Caproni Ca.90

Caproni Ca 90
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Role	Heavy bomber
National origin	Italy
Manufacturer	Caproni
First flight	1929
Number built	1

The Caproni Ca.90 was a prototype Italian heavy bomber designed and built by Caproni. When it first flew in 1929 it was the largest aircraft in the world.

Design and development

A six-engined inverted sesquiplane the Caproni Ca.90 was designed as a heavy bomber and first flew in 1929. It had two tandem pairs of 1,000 hp (746 kW) Isotta-Fraschini Asso 1000 W-18 inline piston engines mounted above the lower wing, each pair drove a four-bladed pusher and a two-bladed tractor propeller. Another pair of engines was mounted above the fuselage. Only one Ca.90 was built.

Although the Dornier Do X flying boat that flew later in 1929 had a larger wingspan and weight it remained the largest landplane until the arrival of the Tupolev ANT-20 in 1934.

Specifications

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Data from Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft

General characteristics

• Length: 26.95 m (88 ft 5 in)
• Upper wingspan: 34.90 m (114 ft 6 in)
• Lower wingspan: 46.60 m (152 ft 11 in)
• Height: 10.80 m (35 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 496.60 m² (5,345.4 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 15,000 kg (33,069 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 30,000 kg (66,139 lb)
• Powerplant: 6 × Isotta-Fraschini Asso 1000 W-18 water-cooled inline piston engines, 750 kW (1,000 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 205 km/h (127 mph; 111 kn)
• Range: 1,290 km (802 mi; 697 nmi)
• Endurance: 7 hours
• Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,764 ft)

Armament

• Guns: defensive machine-guns
• Bombs: 8000kg

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Angelucci, Enzo. The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980. San Diego, California: The Military Press, 1983. ISBN 0-517-41021-4.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.