Secret Wonder Weapons Of Italian Fascism ( Campini-Caproni &...)

Doc Yo · August 11, 2008, 08:52:40 AM

...the temporal torpedo of the deranged and forgotten genius of Italian physics, Dr. Eduardo Di Evio.

Intended to restore Italian Naval supremacy in the Mediterranian by sinking Allied ships before they were launched, the T-torpedo came to my attention at an OSS breifing in late '42. Fortunately, the timely ( sorry ) intervention of myself and my team prevented its active use, though I suspect my feckless younger brother managed to beat us to the documents and works drawings. Certainly we didn't find any...

The TT was desigend to be carried by the Campini-Caproni CC R-100, the production version of Italy's first jet. It was distinguished from the prototype by the torpedo fittings, a better radio, and a pair of holsters for the crew's deadly Beretta's. It was also slower.

This is the old Delta 2 kit, dressed up with the proper colors from Aeromaster, and the TT cobbled together from bomb sections, and some pe fins from somewhere or other. I've had a long fascination with the whole 'Secret weapons' meme, and turning the idea sideways just seemed a natural progression. Its not a new build, having finished it about three years ago, but its the first opportunity I've had to photgraph and post it.

EDIT: Sorry about the links-I'm not too clear on embedding images just yet... EDIT: I fixed your image links. All you need to do is right click on the image at the source to obtain the correct property information and then add the brackets for an image to make it appear here in your comments. jjf

Rafael · August 11, 2008, 02:53:51 PM

Doctor Yo!!!. Glad to have you active in the "Dark Side". We have cookies!!!!

Well, your entry really is a thing of beauty. and the torpedo bomber role for this faaaast jet assures us to drive away any invader from the Adriatic Sea.

Love the build and the scratch weapon.

Rafa

puddingwrestler · August 11, 2008, 03:24:21 PM

Slower than the prototype? Does that mean it just sits still?
Sweet!

Doc Yo · August 12, 2008, 07:01:14 AM

Quote from: puddingwrestler on August 11, 2008, 03:24:21 PM
Slower than the prototype? Does that mean it just sits still?
Sweet!

Yes! making it the first VTOL in Italian service as well!

LATE EDIT: I didn't see the note in my first post until a few moments ago. My thanks, JJF. ( I thought that
was the process, but when I did it, all I saw in the preview was the little red x boxes. We live, we learn. )

Brian da Basher · August 12, 2008, 04:10:55 PM

Nice work, Doc Yo! I've always had a soft spot for the Caproni Campini, but you've taken it to the next level by adding that menacing torpedo and the Reggia Aeronautica roundel on the nose.

Brian da Basher

sotoolslinger · August 12, 2008, 05:18:31 PM

Nifty aircraft and dangerous looking torp

Is that a real plane

I gotta go look that up

puddingwrestler · August 12, 2008, 08:31:10 PM

Sotool - it's a real plane, which is sometimes classified as the world's first jet (this is arguable, it's more of a ducted fan). It used a conventional engine to drive fans and force air through the big duct thing. It was pretty slow and chewed fuel. It was also beaten to the distinction of world's first jet by a Hienkel design, but the Heinkel's test flight was kept secret so the record books didn't know about it...

noxioux · August 12, 2008, 09:12:15 PM

I have a tiny little coffee table book, "The worlds worst aircraft" that has a few of his in it.

HOWEVER, this is a great looking bird. I mistakenly took it for a Do-335 conversion at first.

BlackOps · August 12, 2008, 09:37:20 PM

Nice build Doc, like the backstory too

I didn't know you knew where to find the escape hatch over at SSM

McGreig · August 13, 2008, 10:01:51 AM

A really nice build

and it looks surprisingly plausible

frank2056 · August 13, 2008, 12:57:13 PM

Great job, Craig! That kit is pretty rough, so the nice finish is even more impressive.

I heard that the first flight was shot down by an L-4 (Piper Cub)... it overshot on the first pass, though.

Seriously, though, this isn't a real jet. It had a regular combustion engine driving a single stage stage compressor (a propeller...) just in front of it, inside the duct. The air then blew past the engine into the exhaust duct, where fuel was added and ignited. So yeah, it's a ducted fan with a fuel leak that's on fire.

Doc Yo · August 13, 2008, 02:11:21 PM

Quote from: frank2056 on August 13, 2008, 12:57:13 PM
Great job, Craig! That kit is pretty rough, so the nice finish is even more impressive.

I heard that the first flight was shot down by an L-4 (Piper Cub)... it overshot on the first pass, though.

Seriously, though, this isn't a real jet. It had a regular combustion engine driving a single stage stage compressor (a propeller...) just in front of it, inside the duct. The air then blew past the engine into the exhaust duct, where fuel was added and ignited. So yeah, it's a ducted fan with a fuel leak that's on fire.

Thanks, Frank! It really wasn't all that tough a build-about like a early MPM, without the photo-etch. I like the
lines of it, even though it had trouble topping 200 mph. But, not a jet?! Just look at that exhaust cone!

That air battle, though-the observer in the Campini put a full clip from her* Beretta into the air between the
two planes, and had almost managed to wedge another clip into the grip before the L-4 swept past again and
hosed it stern to stem with a trusty Sten. Wm. Green wrongly asserts that it was a Vickers Wellesley ( lost
on a flight out of Islamabad ) that did the deed, but an exchange of letters between myself and Sophia Loren**
in the late sixties determined the truth of the matter.

* For reasons unknown, Di Evio surrounded himself with female lab assistants, pilots, and what not. I suspect that
the aircrafts poor combat performance may also have been influenced by the Rye-Ergot gas mixture used in
the aircrews' oxygen masks. Why they had them on at an altitude of just under 1000 meters remains a mystery.

** A brilliant actress, and superb aviation historian. Not many folks know about the last bit.

frank2056 · August 13, 2008, 02:16:08 PM

Quote from: Doc Yo on August 13, 2008, 02:11:21 PM
** A brilliant actress, and superb aviation historian. Not many folks know about the last bit.

True, she miraculously survived several ditching attempts in the Med; here she is after one such accident.

sequoiaranger · September 06, 2008, 09:17:24 AM

...did you secretly peer into my "projects" file box??

I, too, am going to make a torpedo-bomber from my Campini model.

However, my Italians realize that the Campini's "jet" engine can barely get the plane off the ground and moving, so will not use the "jet" engine for the combat variant. Mine will be powered by conventional piston engines, (three, to be exact--Italians love tri-motors, but they will be "in-line" rather than three separate cowls), and have a gun position in the tail.

Loved seeing yours, though!

sequoiaranger · September 07, 2008, 10:02:34 AM

OK, so it's NOT a very Italian-looking aircraft carrier, but.....Look, it's flying an Italian Flag!