KerbalX

Historic photograph from the First Imperial Wars. Here we see a Gondolan Caproni Ca.3 bomber flying southwest to reach Krakopolis after Heinkel landed troops on the mainland.

• After Krakopolis’ defenses were weakened in both the air and the ground - mostly thanks to the infamous Green Baron - Heinkel commenced a land invasion from a nearby island with two battleships for naval and artillery support. With the city under siege - and, by extension, its manufacturing plants - Allied Command could not allow Heinkel to maintain this advantage for long. Since a squadron of Caproni Ca.3 bombers was within combat range, this was the best option for air support in the impending counterattack. However, taking back Krakopolis would not be easy.
• Even if the Green Baron himself wasn’t a problem - which he was - any attempt to retake the city by land forces would be met with artillery from the Heinkelian battleships. Unfortunately, three Allied ships sent to take care of them were sunk - two by an enemy submarine, and the third was scuttled after being crippled to avoid capture - before their targets were within firing range. With the rest of the counterattack aborted, Allied Command realized that an airstrike was necessary to deal with the Heinkelian ships. However, at the same time, they could not stay for long since the latest scout reports indicated that the Green Baron was still at the Island Airfield.
• The Ca.3 pictured was one of many converted to a torpedo bomber. While this meant that the plane would still have to fly low before attacking, they could just release their payload and retreat while the torpedo traveled the rest of the distance to their target.
• To keep the Green Baron occupied, Gondola recruited several convicted murderers from their prisons, put them in four Ca.3s, and ordered them to attack Heinkelian infantry units. With the Green Baron distracted, the torpedo bombers with actual Gondolan airmen would commence the attack on the ships. As expected, while the decoy bombers managed to take out many soldiers and a few tanks, the Green Baron shot them all down - without noticing Heinkel’s ships being blown up.

Though Gondola’s government promised a full pardon to any convicts that survived the battle, they did not expect any to survive. Additionally, at the time, there were rumors that Gondola’s government had planned to kill them anyway and blame it on Heinkelian assassins if they returned - though this was never confirmed. After the Second Imperial Wars ended, Operation: Redemption - which was Gondola’s plan to use convicted felons as cannon fodder in the First (and also the Second) Imperial Wars - was revealed to the public. Out of the hundreds of felons that were trusted to carry out suicide missions without betraying their handlers throughout the First Imperial Wars, only 19 made it until the end of it. While they did receive full pardons, all but 5 were arrested for crimes they committed afterwards or killed while committing said crimes. Soon after Wito Kerbleone took over Gondola before the Second Imperial Wars, the remaining five died under various circumstances. Historians do not debate that these were assassinations, but they do debate whether this was Gondola’s government’s plan from the start or if Kerbleone altered it.

The Caproni Ca.3 on display in the SPH.

• When you launch the plane, expect it to rest on the tailwheels instead of the front. Don’t freak out about historical inaccuracy, as the real-life counterparts often had their rear gear on the ground with the front wheel in the air while resting.

In fact, the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH has supports holding the plane up at the rear gear. The front gear (IRL at least) is probably for the pilots to land easier.

• I started with the cockpit from by triplane replica so I can keep an open cockpit aesthetic. At the same time, since two pilots were in that cockpit, I installed two command seats - and one ladder for pilots to board and disembark. However, that still left the issue of the long nose for the gunner and a central point of command (due to two seats), so I stuck with a probe core and a fuel tank.

With the probe core coming with MechJeb, this made the test cruise way easier.

• For aesthetic accuracy, I used Propeller Blade Type Bs with blade angles fixed at 16 degrees. However, this meant that the plane’s thrust would be weaker than if I used ducted blades. So, for the two front engines, I kept the motor size and output at 100% BUT I left the main throttle torque limit at 20%.
• As for the third pusher engine in the back, although I had two other engines in the front for thrust, I didn’t want to deal with that annoying roll. So, I reduced the rear engine’s motor size and output to 20% while leaving its main throttle torque limit alone. This engine will not be as powerful as the other two, but it should keep rolling down to a minimum (without the use of MJ aircraft autopilot).
• The rear tailwheels had to be moved further forward and lower than expected, otherwise the blades in the rear engines would hit the ground. In addition, the rear blades had to be moved further into the engine itself.

AGAIN, ANY HELP IN TAKING CARE OF THAT ROLL FOR SINGLE-ENGINE PROP PLANES IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Jeb being an idiot (again) and flying low enough over the SPH to touch the roof with the landing gear. Fortunately, no damage was sustained to either the aircraft or the building - at least none that could be attributed to pilot stupidity. And good thing too, because this was the only airworthy Caproni Ca.3 in existence - and it’s a replica on loan from Gondola.

Back in the present day, Jeb and an unnamed Gondolan flight engineer are flying along the coastline away from the KSC.

• To make the test cruise easier, the replica was equipped with MJ aircraft autopilot.

Historic photograph of a Caproni Ca.3 in flight over the Gondolan countryside.
After the First Imperial Wars, many of the remaining bombers were converted and sold for civil use. Such purposes included transporting mail, sick or injured patients, and even paying passengers.

The Caproni Ca.3 replica safely on the ground, and with only 2 fuel units left. Not a (new) scratch on it.