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Caproni

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Caproni
IndustryAerospace
Founded1908
Defunct1950
FateIncorporated into Agusta
HeadquartersItaly
ProductsTransport aircraft
Bombers
Experimental planes
Military trainers
Seaplanes
SubsidiariesCaproni Bergamasca
Caproni Vizzola
Reggiane
Isotta Fraschini
File:Caproni Ca.316.jpg
Caproni Ca.316 seaplane at its moorings.

Caproni, also known as Società de Agostini e Caproni and Società Caproni e Comitti, was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Its main base of operations was at Taliedo, near Linate Airport, on the outskirts of Milan.

Founded by Giovanni Battista "Gianni" Caproni during 1908, the company produced several successful heavy bombers during the First World War. Following the acquisition of several other aviation firms throughout the interwar period, Caproni transformed into a sizable aviation-orientated syndicate, the Società Italiana Caproni, Milano. The majority of its aircraft were bombers and transport aircraft. It played a pioneering role in the development of the Caproni Campini N.1, an experimental aircraft powered by a thermo-jet. It provided large numbers of combat aircraft for the Axis during the Second World War. The firm did not prosper in the postwar era, the Società Italiana Caproni collapsing during 1950. Many of the company's former assets were subsequently acquired by the Italian helicopter specialist Agusta.

History

The company was founded during 1908 by the Italian aviation pioneer and aeronautical engineer Giovanni Battista "Gianni" Caproni. It was initially named, from 1911, Società de Agostini e Caproni, then Società Caproni e Comitti. Caproni was responsible for completing the first aircraft of Italian construction in 1911. Its principal manufacturing facilities were based in Taliedo, a peripheral district of Milan, close to Linate Airport, while the firm's Caproni Vizzola division was based in Vizzola Ticino, close to Milan–Malpensa Airport.

The firm initially produced a series of small single-engine aircraft, including the Caproni Ca.1, Ca.6 and Ca.12; these became important milestones in the early development of Italian aviation.[1] As such, Caproni became one of the most important Allied aircraft manufacturers during the First World War, being responsible for the design and manufacture of large, multi-engine long-range bombers, such as the three-engined Caproni Ca.32, Ca.33, Ca.36 and Ca.40. These aircraft were adopted not only by the Italian military, but by the French, British and American air services as well. Caproni's bombers have been regarded as being some of the most significant examples of the period in the field of heavy aircraft.[2][3] Following the end of the conflict, the strategic bombing theories of Giulio Douhet were reputedly shaped by the operational use of Caproni bombers, and thus have been was seen as an important landmark in the history of aviation.[3][4]

The Interwar period was a busy one for Caproni. It reorganised itself into a large syndicate, named the Società Italiana Caproni, Milano, having acquired several smaller Italian manufacturers. By the 1930s, the company's main subdivisions comprised Caproni Bergamasca, Caproni Vizzola, Reggiane and the engine manufacturer Isotta Fraschini. Caproni's aircraft activity largely orientated towards the production of bombers and light transport aircraft.

During 1927, the Caproni Museum (Italian: Museo Caproni) was established in Taliedo by Giovanni Caproni and his wife, Timina Caproni.[5] It is both the oldest aviation museum in Italy,[6][7][5] as well as well as the country's oldest corporate museum.[6][8] The Caproni Museum has long outlived the Caproni company itself.[9]

The Caproni Campini N.1 overflying Piazza Venezia, Rome

During the 1930s, Caproni became involved with the Italian aeronautics engineer Secondo Campini, who was engaged in pioneering research in the then-unexplored field of jet propulsion, having proposed adopting a so-called thermo-jet to power an aircraft.[10] Campini had been issued with an initial contract from the Italian government to develop and manufacture his envisioned engine. During 1934, the Regia Aeronautica (the Italian Air Force) granted its approval to proceed with the production of a pair of jet-powered prototype aircraft; Caproni was engaged to manufacture this aircraft, which was thus designated as the Caproni Campini N.1, with Campini providing technical guidance while specialising in the engine's design.[11][12]

