what is it?
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.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 16.2 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 89 years ago, in 1937.
- Top speed is 1.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 16.2 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1937
- retired
- 1948
- status
- retired
- number built
- 247
- role
- reconnaissance
- makers
- Caproni
- engines
- 2× Alfa Romeo 115-II (or 115-I) / Alfa Romeo 115bis
- crew
- 3
- length
- 13.3 m
- wingspan
- 16.2 m
- height
- 3 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,930 kg
- top speed
- 250 km/h
- cruise speed
- 209 km/h
- range
- 671 km
- ceiling
- 4,500 m
- wings
- monoplane
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1034999, Wikipedia: Caproni Ca.309 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.