View source for Caproni Ca.133

{{Short description|Italian transport and bomber aircraft (1935–1948)}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2015}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
  |name=Caproni Ca.133
  |image=Caproni Ca 133.jpg
  |caption=
  |type=Transport/Light bomber
  |manufacturer=[[Caproni]]
  |designer=
  |first_flight=[[1934 in aviation|1934]]
  |introduction=[[1935 in aviation|1935]]
  |retired=[[1948 in aviation|1948]]
  |status=
  |primary_user=''[[Regia Aeronautica]]''
  |more_users=''[[Ala Littoria]]''
  |produced =
  |number_built =505 + 1 prototype <ref name="r.stocchetti">{{cite web|url=http://www.alieuomini.it/catalogo/dettaglio_catalogo/caproni_ca,65.html|title=Caproni Ca.133, Aerei militari, Schede tecniche aerei militari italiani e storia degli aviatori|author=R. Stocchetti|work=alieuomini.it}}</ref>
  |unit cost =
  |variants =
}}

The '''Caproni Ca.133''' was a three-engined [[Military transport aircraft|transport]]/[[bomber]] aircraft used by the [[Italy|Italian]] ''[[Regia Aeronautica]]'' from the [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War]] until [[World War II]].{{cn|date=December 2021}}

Originally developed as a civilian [[airliner]] and successor to the [[Caproni Ca.101|Ca.101]], the '''Ca.133''' [[prototype]] first flew in December 1934, and production began in 1935. The military versions of the aircraft were used as transports and [[light bomber]]s and saw action on all fronts.

A stretched transport version of the aircraft was produced as the '''Caproni Ca.148'''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Caproni Ca.133|url=http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/coming%20of%20age/Caproni%20Ca.133.htm|access-date=2021-12-13|website=www.century-of-flight.freeola.com}}</ref>

==Design==
Designed by ''ingegnere'' [[Rodolfo Verduzio]], the Caproni 133 was aerodynamically and structurally an improved Ca.101.<ref name="Mondey 2006, p. 34">Mondey 2006, p. 34.</ref> Like its predecessor, the Ca.101, was a robust and inexpensive aircraft, designed to be easily maintained in difficult conditions and economical to operate. It had a welded steel-tube structure, mixed construction, with metal and fabric covering, main wheel spats, flaps and modified tail surfaces.<ref name="Mondey 2006, p. 76">Mondey 2006, p. 76.</ref>
 
The wing was high-mounted, roughly elliptical, and made of wood and steel. The [[Landing gear|undercarriage]] was spatted and fixed. The aircraft was powered by three engines, one in the nose, and one under each wing mounted in faired nacelles, with [[NACA]] cowlings, supported by steel tubes.<ref name=":0" />

The civil version could accommodate up to 16 passengers.<ref name=":0" /> It was used by [[Ala Littoria]].<ref name=":0" /> The military version was widely used by [[Regia Aeronautica]], mostly in [[Italian East Africa]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Caproni Ca 133|url=http://www.pilotfriend.com/photo_albums/timeline/ww2/Caproni%20Ca%20133.htm|access-date=2021-12-13|website=www.pilotfriend.com}}</ref> As a bomber it incorporated two small internal bomb bays where it could hold up to 500&nbsp;kg (1,100&nbsp;lb).<ref name=":0" /> Larger ordnance could be mounted externally. It was armed with four 7.7&nbsp;mm (.303&nbsp;in) [[Breda-SAFAT machine gun|Breda-SAFAT]] machine guns, one dorsal, one ventral, and two lateral.<ref name=":0" /> Bomber aircraft operated as military transports, redesignated Ca 133T, had their interiors modified to accommodate 18 fully equipped soldiers.<ref name="Mondey 2006, p. 76"/>

==Operational service==

===Second Italo-Abyssinian War (1935–1936)===
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2015}}
The Ca.133 was well-suited for colonial use, and it became the most successful of all Italian colonial aircraft.

