Caproni Ca.165 - Cancellation

Cancellation

Perhaps the influence of Fiat contributed to the selection of the CR.42 Falco over the Ca.165, although Caproni was an influential company itself at the time. Apparently the bottom line was that the Ca.165's engine was much less reliable and only 44 kW (60 hp) more powerful, while the aircraft itself was 200 kg (440 lb) heavier.

The Ca.165, despite being considered the winner in the mock-up fights, lost the final evaluation. Apparently, test pilots flying the Ca.165 managed to outperform the Falco but disliked the aircraft itself. The faster speed was a more modern concept for a new generation fighter (especially in the interception of fast bombers such as the Bristol Blenheim, which often proved too fast for the Falco), and speed was an increasingly important design consideration in World War II-era aircraft. The engine's poor reliability was also apparent, and when considering which aircraft to produce, this could have been a disadvantage as well.

In any case, the Ca.165 was produced in only a single prototype and so vanished from history; instead the Fiat CR.42 became the most produced Italian fighter, despite its overall obsolescence, with almost 1,800 examples built until 1944.