The Caproni Ca.3 was the first strategic bomber in the history of aviation.
General information
Conceived in 1913 by engineer Gianni Caproni (1886-1957) in response to the operational concepts of Major Giulio Douhet (1869-1930), the Ca.3 was one of the largest aircraft of its time. It was a twin-boom biplane with a central crew nacelle, powered by three engines with a combined output of 260 hp (on the prototype), later 450 hp (three Isotta Fraschini V.4B engines). The prototype was first flown on 20 November 1914 by Emilio Pensuti. During the First World War it equipped many Italian squadrons. Gabriele D'Annunzio flew numerous missions aboard it with pilots Maurizio Pagliano and Luigi Gori. It was produced until 1925 in about 750 units, including 89 in France, and remained in service in Italy as a trainer until about 1934.
Length 11.05 m
Wingspan 22.74 m
Height 3.84 m
Wing area 96.54 sq m
Empty weight 2,300 kg
Max take-off weight 3,890 kg
Max speed 140 km/h
Service ceiling 4,800 m
Range 450 km, 4 hours
History of aircraft I-ZANA
The Caproni Ca.3R I-ZANA is the largest amateur-built aircraft ever made in Italy and one of the largest in the world.
Construction began in 2008 on the basis of technical documentation provided by the Caproni family and of measurements taken on the original aircraft. The builders set out to preserve the structural authenticity of the design while introducing all the modifications needed to make the biplane simple to operate. The various components, built in the workshop at San Pietro di Feletto (TV), were transported and assembled at the Jonathan Collection site in Nervesa della Battaglia (TV) at the end of 2009; ENAC officially assigned the great biplane construction number 06/09 and the registration I-ZANA. The work required 15,000 hours, in addition to repositioning the fuel tanks originally located behind the pilots. After five years of work, once the 180 hp automotive-derived Ford 300 engines had been installed, the first fast taxi runs began. Ground testing ended in December 2014 and on 3 March 2015 pilots Giancarlo Zanardo and Carlo Zorzoli took the Ca.3R into the air for the first time. This first flight was cut short by an early return due to a failure of the left engine, and it also revealed the inadequate power of the engines, making it necessary to replace them with more powerful units.
At the beginning of 2020 the Italian Air Force, in view of the celebrations for its centenary, asked Giancarlo Zanardo to return the Ca.3R to flying condition. The commitment was confirmed and in January 2022 a project was launched to fly it by June 2023 at Pratica di Mare. Given the tight schedule, work began in March 2022 to replace the three engines and update the instruments needed to guarantee safe flight under current aviation regulations. The two front engines became 260 hp Continental 470s, while the central rear pusher engine became a 180 hp Lycoming O-360-1A1. Together the three engines deliver more than 700 hp. The work was completed at the end of May 2023; ground testing took place in the first week of June, leading to the first test flight with the new engines on Thursday 8 June 2023, this time with pilots Fabio Consoli and Daniele Beltrame at the controls.
On the afternoon of 14 June the historic flight to the Pratica di Mare military airport began, to take part in the Centenary Air Show, where the Caproni was admired by tens of thousands of spectators, meeting with great public success and great admiration and interest from air force personnel and all the aviators present. The return flight took place on 19 June, completed in a single day.
The aircraft represents Ca.3 no. 2378 "Asso di Picche" (Ace of Spades), flown by lieutenants Maurizio Pagliano and Luigi Gori on numerous missions against Austro-Hungarian targets during the First World War. The two pilots were killed in action on 30 December 1917 during a mission over Susegana, when their aircraft (not the "Asso di Picche" but no. 2362) was attacked and shot down by an enemy fighter. The two gunners, Arrigo Andri and Giacomo Caglio, also lost their lives. In honour of the two fallen pilots, the military airport of Aviano was dedicated to them in 1919, and on 20 August 2005, on the exact spot where the crew met their death, a monument designed by architect Renato Fornaciari and built in steel by Giancarlo Zanardo was unveiled.