The more advanced [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.81]]s were too valuable to be used in 'low level wars' and were also more costly. The war was thus fought mainly with the Ca.101, [[Caproni Ca.111|Ca.111]] and Ca.133.

Around 100 Ca.133s took part in the conflict, and as well as 'normal' bombing and strafing, they were often equipped with [[mustard gas]] and [[Phosgene]] chemical bombs. These weapons were forbidden by the [[Geneva Protocol]] of 1925, but in this war (and in Libya) Italy ignored the convention.

The Ca.133s were also used as transports to support the army, as well as reconnaissance aircraft.

Without any air opposition, and [[flak]] almost exclusively based on small-calibre arms, air power was a decisive factor in Italy's final victory, culminating in the capture of [[Addis Ababa]] in early 1936. Even so, COIN ([[Counter-insurgency|COunter INsurgency]]) operations continued until the start of World War II.

===Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)===
While in Ethiopia they were widely used, in Spain the Ca.133 was found to be too slow, and highly vulnerable to enemy [[Polikarpov I-15]] and [[Polikarpov I-16|I-16]] aircraft, also to heavy anti-aircraft fire.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

===World War II (1939–1945)===
In mainland Italy, the Ca.133 was used mostly as a light transport aircraft supporting [[Fighter aircraft|fighter]] and bomber squadrons by carrying supplies, personnel and spare parts.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} The ''Regia Aeronautica'' soon realized that due to improvements, the type was suitable for combat in  North and East Africa. At the outbreak of war the Ca.133 equipped 14 ''Squadriglie da Bombardamento'' in these theatres.<ref name="Sharpe 2000, p. 143">Sharpe 2000, p. 143.</ref>

In East Africa, it was still used as bomber and attack aircraft. Occasionally it even managed to shoot down enemy aircraft.<ref name="Sutherland & Canwell 2009, p. 94">Sutherland and Canwell 2009, p. 94.</ref> On 12 June 1940, in the south region, three Ca.133s of 66ª ''Squadriglia'' from [[Yavello]] attacked an Allied column of half a dozen trucks and 200 men. Ca.133s of 65ª ''Squadriglia'', from [[Negele Borana|Neghelli]], attacked the Allied positions around [[Moyale]] on two occasions, each time with three aircraft. That night, ten Caproni Ca.133s bombed the port of [[Aden]] and [[Khormaksar]] airfield, already attacked during daylight hours by seven SM.81s of 29° ''Gruppo''. Three other Capronis attacked [[Cassala]] airfield in the [[Sudan]].<ref name= "Sutherland. pag. 32.">Sutherland 2009, p. 32.</ref> On 23 January 1941 a Ca.133 shot down an [[Avro Anson]] flown by Lt E.A. Gebhardt of 60 SAAF Squadron; the Anson crashed before anyone could bale out.<ref name="Sutherland & Canwell 2009, p. 94"/>

It was also used as an air ambulance with the Ca.133S (Sanitary) variant. Over 250 Ca.133s were in service in September 1939, when the war broke out. Some survived until the Armistice in 1943.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

===Postwar===
A handful were retained for civilian service with the airline ''[[Ala Littoria]]''. Some were exported to Austria.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

The last Ca.133 was phased out by the ''[[Aeronautica Militare]]'' in 1947, and the last Ca.148 flew until 1956 with the Italian Aeroclub.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

==Variants==
[[File:Caproni Ca.148.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Caproni Ca.148]]
;Ca.133: Bomber and transport; 76 aircraft produced
;Ca.133S: Medical transport, 30 aircraft produced
;Ca.133T: Troop transport, 283 aircraft produced
;Ca.148: Stretched eight-seat civil/military transport, 54 aircraft produced<ref name="r.stocchetti"/>

