Caproni Ca.380 Corsaro

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

General Info
The story of the Caproni Ca.380, began during the late stages of the second world war, in 1941 the royal Italian airforce set out a requirement for a heavy two-seater twin-engine multi-role combat fighter which could be used to intercept the array of allied bombers which posed a very big threat to Italian troops and be capable of performing tasks as a long-range escort fighter, high-speed reconnaissance aircraft and attack aircraft. 3 well known Italian companies would come out with with new designs which hoped would satisify the needs of the royal Italian airforce. In terms of contenders, Reggiane (assisted by Caproni) would propose the RE.2005 Bifusoliera. Savoia-Marchetti designed the SM.91 and SM.92, whilst Cesare Pallavicino who was part of Caproni would design and propose the Caproni Ca.380 Corsaro (Corsair in English). Cesare Pallavicino at the time was someone who had a lot of experience in designing aircraft, he would design aircraft such as the Caproni Ca.135, Caproni Ca.309, Caproni Ca.311, Caproni Ca.312, Caproni Ca.313, Caproni Ca.314 and the Caproni Ca.315. Construction of the first prototype would begin later on, its important to note that all aircraft were to be powered by the 1475 horsepower German Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1 engines, this allowed the aircraft to reach speeds of up to 644km per hour. It was also mentioned that if the design was to be mass produced, replacing the engine with the more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 603 was also possibile if they wanted to improve on the later batches of the aircraft. In terms of armament, there were 2 possibile configurations which come up for the Caproni Ca.380, the first consists of x8 20mm Mauser MG 151/20, whilst the second consists of x4 20mm Mauser MG 151/20 + x2 Breda Safat 12.7mm. These would be extremely potent against aircraft of the time, and had been widely used in both German and Italian aircraft of the era. When it comes down to payload, the Corsaro would've had access to 50kg GP 50 bombs,100kg GP 100T bombs, 2 x 250kg GP 250 bombs, 500kg GP 500 bombs. These would've allowed the aircraft to be used as a pretty solid attacker. The Crew would consist of up to 2 people (pilot and radio operator). The pilot and radio operator would be seated back to back in the starboard boom, with fuel and equipment in the port boom. Development of the Caproni Ca.380 Corsaro lasted up until late 1943, the construction of the first prototype would be interrupted in September of that year due to the capitulation of Italy. Information on what was actually built is extremely hard to find, most sources just mention the fact that it was partially built, however i managed to find some extremely rare photographs which confirm the fact that most of the aircraft was partially built, things such as the fueslage, tail, and parts of the cockpit seem to have been built. The armament and engine of the aircraft was already made and availible. It's unknown what happened to the aircraft, but if we were to take a look at what happened to the RE 2006, it was likely examined and then promptly disassembled never to see it take flight. There was also a proposal for another future variant of the Caproni Ca.380 Corsaro which had an asymmetric layout, however that stayed 100% on paper. After the war Cesare Pallavicino, like many of his skill set, emigrated to Argentina where he would continue his work and make an interesting twin-engine aircraft known as the FMA IAe 30 Namcu.

Armament+Equipment
x8 20mm Mauser MG 151/20 or x4 20mm Mauser MG 151/20 + x2 Breda Safat 12.7mm
50kg GP 50 bombs
100kg GP 100T bombs
250kg GP 250 bombs
500kg GP 500 bombs
MOTOBOMBA FFF

820kg bomb 
630kg P.D bomb
450kg bomb
420kg bomb
250kg bomb
160kg bomb
(Also had access to Silurotto)

Specifications

Spoiler

Why it should be in game
I think it should be in game as it could prove to be quite an interesting aircraft for Italy, it would play similarly to the SM.91 and SM.92 in game, but with some differences in armament. It probs would fit best as an event or premium vehicle. It might requite quite a bit more research to model but there's suprisingly quite a bit of info on this, unlike other Italian partially built projects such as the Macchi MC.207 so it maybe wouldn't be an impossibile feat. If put at the right br, im sure it wouldn't be OP and overall would be a very welcome addition to the Italian aviation tech tree.

