Caproni Ca.1

The Caproni Ca.1 or Ca.31 was a twin-boomed pusher was originally powered by the same engines as its predecessor the Ca.30: a 90hp Curtiss pusher at the rear of the nacelle and twin 80hp Gnome rotary tractors at the front of the booms. Some were upgraded to 3&#215;100hp Fiat engines instead.

French Production
When in 1915 the French still had no good native design for a heavy bomber, they turned to license-built Capronis as a solution. They were constructed by R.E.P. and these were labeled "C.E.P." aeroplanes, which stood for "Caproni Esnault Pelterie". Later, some Italian-built Capronis were purchased, and their designation was "C.A.P.", resulting in the Caproni Ca.1 being named the CAP.1 B2.

The French-built Caproni 1s were powered by a variety of engine combinations, but eventually it was settled on a 130hp Canton-Unné pusher and two 80hp Le Rhônes, which was inadequate for a bomber of this size. Only fourteen were built and they probably were used only for evaluation and experimentation rather than front-line service use, since the improved C.E.P.2 was preferred.

For information on Caproni plane names, see the main Caproni page.