Caproni Vizzola F.4
Caproni Vizzola · Italy · first flew 1940 · fighter
The Caproni Vizzola F.4 was an Italian single-seat fighter prototype designed in 1937 and built from 1939. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with retractable landing gear, powered by a German Daimler-Benz DB 601A engine.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Flush-riveted duralumin fuselage and plywood-skinned wooden wing; two 12.7 mm guns |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Single-seat Italian fighter prototype with an inverted-V12 Daimler-Benz DB 601A in the nose
- Cantilever low-wing monoplane with retractable undercarriage
- Flush-riveted duralumin fuselage and plywood-skinned wooden wing; two 12.7 mm guns
A slim low-wing monoplane with a welded steel-tube fuselage covered in duralumin and a liquid-cooled inline engine under a smooth nose. The wing has a wooden structure with plywood skin.
Specifications
- The Caproni Vizzola F.4 has a length of 8.9 m (29 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 11.29 m (37 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 550 km/h (342 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Designed by a team led by F. Fabrizi (the F stands for Fabrizi), the F.4 was developed in parallel with the F.5 and shared its airframe. It was converted from the last of 12 pre-production F.5 aircraft once Italy received its first DB 601A, and first flew in July 1940. A production version was dropped in favour of the F.6M.
Variants
The F.5 shared the airframe but used a radial engine. A proposed production F.4 with an Alfa Romeo-built DB 601A, the F.5bis, was never built.
Where you'll see it
The lone prototype was assigned to the 303a Squadriglia of the Regia Aeronautica, which operated it experimentally during 1942.
Related aircraft
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