First fighter

DISPLAYED AT SEATTLE'S MUSEUM OF FLIGHT

The world's first fighter aircraft, the 1914 Italian Caproni Ca 20 monoplane, is now on public display at the Museum of Flight.

The museum acquired the plane in May 1999 and opened it to public viewing last October. Obtained from the children of the man who designed it, Italian aviation pioneer Gianni Caproni, the Ca 20 is the only example of the model ever built. The Museum's new artifact will offer visitors a rare opportunity to study a very early vintage aircraft in original, "as found" condition. Both the airframe and the fabric coverings date from 1914, the year of Ca 20's creation.

First flown in 1914, the Caproni 20 was exhibited at the aviation trade show Esposizione dell'Aeronautica Italiana in Rome in 1936. Twelve years later, the fighter was placed in storage in a monastery on the Caproni family estate in Venegono, Italy, where it remained for 51 years until its acquisition by the Museum of Flight.

The Ca 20 was designed as an offensive platform: a monoplane that integrated a movable, forward-firing Lewis machine gun two feet above the pilot's head. The gun had a false sight at eye level that enabled the pilot to aim through the propeller arc while the gun fired from above. With its I 10hp Le Rh6ne rotary engine and streamlined, enclosed spinner inlet, it was one of the best performing planes of its day. The Ca 20 had a top speed of 102mph compared with its competitors, the 75mph German Rumpler Or the 65mph French Nieuport.

The Museum plans to display the Ca 20 in its dented and tattered 1914 condition for two years. A fundraising campaign will begin this fall to restore the aircraft-an extensive and ambitious project that aims to retain 90 percent of the original airframe.

Copyright Air Age Publishing Apr 2000
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