Caproni Ca . 111 The Caproni Ca . 111 was a long - range reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber produced in Italy during the 1930s . It was a derivative of the Ca . 101 . Design and development . A robust and simple aircraft , it was meant to be used in harsh conditions with minimal support . It was designed by the engineer Rodolfo Verduzio of Gianni Caproni in 1931 , and first flew in February 1932 as MM 205 . This aircraft was a high - wing monoplane , built with a robust but simple structure consisting of a tubular steel skeleton with a fabric and wood skin . Derived from the earlier Ca . 101 , it used a different engine . The fuselage was of square section , and the wing was practically rectangular , with the extremities sloped and the ailerons running the whole length of the trailing edge . Steel tubing was also used for the undercarriage . This was fixed and had a complex structure that had two legs supported by several steel tubes between the fuselage and the wings . The crew consisted of three men . The pilot , a co - pilot / observer and a flight engineer / gunner . The main innovation was the engine . While the previous Ca . 101 had three units , the newer type had only one . This was a risk because the engines of the time were not very reliable . It seems that the gamble paid off as the Ca . 111 was faster than the three - engine Ca . 101 and even the Ca . 133 . The engine was a water - cooled Isotta Fraschini Asso 750RC 18 - cylinder in a ' W ' layout . The first examples were equipped with a four - blade wooden propeller . Later models were fitted with a three - blade metal propeller with variable pitch . The required pitch had to be set on the ground and was not variable in flight . It was heavier and more expensive but provided a worthwhile improvement . Fuel capacity was 1 , 690 L ( 446 US gal ) in two tanks , one of 1 , 060 L ( 280 US gal ) and one of 440 L ( 116 US gal ) . Range was 2 , 000 km ( 1 , 240 mi ) . The oil tank was below the engine and contained 150 L ( 40 US gal ) . Maximum payload was 2 , 000 kg ( 4 , 410 lb ) , but if necessary could be raised to 2 , 500 - 2 , 800 kg ( 5 , 510 - 6 , 170 lb ) . The cockpit instrument s were repeated for each pilot . The instrument fit included a ' Pezzoni ' compass , a ' Sonia ' aerometer , a variometer , ' OMI ' altimeters and fire detectors with extinguisher controls . The canopy was detachable to allow for exit in an emergency . There was also a rice - transmitter radio , for the marconist - gunner . This consisted of a RE 350 and AR 5 transmitter - receiver . This allowed both telegraphic and voice transmissions . To make this possible , there were two radio antennas : one fixed , one flexible . There were two accumulators and two air - generators . Finally , there was a photographic , photoplanimetric O . M . I . 13x18 camera , or a OMI APR 3 panoramic . Sometimes , a cine - machine - gun was also fitted . Defensive armament varied between three and six 7 . 7 mm ( . 303 in ) machine gun s . Initially , the armament was quite weak , one 7 . 7 mm ( . 303 in ) Lewis Gun in the dorsal position , and one in each beam position . This was a serious failing as the gunner could only man one weapon at a time . One improvement was the replacement of the single dorsal gun by a turret fitted with two 7 . 7 mm ( . 303 in ) Bredas . Another machine gun was sometimes fitted in the ventral position , both for offensive and defensive tasks . Some examples also had a machine gun fixed in the nose , firing with a synchronizer through the propeller disk . Bombload , theoretically was up to 600 kg ( 1 , 320 lb ) , in practice , it was more . This load was held vertically inside the fuselage , and consisted of two launchers for : Up to 15 × 12 kg ( 26 lb ) , 15 kg ( 33 lb ) or 24 kg ( 50 lb ) bombs could be carried in a third launcher . It was also possible to carry two bombs of 250 kg ( 550 lb ) or 500 kg ( 1 , 100 lb ) or incendiaries ( 144 × 1 kg / 2 lb and 144 × 2 kg / 4 lb ) . Finally , chemical bombs could also be dropped . The door for entry into the aircraft was on the left - hand side . A civil version was built with seven seats . The Caproni Ca . 140 was , instead , a retractable version of the basic project , but remained prototype . Another prototype was a version with a 3 , 000 km ( 1 , 860 mi ) range , but the redesigned Ca . 112 was not put into production . Its most notable difference was a new elliptic and enlarged wing . One example had a 746 kW ( 1 , 000 hp ) A . 80 engine . Possibly the most important version was the seaplane , fitted with two ' shoes ' under the belly . It had been tested in 1932 and was called the Ca . 111 " Idro " . The " Idro " version was the first to enter service . It was almost identical to the land version , but weighted 3 , 500 kg ( 7 , 720 lb ) and had a 2 , 000 kg ( 4 , 410 lb ) payload . The two shoes were made of cedarwood . The engine remained the same but with 1 , 940 L ( 510 US gal ) of fuel . Range was greater , but speed was reduced . Defensive weapons were four 7 . 7 mm ( . 303 in ) Lewis guns with 2 , 000 cartridges each . Bombload was similar to that shown above . An 800 kg ( 1 , 760 lb ) torpedo could also be carried . Operational history . Italy . The first examples were used by 146 and 183 " Squadriglia " , 85° " Gruppo " , to perform maritime reconnaissance , followed by the 142 . They had six machines each . After just a year , these machines were replaced by CANT Z . 501s . The aircraft were not scrapped but converted for land use , complete with undercarriage . Over 100 machines were rebuilt between 1934 and 1936 . 25 were " Idro " versions . The Ca . 111 was used as a long - range work - horse by the " Regia Aeronautica " . Its main employment was in the Second Italo - Abyssinian War . This aircraft was , like all other machines , sent to the Ethiopian theatre by sea . The aircraft performed a variety of tasks , such as long - range reconnaissance , ground attack , bombing , and as a refuelling machine . It was even used to drop live animals to the troops . The aircraft was well suited to this kind of environment . It was relatively simple to maintain and could often be repaired with local materials . In this theatre , it was second only to the SM . 81 , which was much more sophisticated . On the whole , this machine was cheap , robust and reliable . It had good performance and could be armed with a variety of ordnance . It was also highly vulnerable and so was not deployed to places like Spain . Nevertheless , the machine served until the early 1940s , when it was replaced as a reconnaissance aircraft by the Cant Z . 501 and the Ro . 37 . It was then used in the photoplannimetric role and as a supplier of isolated troops , this time in the Balkans , after the ' conquest ' of Yugoslavia . Peru . Peru took delivery of a number of Ca . 111s in the 1930s which they nicknamed " Panchos " for use as " heavy " bombers , but found them unsatisfactory in service and by 1935 had begun to consider replacing them . In 1936 , Peru ordered Caproni Ca . 135 bombers — which entered Peruvian Air Force service in 1937 — as replacements for its Ca . 111s . However , Peru never procured enough Ca . 135s to replace its Ca . 111s ; Ca . 111s served in Peruvian Air Force heavy bomber squadrons alongside the new Ca . 135s until 1940 , when all Peruvian Ca . 111s were reassigned for use as transport aircraft . Peru which had a small unit of paratroopers trained by Italy , during the Zarumilla War of 1941 dropped a small number of paratroopers from Ca . 111 R . C . aircraft on 27 July to seize the river port of Port Bolivar in disputed territory . This was the first combat use of paratroopers in South American or North America ' s military history .