Caproni Ca.309 Explained

The Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli was an Italian aircraft used in Libya and North Africa from 1937 to 1943. Its nickname, 'Ghibli', refers to a Libyan desert wind.

Development

The Caproni Ca.309 was designed by Cesare Pallavicino, based on the Ca.308 Borea transport. It was intended to replace the obsolete IMAM Ro.1 biplane, and to serve as a reconnaissance and ground-attack aircraft.

The Ca.309 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a piston engine fitted to each wing.

The aircraft was also produced in Bulgaria. That variant, 24 of which were built, was known as the Kaproni-Bulgarski KB 6/KB 309 Papagal.

Operations

The Ca.309 served in Libya during the first part of World War II with the Auto-Saharan Company, with good operational results.^[1]

After the loss of the African colonies the surviving planes were returned to Italy, where they were used as transports. Two Ghiblis were bought by the Paraguayan government for its Military Air Arm. They were used as transport planes from 1939 to 1945 and in that year they were transferred to Líneas Aéreas de Transporte Nacional (LATN), the Paraguayan first airline which was run by the Military Aviation. They were in active service until the early 1950s and later sold to a private Argentine owner.

Operators

• Regia Aeronautica, operated 243 Caproni Ca.309^[2]

• Italian Air Force^[3]

Bulgaria

• Bulgarian Air Force

Paraguay

• Paraguayan Air Arm (two Ca.309)
• Líneas Aéreas de Transporte Nacional (LATN) used two ex-Paraguayan Air Arm Ca.309s

• Norwegian army flying corps

Legacy

The aircraft lends its nickname to Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation studio known for its feature films.^[4]

Bibliography

• Andreev. Jordan. Les avions Kaproni-Bulgarski (fin) . Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire . April 1999 . 73 . 45–52 . Kaproni-Bulgarski Aircraft. fr . 1243-8650.
• Lucchini. Carlo. Le meeting saharien de 1938 . Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire . April 1999 . 73 . 53–57 . The 1938 Sahara Air Meeting. fr . 1243-8650.
• Sapienza. Antonio Luis. L'aviation militare paraguayenne durant la seconde guerre mondiale . Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire . Paraguayan Military Aviation During the Second World War. May 2001 . 98 . 30–33 . fr . 1243-8650.
• Sapienza. Antonio Luis. Les premiers avions de transport commercial au Paraguay. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire . June 2000. 87 . 45–47 . The First Commercial Transport Aircraft in Paraguay. fr . 1243-8650.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Section Storia: History of the "Ghibli" in Libya during WWII (in Italian) . 2011-01-17 . 2010-08-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100823231530/http://www.alieuomini.it/catalogo/dettaglio_catalogo/caproni_ca_ghibli,36.html . dead .
2. .
3. Web site: Italian Air Force Aircraft Types. www.aeroflight.co.uk.
4. Web site: Miyazaki's 'The Wind Rises' pays homage to Italian aircraft designer. 5 March 2014 . 2015-09-13 . Hiroshi Ishida . Asahi Shimbun . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150703025209/http://ajw.asahi.com:80/article/behind_news/people/AJ201403050070 . 2015-07-03 .