The Ca.61 retained the twin boom biplane layout, the three engines in push-pull configuration and the approximate dimensions of the 1916 Ca.36, the main Ca.3 type production variant, but had more modern, streamlined structures and balanced rudders.
[1][2] In May 1923 a contemporary report described it as the "Caproni type 1922-3",[1] suggesting the design work and construction started in 1922.
The Ca.61's biplane horizontal tail, with constant chord tailplanes and elevators mounted between the fins, formed a stiffening structural box-unit.
There was a compartment for a defensive gunner, equipped with a flexible gun mount, in the nose and behind him a separate cockpit with side-by-side seating for pilot and co-pilot, fitted with dual control.
Each wheel was hinged on a V-strut from the fuselage side and a narrow V drag strut from the aft spar to the stub axle ends.
There were tailskids at the ends of the booms and a large nosewheel, half-buried in the fuselage below the gunner, in case of nose-overs.