Caproni Campini Ca.183bis
Caproni Campini C.A.183bis | |
---|---|
Role | high altitude interceptor/fighter |
Manufacturer | Caproni-Campini |
Status | One incomplete prototype |
Primary user | Kingdom of Italy / Sociale Repubblica Italiana |
Developed from | Caproni Campini N.1 |
The Caproni-Campini Ca.183bis was a projected high-altitude fighter intended to have both piston and jet propulsion.
Design and development
The Ca.183bis was intended to have a 1,250 hp (932 kW) Daimler-Benz DB 605 in the nose driving a six-bladed contra-rotating propeller, augmented by a secondary piston engine behind the cockpit driving a Campini compressor, expected to furnish a 100 km/h (60 mph) boost from jet thrust for an optimistic maximum speed of 740 km/h (460 mph) with a range of 2,000 km (1,200 mi). One 20 mm or 30 mm cannon was to be in the prop hub with four more 20 mm cannons in the wings. Weight was to be 7,500 kg (16,500 lb).[1]
The Italians already had knowledge of the German jets through their Rome-Berlin pact and worked together at Riva del Garda (Renamed the Hermann Goering Institute)) on advanced jet designs that included a Turboproietti Jet Round Bomb (Italian V-1 type unmanned weapon) and a disc aircraft with two slung turbojets, various rim intakes for another internal engine, a domed canopy, and two canted tailfins. This was only discovered recently after the designer died and the plans were discovered in his apartment. Apparently, this is probably what Mussolini referred to as the "Piastra di Volo" (Flying Plate) design.
Specifications (Daimler Benz DB605)
Data from [1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Wingspan: 15 m (49 ft 3 in)
- Max takeoff weight: 7,500 kg (16,535 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Daimler-Benz DB 605 piston engine, 930 kW (1,250 hp)
- Powerplant: 1 × Fiat A.30 piston engine, 520 kW (700 hp) driving a Campini thermo-jet engine
- Propellers: 6-bladed contra-rotating
Performance
- Maximum speed: 740 km/h (460 mph; 400 kn)
- Range: 2,000 km (1,243 mi; 1,080 nmi)
Armament
- Guns: 4x 20 mm (0.787 in) cannons in the wings and 1x 30 mm (1.181 in) or 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon firing through the hub of the contra-rotating propeller.
See also
- Italian aircraft production 1935 to 1945
- List of jet aircraft of World War II
- Related development
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Notes
References
Thompson, Jonathan (1963). Italian Civil & Military Aircraft 1930-1945 (1st ed.). New York: Aero Publishers Inc. p. 94. ISBN 0-8168-6500-0.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caproni aircraft. |