On 27 August 1940, the maiden flight of the experimental N.1 occurred at Caproni's Taliedo facility.[13] On 30 November 1941, the second prototype was flown from Milan's Linate Airport to Rome's Guidonia Airport, in a highly publicised event that included a fly-past over Rome and a reception with Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. According to the historian Nathanial Edwards, the practicality of the N.1 design had been undermined by political pressure to speed the programme along so that Italy would be more likely to be the first country in the world to perform a jet-powered flight.[14] According to economics author Harrison Mark, Soviet aircraft design bureau TsAGI obtained details on the N.1 programme and were encouraged to pursue work on a similar design; as such, there is a basis for stating that the design of the N.1 influenced subsequent early jet aircraft.[15]

The early years of the postwar era was one of considerable hardship for Caproni and the wider Italian aviation industry alike. During 1950, the Società Italiana Caproni ceased to exist.[citation needed] However, one of the company's former divisions, Caproni Vizzola, endured until 1983, at which point it was acquired by the Italian helicopter manufacturer Agusta.[citation needed]

Aircraft

From [16][17]

Pre-World War I

World War I

Inter-war period

World War II

Post-World War II

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Abate et al. 1992, pp. 10–29.
  2. ^ Abate et al. 1992, pp. 35–36.
  3. ^ a b Grant and Niccoli 2003, p. 101.
  4. ^ Unikoski, Ari (22 August 2009). "The War in the Air – Bombers: Italy". firstworldwar.com. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Museo dell'Aeronautica Gianni Caproni" (in Italian). Museo delle scienze. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  6. ^ a b Nicoletti 2007, p. 2.
  7. ^ "Un secolo di storia" (in Italian). Museo dell'Aeronautica Gianni Caproni. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  8. ^ "Un secolo di storia" (in Italian). Museo dell'Aeronautica Gianni Caproni. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  9. ^ "Museums" (in English). UNITN – Scienze Matematiche, Fisiche e Naturali, 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  10. ^ Golly 1996, pp. 32–33.
  11. ^ "Storia del Campini Caproni" (in Italian). National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  12. ^ Pavelec 2007, p. 5.
  13. ^ "Italian Air Scooter". Flight, 10 October 1952. p. 471.
  14. ^ Edwards, Nathanial. "Flight as Propaganda in Fascist Italy." World At War Magazine, Late 2010.
  15. ^ Mark 2014, p. 235.
  16. ^ Gianni Caproni, Biplano Ca 90 , in Gli Aeroplani Caproni - Projects Studies Realizations from 1908 to 1935 , Milan, Edizioni d'arte Emilio Bestetti, 1937, pp. 229-45,
  17. ^ AA.VV., Caproni Ca.90 , in Grande Enciclopedia Aeronautica , Milan, Edizioni Aeronautica L. Mancini, 1936, p. 154,

Bibliography

  • Abate, Rosario, Gregory Alegi and Giorgio Apostolo (1992). Aeroplani Caproni – Gianni Caproni ideatore e costruttore di ali italiane (in Italian). Trento, Italy: Museo Caproni. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Golly, John. Jet: Frank Whittle and the Invention of the Jet Engine. Datum Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1-90747-201-0.
  • Grant, R.G.; R. Niccoli (2003). Il volo – 100 anni di aviazione (in Italian). Novara, Italy: DeAgostini. ISBN 88-41809-51-5.
  • Mark, Harrison. The Economics Of Coercion And Conflict. World Scientific, 2014. ISBN 9-81458-335-9.
  • Nicoletti, Giovanna; Luca Gabrielli (2007). Giovanna Nicoletti (ed.). La Collezione Caproni (in Italian). Rovereto, Italy: Stella Edizioni/Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali/Museo dell'Aeronautica Gianni Caproni. OCLC 799828536. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Pavelec, Sterling Michael. The jet race and the Second World War. Praeger Security International: Westport, Connecticut. 2007. ISBN 0-275-99355-8.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caproni.


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