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Description: The Caproni Ca309 Ghibli was an Italian light ground attack twin-engine aircraft of the thirties. It was designed by the Italian engineer Cesare Pallavicino from the already existing Caproni Ca308 Borea, a small transport aircraft made in 1935. This version was made to fulfill different roles such as transport, reconnaissance, and light attack. It made its first flight in 1936, and the Regia Aeronautica ordered a total of around 70 units for its colonial aviation squadrons. They were used multiple times in the African conflict in the Second World War. They were first used as armed reconnaissance aircraft for patrolling the Tunisian territory for a total of 33 hours. But the front where they proved their good quality was the Egyptian front. Here, the units were able to patrol and oversee important areas such as the oasis, ammunition stores, etc. They were also used to detect enemy infiltration and counterattack them. Most of the units were always combat-ready thanks to the small amount of time required for the repairs, the small logistics, and the low fuel consumption. During the British counter-offensive, they helped a lot the Italian ground troops and fortifications. Sometimes they were also used to lead the Italian tank formations against the British armored division. But even if they proved to be successful in their roles, by 1941, most of them were retired or destroyed, and only 12 units were still operational. Before being moved to Italy, the aircraft attacked many times the enemy formations to cover the retreat of the Italian army units, and in 1942, after the Allied troop had advanced in Libyan territory, the remaining Ca309 were moved to Italy. After the armistice, 17 Ca309 were used by the ANR and 4 by the Aeronautica Cobbeligerante, and it seems that after the war, some Ca309 survived and was used by the AMI until 1948, when the last Ghibli was retired.
Why it should be in game: it could be a good low tier (1.0 most likely) Italian bomber
Specifications
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wingspan: 16.20 m
total length: 12.85 m
total height: 3.04 m
wing surface: 38.70 m2
empty weight: 1,960 kg
max take-off weight: 2,930 kg
max speed: 250 km/h
cruising speed: 210 km/h
minimum speed: 85 km/h
Climb time: 19’ 3" to 3,000 m
maximum ceiling: 4,250 m
autonomy: 1,050 km
Weapons
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1x 20 mm Breda frontal cannon or a 7.7 mm Lewis machinegun
2x 7.7 mm breda Safat machinegun
Bombs:
up to 360 kg of bombs
29x 12 kg bombs
140x 2 kg bombs (similar to cluster bomb)
58x 2 kg incendiary bombs (similar to cluser bombs)
Sources
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Caproni (CAB) Ca.309 "Ghibli" - Flying Lions
http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/Italy/Caratteristiche_velivoli_italiani.pdf
Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli - Coletti's Combat Aircraft
Caproni Ca.309 - Aeronautica Militare
Pictures
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A ghibli equipped with a 20 mm cannon
