Caproni Ca.3 crash 1917

[GrizBArizona]

Got this report from US National Archives.

Caproni bomber. Ca.3.
Hazelhurst Field, Mineola Long Island, NY 17 May 1918

I do not know very much at all about this aircraft.

US Army Signal Corps wanted to test the Caproni Ca.3 (which would actually be the 30 series, Ca.33 to Ca.39, right?).

Italian pilot killed immediately after T/O. Lt. Antonio Silvio Resnati (sometimes listed as Emilio Resnati ??).

Found some photos. All scraped off the internet.

Two Ca.3s were exported to the US. I think they mightve been 4051 and 4053. I think 4051 crashed. But I really dont know.

The US then contracted to build Ca.4s and Ca.5s but the war ended before this happened??

Which Ca.3 was this?

Newspaper articles from 1917 say Resnati was crushed by an engine but that one crash photo doesnt really show that.

 

[vikingBerserker]

In May 1917 the US established what became the Bolling Mission looking at foreign aircraft and for large bombers they evaluated the Caproni C.42 and the Handley Page 0/400 in the US. If produced in the US they would be fitted with the Liberty V-12s already in production and in August of that year they stated the preference was the Caproni if it could be produced sooner. However the Army also wanted an American designed bomber that would be superior to the Handley Page. Glenn Martin stepped in with their design MB-1 and the US placed an order for 20 of them instead of the Capronis in January of 1918. IIRC there was some issue with producing the Caproni in the US, but I cannot recall what it was.