- Yes
- Maybe
- No
History.
In 1936, the Ministry of Air Force issued a specification for the supply of a fighter aircraft in order to equip the Regia Aeronautica with a new generation of aircraft to replace the now dated fighters. Caproni Vizzola participated with a prototype, which was built during 1938 and was flown for the first time on the Vizzola Ticino airfield on 19 February 1939, although the date of the first official flight is dated 15 July 1940. The prototype greatly impressed the leaders of the Regia Aeronautica, so a small order was placed despite the project being late compared to its competitors. The F.5s built were concentrated in the winter of 1942-1943 at the 300th Squadron of the 167th Autonomous Interceptor Group at Littoria Airport for the 3rd Air Squadron, where they remained as night fighters for a good part of the war, even if they made a minimal contribution to war effort since they were “born old” planes. Over time all the planes stopped working for various reasons and were scrapped.
Armaments and propulsion.
Like all Italian fighter planes, the Caproni F.5 was equipped with two 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns placed in the fighter (350 rounds each).
In terms of engine, the aircraft was powered by a Fiat A.74 RC.38 Ciclone, an engine widely used among Italian aircraft, with a power of 840 HP, which allowed the aircraft to reach a maximum speed of 496 km /h.
Specifications.
Spoiler
Length: 7.90 m
Wingspan: 11.3 m
Height: 3 m
Wing surface area: 17.6 m2
Maximum weight: 2,238 kg
Engine: 1x Fiat A.74 RC38 14 cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, 870 hp at takeoff
Maximum speed: 496 km/h
Autonomy: 770 km
Tangency: 9,500 m
Guns: 2x 12.7 mm front-firing Breda-SAFAT machine guns (350 rounds per gun)
Pictures and drawnings.
Sources.
Spoiler
Caproni F5-1941.pdf - Google Drive
Italian Aircraft of WWII: CAPRONI VIZZOLA F.5
Caproni Vizzola F.5 - Wikipedia
Caproni Vizzola F.5 - Wikipedia
AvioBlog - Il Caproni Vizzola F.5 fu un aereo da caccia monomotore monoplano ad ala bassa progettato dall'ingegnere Fabrizi
Caproni Vizzola F5 -
https://www.militarystory.org/caproni-vizzola-f-5/
Caproni - Vizzola F
Caproni - Vizzola F
Caproni Vizzola F 5 Fighter
http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/Italy/Caratteristiche_velivoli_italiani.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edwRsZpV15I&list=WL&index=62
