC__
The Caproni Ca.311 was a light bomber- reconnaissance aircraft produced in Italy prior to and during World War II. It was a member of the large family of Caproni designs derived from the Ca.306 airliner prototype of 1935, and more d ...
with the unstepped all-glazed nose and two
Piaggio Stella P.VII C.35 engines
;Ca.318:Proposed derivative powered by two
Gnome-Rhône 14K engines
Operators
;
*''
Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske'' operated seven captured ex-Yugoslav aircraft.
;
*
Royal Hungarian Air Force
The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single ...
ordered 36 examples in 1938, but returned the surviving 33 in 1940 after being unhappy with type's performance.
;
*''
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 ...
'' 193 aircraft
*
Aviazione Legionaria
The Legionary Air Force ( it, Aviazione Legionaria, es, Aviación Legionaria) was an expeditionary corps from the Regia Aeronautica, Italian Royal Air Force that was set up in 1936. It was sent to provide logistical and tactical support to the ...
16 aircraft
*
Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force
; Postwar
*
Aeronautica Militare Italiana
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
;
*
Norwegian Army Air Service operated four Ca.310s. Serial: 501, 503, 505 and 507
;
*''
Cuerpo de Aviación del Perú'' purchased 16 aircraft in 1938. 15 of them were delivered by ship in May 1938, and the last one was lost during the ferry flight from Italy to Peru on August 2, 1939, killing Capt. Pedro Canga Rodríguez and one of his crew members - their deaths being immortalized in th
song "''Alas Peruanas''"by ''Los Morochucos''.
;
*
Aviación Nacional -16 aircraft
;
*
Royal Yugoslav Air Force
The Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( sh-Latn, Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo, JKRV; sh-Cyrl, Југословенско краљевско ратно ваздухопловство, ЈКРВ; ( sl, Jugoslovansko kraljevo vojno letalstv ...
purchased 12 aircraft in 1938.
;
*
SFR Yugoslav Air Force - Postwar.
Surviving aircraft
One Norwegian example is being restored and is displayed at
Sola Aviation Museum.
Specifications (Ca.310)
See also
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
* Donald, David Ed. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. 2001. Amber Books, London. .
*
*
External links
Comando Supremo on the CA.310
{{Caproni aircraft
1930s Italian military reconnaissance aircraft
Ca.310
The Caproni Ca.310 ''Libeccio'' (Italian: southwest wind) was an Italian monoplane, twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft used in World War II. Derived from the similar Ca.309, it had its combat debut during the Spanish Civil War and took part i ...
Low-wing aircraft
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1937