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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 2089.PDF
J'' .' A Caproni Ca 135 bis bomber under test at the maker's aerodrome. The background is typically Italian. THE Ca 135 bis BOMBER A Caproni with Some Unusual Armament Features : The " Procellaria /iT the Milan Aero Show in October, /-% 1937, the Societa Italiana *• -*• Caproni, of Milan, exhibited a new twin-engined bomber designated the Ca 135. It was then learned that an order for these machines was being executed for the Italian Air Force, and the type soon passed into squadron service. The original model, as shown at Milan, was powered with two Isotta Fraschini XI RC 40 vee- twelve water-cooled engines of 900 h.p. each, but radial engines, of Fiat or Piaggio type, were later substituted, and the machine thus powered was designated Ca 135 bis. The version with liquid-cooled engines is now obsolescent. The Ca 135 bis is a mid- wing cantilever monoplane. The wing is in three sec- tions, the outer panels hav- ing detachable tips, trailing edges and leading edges. Two wooden box spars with stout plywood ribs form the basic structure, and the covering is part plywood and part fabric. The box formed by the spars and the upper and lower skins is divided into a number of watertight compartments so that the machine should have good flotation qualities. Split flaps are fitted and extend between the ailerons and the fuselage. The central and rear portions of the fuselage have a framework of welded chrome molybdenum steel tubes covered partly with plywood and partly with fabric. A steel frame- work is also used for the forward end, in the light alloy covering of which there are several transparent panels to light the bomb-aimer's position. In section the fuselage is rectangular with rounded corners. Of cantilever" monoplane type, the tail has twin fins and rudders which are set well inboard from the tips. Wood is used for the main structure. When raised, the main wheels of the undercarriage protrude slightly from the engine nacelles. These latter, incidentally, are very long and extend some distance be- hind the trailing edge of the wing. Each unit of the undercarriage comprises two '' Fast'' oleo - pneumatic legs and two backwardly inclined retracting struts. Low-pressure wheels and compressed-air brakes are specified. The tail wheel is fixed and partly faired. The old Isotta engines were installed in a some- what crude fashion. Their radiators were in the for- ward part, of the nacelles below the reduction gear housings. With the Fiat or Piaggio radials conventional N.A.C.A. cowlings with controllable gills are used. Those for the Piaggios have a finer aerodynamic shape. A general arrangementdrawing, the accuracy of which cannot be guaranteed,of the original Ca 135 with liquid-cooled engines.
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