Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics

History

Giovanni Battista Caproni, better known as Gianni Caproni was a civil and electrical engineer from Trentino, a region of northern Italy, who was renowned for his designing and flying several pioneering aircraft between 1910 and 1913. Small, single-engine aircraft, like the Caproni Ca.1, Ca.6 and Ca.12 were important milestones in the early development of Italian aviation. During World War I, Caproni became one of the most important Allied aircraft manufacturers, responsible for the design and manufacture of large, multi-engine long-range bombers like the three-engined Caproni Ca.32, Ca.33, Ca.36 and Ca.40. These bombers were some of the most significant examples of the time, in the field of heavy aircraft. During the interwar period, with the strategic bombing theories of Giulio Douhet being debated, the operational use of Caproni bombers was seen as an important landmark in the history of aviation.

By the end of the war the Caproni company was well established, but the decrease in military orders that followed the end of the conflict compelled the firm to start producing civil aircraft to keep its business running. Some of the wartime bombers were converted to the airliner or cargo role. New models were developed as well, being specifically designed as airliners – among them the Caproni Ca.48, Ca.59 and the Ca. 60 Transaereo (the latter being tested unsuccessfully). …

Collection

Agusta Bell AB 47G

The Agusta Bell AB 47G on display at the Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics is one of the 1,000 built by Italian company Agusta. In 1946, the Bell 47 became the first helicopter to be certified for civilian use; it was then produced in great numbers and was operated worldwide as a multirole helicopter, besides being built under licence in several countries. The helicopter was donated to the museum in 1988.

Ansaldo A.1

The Ansaldo A.1 Balilla was an Italian fighter biplane which was introduced in the final weeks of World War I. The aircraft on display at the museum belonged to Captain Natale Palli, the pilot who had previously flown Gabriele d'Annunzio over Vienna in a two-seater S.V.A. during the famous propaganda raid. It is one of the two surviving Ansaldo A.1s, and the only one whose original silk fabric was preserved undamaged; notably, the image of Saint George killing the Dragon is painted on the right side of the fuselage.

Ansaldo S.V.A. 5

Ansaldo S.V.A. is the name of a family of Italian fighter and reconnaissance biplanes developed in 1916–1917 and best known for d'Annunzio's flight over Vienna on 9 August 1918. The S.V.A. 5 on display at the Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics took part in this raid, piloted by Gino Allegri.

Avia FL.3

The Avia FL.3, designed in Italy in the late 1930s, is a single-engine monoplane training aircraft. It featured a very simple design that afforded great ease of maintenance and was easy to fly. A great number of flying schools before, during and after World War II, operated examples. The exhibited aircraft was built in 1947 and belonged to several owners before coming to the Caproni Museum at the time when the institution was based in Vizzola Ticino. It was restored in 1989 and still features the original engine.

Breda Ba.19

The Breda Ba.19 was one of the most famous aerobatic aircraft of the 1930s; it is best known for breaking the inverted flight duration world record in 1933. The Ba.19 on display at the museum is the only surviving aircraft of its type; it went through a particularly difficult and radical restoration process, in which many of the parts had to be completely rebuilt – even though most of the components are the original ones.

Bücker Bü 131 …