R.Abate,G.Alegi,G.Apostolo Aeroplani Caproni: Gianni Caproni and His Aircraft, 1910-1983

The unsuccessful participation in the Italian Army’s 1913 competition for a military airplane, in which Caproni had entered a new monoplane design, ultimately had a positive conclusion: the aircraft rejected in Turin for reasons having little to do with its qualities was later selected specifically for the reconnaissance role by a board comprising the Army’s best pilots and engineers. Thus a small batch of Ca.18 were ordered, while some thought was given to ordering significant numbers in a program involving several other manufacturers. When this opportunity dissolved, the six Ca.18 built were assigned to an observation squadriglia serving in Piacenza with the siege artillery depot and becoming the first aircraft of indigenous design and manufacture in Italian service.