Sources
Italian civil and military aircraft 1930-1945
I.A.R.B. Caproni Aircraft
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caproni_Ca.380
http://forum.worldofwarplanes.com/index.php?/topic/2165-caproni-ca380-corsaro/
https://web.archive.org/web/20110723222007/http://www.samoloty.ow.pl/str395.htm
http://worldatwar.net/chandelle/v3/v3n1/italtwin.html
https://fdra.blogspot.com/2022/07/caza-pesado-caproni-ca380-corsaro.html
https://www.ptisidiastima.com/caproni-ca-380-corsaro/
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Cesare_Pallavicino
http://resumos.netsaber.com.br/resumo-78080/caproni-ca-380
https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/twin-engine-fighters.43675/page-9
Photos

Spoiler

Drawings of what it was going to look like when completed

Spoiler

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by Nicholas_Concu

[ItssLuBu 1,798]

Approved and open for discussion. 

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

3 minutes ago, ItssLuBu said:

Approved and open for discussion. 

Thanks!

[IngegnerMacchi 623]

+1 yet another fantastic design, people has to know Italy has way more to offer!

[Miraz05 255]

+1.I would really love to see this in game

[draghettoverde 41]

+1 nice twin-engine, love to see it in game

[Iskads 104]

+1, looks really cool. I was kinda hoping that the asymmetric layout was actually built

[BranchyTerror90@live 4]

+1 i think having more multi-role combat aircrafts with heavy armaments could fit well in the italian tt

[kamina_sama 139]

+1

[OpusAudereSemper 80]

+1 great suggestion ! such a design masterpiece is needed on wt ! thanks

[mc205v 786]

+1 In firepower seems to be the predecessor of the Twin-Mustang. 

[coritiba1909 61]

+1

[halflings1335@live 46]

+1, Italy needs heavy fighters

6 hours ago, Iskads said:

+1, looks really cool. I was kinda hoping that the asymmetric layout was actually built

I assume you're talking about the one with only one boom, I'm not sure that thing would be able to fly at all. I would like to know more about that one though, it seems interesting. 

[Drasleon 226]

+1 It's typically the kind of vehicle that I dream of see adding to the Italian tree. Their striker aircraft aren't necessarily the most effective in battles combined, but they're so much fun to play. And the Ca.380 combines both the excellent armament of the SM91 and the style of play of the SM 92. It has its place perfectly in games as their successor.

 

I have a question however: What are these circular protuberances around the two tails? Are these radiators?

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

34 minutes ago, Drasleon said:

I have a question however: What are these circular protuberances around the two tails? Are these radiators?

Sorry but I honestly don’t know, could be radiators as you say. 

[BlueBeta 7,558]

1 hour ago, Drasleon said:

I have a question however: What are these circular protuberances around the two tails? Are these radiators?

Yes

Btw the plane seems was in mockup stage more than in prototype construction. In the first photo is clear looking at where the engines should be placed and the wings without any mount or space for cannons.

In another photo appears a DB605 engine on the floor, so the first plane would have it installed.

[Z3r0_ 4,128]

Well, it was built, I guess that's good enough.  Would've been better if it flew so we'd have flight data to look at though, since there's often a number of issues that crop up in flights that aren't immediately apparent beforehand, especially in the days before computers were capable of performing complex aerodynamic simulations (computers were being used during the war for aerodynamic calculations, mostly in Germany, but it wasn't widespread, and they were very primitive).

Edited November 7, 2022 by Z3r0_

[Milocat 4,854]

+1, I would really love to see this in the game.  

[BlueBeta 7,558]

This just to be clear about what we are looking at.

 

 

 

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

1 hour ago, BlueBeta said:

 

On 05/11/2022 at 00:43, Nicholas_Concu said:

Drawings of what it was going to look like when completed

These are for reference, to give the person who's looking at my suggestion some extra info. One is for what it roughly would've looked like, and another is of what it could've looked like in color. 

[BlueBeta 7,558]

15 minutes ago, Nicholas_Concu said:

These are for reference, to give the person who's looking at my suggestion some extra info. One is for what it roughly would've looked like, and another is of what it could've looked like in color. 

These can lead to an error. So it's better choose the correct reference and show only those.

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

9 minutes ago, BlueBeta said:

These can lead to an error. So it's better choose the correct reference and show only those.

It won't lead to error... if you know the difference the individiual will know which is which. 

[G1label 143]

+1 more italian twin fighters is always good.

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

15 hours ago, G1label said:

+1 more italian twin fighters is always good.

Thanks for the support! 


I've also updated the post with some new info. 

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

3 hours ago, __Fleks__ said:

Interesting plane, +1 from me. By the way @Nicholas_Concu aren't you by any chance? )

Reveal hidden contents

 

Thanks for the support, and yes that is indeed me.