Caproni Ca.18

The Caproni Ca.18 was a military reconnaissance aircraft built in Italy shortly prior to World War I. It became the first Italian-designed and -built aircraft to see service with the Italian armed forces. The Ca.18 was a monoplane of conventional configuration and fixed tailskid undercarriage. The wings were mounted to the fuselage with a bayonet fitting, to facilitate the rapid erection and dismantling of the aircraft.

Ca.18
Role	Reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer	Caproni
Designer	Gianni Caproni
First flight	1913
Introduction	1915

Caproni Ca.18 side view

Originally designed for a government competition in early 1913, no production order for the aircraft was forthcoming until the nationalisation of the Caproni company later in the year, whereupon a small batch was built for the 15th Squadron.

Operators

Kingdom of Italy

• Corpo Aeronautico Militare

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 2, pilot and observer
• Length: 7.67 m (25 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 10.92 m (35 ft 10 in)
• Height: 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 22 m² (237 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 400 kg (880 lb)
• Gross weight: 600 kg (1,320 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Gnome rotary , 60 kW (80 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 120 km/h (75 mph, 65 kn)
• Endurance: 5 hours

References

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 231.
• Jane, Fred T. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1913. London: Sampson Low Marston. p. 174.