==Operators==
===Military operators===
;{{AUT}}<ref name=":1" />
*[[Austrian Air Force (1927-1938)|''Kommando Luftstreitkräfte'']] received five aircraft.
**[[Fliegerregiment 1|''Fliegerregiment'' 1]]
**[[Fliegerregiment 2|''Fliegerregiment'' 2]]
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} (Wartime)
*''[[Regia Aeronautica]]''<ref name=":1" />
*[[Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force]]<ref name=":1" />
;{{flag|Italian Social Republic}}
*''[[Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana]]''<ref name=":1" />
;{{ESP}}<ref name=":1" />
*[[Spanish Air Force]]
;{{UK}} (Wartime)
*[[Royal Air Force]]
**[[No. 117 Squadron RAF]]
;{{ITA}} (Postwar)
*[[Italian Air Force]]<ref name=":1" />
**[[Air Staff Liaison Flight]]

===Civil operators===
;{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy|civil}}
*''[[Ala Littoria]]''<ref name=":1" /> received 12 aircraft.

==Specifications (Ca.133)==

{{Aircraft specs
|ref=World Encyclopedia of Civil Aircraft<ref>{{cite book |last=Angelucci |first=Enzo |title=World Encyclopedia of Civil Aircraft |year=1982 |publisher=Crown Publishers |location=New York |isbn=0-517-54724-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/worldencyclopedi00ange }}</ref>
|prime units?=met
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=5 (bomber); 2 (transport)
|capacity=16 pax (transport)
|length m=15.36
|length note=
|span m=21.24
|span note=
|height m=4
|height note=
|wing area sqm=65
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=4190
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=6700
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=3
|eng1 name=[[Piaggio Stella P.VII C.16]]
|eng1 type=7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines
|eng1 kw=343
|eng1 note=

|prop blade number=3
|prop name=variable-pitch propellers
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed kmh=230
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=200
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed kmh=
|minimum control speed note=
|range km=1350
|range note=
|combat range km=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m=5500
|ceiling note=
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|wing loading kg/m2=100
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|power/mass={{cvt|0.210|kW/kg}}
|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns=4 × {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} [[Breda-SAFAT machine gun]]s
|bombs={{cvt|1200|kg|0}} of bombs
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
|related=
* [[Caproni Ca.101]]
|similar aircraft=
|see also=
|lists=
* [[List of aircraft of World War II]]
* [[List of bomber aircraft]]
* [[List of civil aircraft]]
* [[List of interwar military aircraft]]
* [[List of Regia Aeronautica aircraft used in World War II]]
}}

== Notes ==

{{Reflist}}

==References==
* ''Ca.133 reconnaissance table'', Storia militare magazine n.83. {{in lang|it}}
* Mondey, David. ''The Hamlyn Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II''. London: Bounty Books, 2006. {{ISBN|0-7537-1460-4}}.
* Sharpe, Mike. ''Aircraft of world War II''. Rochester (Kent) Grange Books,  2000. {{ISBN|1-84013-366-X}}.
* Sutherland, Jon & Diane Canwell: ''Air War East Africa 1940–41 The RAF versus the Italian Air Force''. Barnsley (South Yorkshire) Pen and Sword Aviation, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-84415-816-4}}.

==External links==
{{commons category|Caproni Ca.133}}
* [http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/coming%20of%20age/Caproni%20Ca.133.htm Century-of-flight.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721021528/http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/coming%20of%20age/Caproni%20Ca.133.htm |date=2019-07-21 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090719115153/http://www.ams.vr.it/Progetto_Caproni/Caproni_Plane/Ca-133/Ca-133.htm Caproni Ca.133] {{in lang|it}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070826142004/http://www.aerei-italiani.net/SchedeT/aereoca133.htm aerei-italiani.net] {{in lang|it}}
* [http://www.airwar.ru/enc/bww2/ca133.html airwar.ru] {{in lang|ru}}
* [http://www.histaviation.com/Caproni_Ca_133.html Examples exported] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423100040/http://www.histaviation.com/Caproni_Ca_133.html |date=2017-04-23 }}

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[[Category:Caproni aircraft|Ca.133]]
[[Category:1930s Italian airliners]]
[[Category:1930s Italian military transport aircraft]]
[[Category:1930s Italian bomber aircraft]]
[[Category:Trimotors]]
[[Category:High-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1934]]
[[Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear]]