Caproni Ca.135

The Caproni Ca.135 was an Italian medium bomber.

It flew for the first time in 1935, and entered service with the Peruvian Air Force in 1937, and with the Regia Aeronautica in 1938.

There was almost no chance of carrying a full load of fuel with the maximum bomb load.

The lack of power made take-offs when over-loaded, impossible and even with a normal load, take-offs were problematic.

140 odd of these were surprisingly built and used during wartime.

Specifications

Crew

4/5

Length

14.38 m (47 ft 2 in)

Wingspan

18.80 m (61 ft 8 in)

Height

3.40 m (11 ft 2 in)

Empty weight

6,051 kg (13,340 lb)

Gross weight

9,548 kg (21,050 lb)

Powerplant

2 × Piaggio P.XI R.C.40 14-cyl.

Two row air-cooled radial piston engines, 746 kW (1,000 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed

365 km/h (227 mph, 197 kn) at 4,800 m (15,748 ft)

Cruise speed

349 km/h (217 mph, 189 kn)

Range

1,199 km (745 mi, 647 nmi) to 1,242 mi (1,999 km)

Service ceiling

6,500 m (21,300 ft)

Rate of climb

5.75 m/s (1,132 ft/min)

Time to altitude

3,999 m (13,120 ft) in 11min 36s and to 4,999 m (16,401 ft) in 17min 24s

Armament

Guns

3 x 12.7 mm (0.500 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns

Bombs

1,474 kg (3,250 lb).