The Caproni Ca.335 Maestrale ( Mistral) was an Italian single-engined two-seat fighter-bomber/

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 ...

aircraft of the 1930s.

Development and design

In October 1937, the Belgian aircraft manufacturer Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques (SABCA) made a marketing agreement with the Italian company Caproni, with SABCA selling some of Caproni's military aircraft in certain markets, including the

Caproni Ca.135 The Caproni Ca.135 was an Italian medium bomber designed in Bergamo in Italy by Cesare Pallavicino. It flew for the first time in 1935, and entered service with the Peruvian Air Force in 1937, and with the ''Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Royal Air ...

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 ...

and the Ca.312, which were to be designated SABCA S.45bis, S.46 and S.48 respectively. As part of this agreement, Caproni were to develop a replacement for the Belgium Air Force's Fairey Fox

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

s, which were used as two-seat fighters and reconnaissance aircraft, but were obsolete.Green 1967, p.38. The task of designing the new type for SABCA, the Caproni Ca.335 Maestrale, was given to Chief Engineer

Cesare Pallavicino Cesare Pallavicino (Rome, 1893 - Bergamo, 1976) was an Italian aeronautical engineer, heading the design department at Caproni from 1935 to 1941. He designed several important Italian aircraft, including the Breda Ba.15, Breda Ba.18, Breda Ba.1 ...

,Bergmann, Holger.
Sabca S 47
".
Belgian Aviation History Association
''. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2010. who based the design on his earlier A.P.1 attack aircraft. It was a low-winged

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

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 ...

of mixed construction, with a metal skinned steel-tube fuselage and wood and fabric wings, powered by a single Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fi ...

. It had a hydraulically actuated retractable

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynami ...

, with the mainwheels retracting backwards into the wing. The pilot and observer were provided with individual, widely separated cockpits, with the observer having defensive armament of a single machine gun, and the pilot firing a

Hispano-Suiza HS.404 The HS.404 is an autocannon originally designed and produced by Spanish/French company Hispano-Suiza in the mid-1930s. It was widely used as an aircraft, naval and land-based weapon by French, British, American and other military services, p ...

''moteur-canon'' firing through the propeller hub and two wing mounted machine guns, a small bomb bay housing two 50 kg (110 lb) bombs, while a further ten 50 kg (22 lb) bombs could be carried under the wings.Green 1967, pp. 38–39. The Ca.335 prototype was built at Caproni's Ponte San Pietro factory, making its maiden flight there on 16 February 1939. It was then dismantled and sent to SABCA's factory at

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

by train. After reassembly, it flew again on 19 September 1939. Initial testing was successful, resulting in SABCA purchasing a license for manufacture of the Ca.335, and demonstrating it, now designated SABCA S.47, to officials of the Belgian Ministry of Defence and representatives of a number of other nations. While the Belgian Air Force were impressed by the S.47, and had a requirement for 24 of them, SABCA's factory was busy with orders for 41

Breguet 693 Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

s for the Belgian Air Force and for France, and 10

Koolhoven F.K.58 The Koolhoven F.K.58 was a single engine, interceptor-fighter aircraft designed and mainly manufactured by N V Koolhoven in the Netherlands under contract by France. Intended for ''Armée de l'Air'' use, the F.K.58 saw limited service in the B ...

s for France, delaying a formal order being placed.Green 1967, pp. 39–40. On 14 March 1940, the prototype was being demonstrated to the French ''

Armee de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

'' at

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Germans invaded France and the Low Countries, stopping SABCA's production plans. The prototype S.47 was captured by the advancing German forces on 13 June 1940. Attempts by Caproni to reclaim the S.47 were unsuccessful, it remaining in France until 1943, eventually being scrapped.Green 1967, p.39.

Specifications (S.47)

References

Sources

* *Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Seven Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft''. London:Macdonald, 1967.

External links

Photo
(in Russian) {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation Ca.335 S.47 1930s Italian military reconnaissance aircraft 1930s Italian fighter aircraft Abandoned military aircraft projects of Italy Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939

Development and design

Specifications (S.47)

See also

References

Sources

External links