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The Caproni Ca.72 was an Italian night bomber designed to reequip the post-World War I Italian Air Force.

Caproni Ca.72
Role	Night bomber aircraft Type of aircraft
National origin	Italy
Manufacturer	Caproni
First flight	1924
Number built	1
Developed from	Caproni Ca.66

Design and development

The Ca.72 was, overall, similar to the Caproni Ca.66 and Caproni Ca.67 in overall design . However, the Ca.72 differed from the Ca.67 in the addition of an SPA 6A engine, mounted as a pusher on the upper mainplane centre-line. Despite these changes, flight tests offered only a 5 km/h (3.1 mph; 2.7 kn) increase in speed over the Ca.66. The Regia Aeronautica did not order the aircraft into production and the Ca.72 was abandoned in favor of the Caproni Ca.73.[1]

Specifications

Data from ,[2] Aeroplani Caproni dal 1908 al 1935[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: Four, pilot, co-pilot plus two gunners
• Length: 12.50 m (41 ft 0 in)
• Upper wingspan: 17 m (55 ft 9 in)
• Lower wingspan: 25 m (82 ft 0 in)
• Height: 5.60 m (18 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 143 m² (1,540 sq ft) excluding ailerons
• Empty weight: 3,670 kg (8,091 lb)
• Gross weight: 5,670 kg (12,500 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Lorraine Dietrich 12Db 6-cylinder water-cooled inline, 300 kW (400 hp) each
• Powerplant: 1 × SPA 6A 6-cylinder water-cooled inline, 150 kW (200 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

• Maximum speed: 185 km/h (115 mph, 100 kn) at ground level
• Cruise speed: 160 km/h (99 mph, 86 kn)
• Endurance: 4 hr
• Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,000 ft)

Armament

• Guns: 4 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine guns
• Bombs: 10×100 kg (220 lb).

References

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