Here are a couple of ugly ducks that I love. They were both in service well pre WW2 , served in Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War, WW2, and afterwards. Both were bombers, and as their technical merits waned in the face of more capable aircraft their role diminished to transport, but despite long service lives they soldiered on...
The Savoia Marchetti SM 81 Pipstrello ,More than 300 built
and the Caproni Ca133
Over 250 in service at the start of ww2
Technical Data :
SM 81 Ca133
Engines 3 x Piaggio Stella VIIC 460 hp various makes 580-1000 hp
3 x Piaggio PX RC15 670 hp
Crew 5 bomber/ 2 transport 6 bomber
Length 15.36 m 18.3 m
Span 21.24 m 24 m
Height 4.0 m 4.3 m
Max Speed 230 km/h 320-347 km/h (dep. on engine)
Cruise 200 km/h 260 km/h
Ceiling 5,500 m 7,000 m
Range 1,350 km 640 km with 2000 kg load
1,500 km max combat
2,000 km ferry
Armament 4 x 7.7mm Breda-Safat MG 6 x 7.7 mm Breda-Safat MG
1,200 kg bombload 2,000 kg bombload
SM 81
Ca133
Cockpit
SM 81 Loadouts :
* 4 × 500 kg (1,100 lb) (stored horizontally)
* 4 × 250 kg (550 lb) (ditto)
* 16 × 100 kg (220 lb) (stored vertically, as all the smaller ones), true weight around 130 kg (287 lb)
* 28 × 50 kg (110 lb) (true weight, around 70 kg/150 lb)
* 56 × 31 kg (68 lb), 24 kg (53 lb), 20 kg (40 lb), or 15 kg (33 lb)
* 1,008 × 2 kg (4 lb) (true weight, around 1,700 kg/3,750 lb)
* Incendiary bombs
Ca 133Abyssinian War
SM 81 Abyssinian War and SCW
Spanish Civil War
Ca133
Other SM81s
Other Ca133s
This is my favourite !
Oldies but Goodies ( and tough enough to serve for 20 years!
Kopfdorfer
Author
Topic: Two Italian Workhorses : SM 81 and Ca133 (Read 8079 times)
