Caproni Ca . 310 The Caproni - Begamaschi Ca . 310 " Libeccio " ( Italian : southwest wind ) was an Italian monoplane , twin - engine reconnaissance aircraft used in World War II . Derived from the similar Ca . 309 , it had its combat debut during the Spanish Civil War , and took part in the earlier phases of World War II in Libya . Some were used in attack groups as a temporary replacement for the unsatisfactory Breda Ba . 65 . The last Ca . 310 was retired by the Italian Air Force in 1948 . Design and development . The Ca . 310 was designed as a low - wing monoplane reconnaissance / bomber , being essentially a version of the semi - military Ca . 309 with retractable landing gear and uprated engines . The fuselage was of welded steel tube construction with a covering of light alloy panels and fabric , while the empennage / tail unit was of wooden construction with plywood skin on its fixed portions and fabric covering on control surfaces . Above the fuselage , mounted in line with the wing trailing edges was a manually operated dorsal turret armed with a single rifle - caliber ( 7 . 7 mm / 0 . 303 in ) Breda - SAFAT machine gun . Operational history . Caproni pinned great hopes on the Ca . 310 ' s effectiveness as a combat aircraft , only to be dashed when its performance fell short of expectations . This lack of performance resulted in both Norway and Hungary being disappointed with the export models they received in 1938 . The Ca . 310 had been evaluated by the " Regia Aeronautica " ( Italian Air Force ) which ordered a small batch . A unit of 16 aircraft was sent to Spain in July 1938 for operational trials as a reconnaissance / bomber by the Italian expeditionary force operating alongside the Nationalist insurgents in the Spanish Civil War . The Norwegian aircraft were acquired as part of a Dried and salted cod ( " Klippfisk " ) barter deal between Norway and Italy . The original order , including options , was for 24 aircraft , but after seeing that the aircraft did not perform well , the Norwegian authorities refused to accept any further Ca . 310s . Instead , a delivery of 12 Caproni Ca . 312 s with upgraded engines and improved performance was substituted , but not delivered before the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940 . A similar scenario occurred with other export contracts , especially with a hoped - for Royal Air Force order for bomber trainers being curtailed during negotiations with Caproni when Italy entered the war as an Axis power . A series of 12 Ca . 310bis were produced for Yugoslavia . This variant differed mainly in having an unstepped , glazed nose . The prototype Ca . 310bis served as the development for the Caproni - Begamaschi Ca . 311 . The 33 Hungarian Ca . 310s returned to Italy were refurbished by Caproni and reissued to the 50˚ " Stormo d ’ Assalto " . The Ca . 310 was not considered an effective combat aircraft and when it saw service during World War II , it was as a reconnaissance aircraft and as a light bomber in areas where no serious opposition was expected . Peruvian Aeronautical Corps Ca . 310s took part in the July 1941 Ecuadorian - Peruvian war . Together with North American NA . 50 s , the Peruvian Ca . 310s flew bombing missions against Ecuadorian cities and supported Army of Peru ground forces . One Norwegian example has been partially restored and is displayed at Sola Aviation Museum .