Caproni Ca.312 'Italian Export Bomber'

The Italian company Caproni began producing the light twin-engine bomber Ca.310 and the more powerful Ca.311 for the Italian Air Force in the late 1930s. These also attracted foreign customers. Belgium ordered the Ca.310 and Norway the Ca.311, but with more powerful engines. Caproni first offered Belgium the Ca.312 Belge, built on the basis of the Ca.310, but the production machines were to be built for both countries on the basis of the Ca.311. They were to differ in the design of the nose section. The Belgian machines were to have a stepped nose while the Norwegian ones a smooth shaped nose in the He 111 style. In contrast to the Ca.311, they had massive engine cowlings, three-bladed propellers and modified landing gear. Caproni managed to build two Ca.312s by the time Belgium and Norway had been occupied by the German Wehrmacht and both orders were cancelled. The unfinished batch of 24 was taken over by the Italian Regia Aeronautica. They were operated in the transport role in Italy, Africa and on the Eastern Front. Two machines were used as ambulances on the Eastern Front and flew white overall with red cross markings.
The plastic mouldings are completed with a combination of 3D printed parts, resin parts and etchings of the new engines, the cowlings, landing gear parts and interior. The decals offer a Norwegian prototype option with a smooth nose and three Italian machines with stepped noses. Two are camouflaged, one from Italy, the second from Africa and the third, white, flew as an ambulance in the Caucasus area.