The Caproni Ca 133 underwent many years of service as a civil transport plane, especially on African routes, before seeing war service in East Africa and Russia. Of about 275 Ca 133s manufactured, most were earmarked for military service as transport, logistical support and paratroop planes. But more than a dozen were delivered to Ala Littoria, which kept them in service until just before World War II.

The Caproni Ca 133 was a direct development of the 1930 Caproni Ca 101, an all-metal fabric-covered high-wing monoplane. There were several models of the Ca 101, differing in number (one or two) and power of engines installed, e.g. the 200 hp Alfa Romeo, the 370 hp Piaggio Stella, and the 240 hp Walter Castor. Most of the Ca 101s were also military aircraft, but a few were used by the Societa Nord-Africa Aviazione, Ala Littoria, and SAM, which flew eight passengers at a time on East African flights. The military version, powered by three 270 hp Alfa Romeo engines, were assigned to some night bombing units of the Italian air force. This aircraft had two or three machine guns, mounted on the back and sides, and could carry a payload of one-half ton of bombs. The Ca 101 saw combat first in the Ethiopian campaign and, despite its obsolescence, was in service during the first years of World War II.

In 1935 an improved version of the Ca 101 was developed, the Ca 133. The two aircraft were conceptually identical, including the same structure and configuration, and even the same wing. But the Ca 133 was a significantly superior plane, both in aerodynamic form and in power. The Ca 133 was powered by three 460 hp Piaggio P.VII C.16 engines, smoothly housed in pods suspended from the fuselage. It was a high-performance plane and could carry a larger payload than its predecessor. The passenger version of this aircraft, which was used on routes connecting Rome with Italian colonies in Africa, could carry eighteen passengers plus a two-man crew. The military version carried eighteen fully equipped servicemen. The Ca 133 saw service throughout World War II on all fronts: in Africa, Albania, Greece, and Russia. Twelve Ca 133s took part in the Italian campaign over the English Channel, the Italian air corps' Belgian operations in October 1940. Ca 133s also provided logistical support for a short time for the fighter squadrons that flew alongside the German Luftwaffe.

Battle of Britain
During the Battle of Britain twelve Ca.133Ts were used as light transport aircraft supplying fighter and bomber squadrons in Belgium. However, the planes never flew over England as an offensive bomber, where more modern Italian bombers such as the BR20M served that purpose. This model represents a Transport ("T") aircraft of the 95a Squadriglia, 18o Gruppo, 56o Stormo Caccia, Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI), based at Ursel, Belgium, November 1940.

This model is a high quality 1/48 resin kit by EVA Models. The camouflage pattern used on this aircraft is a two-tone camouflage pattern of olive green splotches over a sand base. I used an Iwata HP-B Plus with a 0.2mm nozzle, spraying very low at 5-8psi, with Tamiya paints thinned 60:40 with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner with retarder (“orange cap”) to paint. The specific colours used were as follows:

Base colour Giallo Mimetico 3 (sand-yellow). Only two hobby paints are available for this specific colour, but harder to get in Canada, MRP Paints (MRP-315) and Italeri #4645. This unique colour is close to RLM79 but lighter with a touch more “yellow”. I mixed my own using AK paints: AK RC282 (RLM79 1941) 2 parts + AK RC064 (Earth Yellow RAL 8002) 1 part + AK RC004 White (a few drops) + AK RC007 Yellow (a few drops).

Olive green camo colour Verde Mimetico 3 (olive green). Can use MRP Paint (MRP-312) or Italeri #4723. I used Tamiya XF-67 (Nato Green).

Undersides Grigio Azzurro (light blue-grey) (Editor: Grigio Mimetico). Can use MRP Paints (MRP-301). I mixed my own using Tamiya: XF-80 (Royal Light Gray) 2 parts + XF-23 (Light Blue) 1 part + XF-2 (Flat White) for scale effect.

References:
1) Ali D’italia – Caproni Ca 133 (#20), G. Alegi, La Bancarella Aeronautica, Italy, 2005
2) https://alchetron.com/Caproni-Ca.133
3) https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/caproni-ca-133.html