Aero A.11

Last updated
Aero A.11
Aero A-11.jpg
Role Light bomber
Reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer Aero Vodochody
DesignerAntonín Husník
First flight1924
Introduction1920s
Retired1940s
Primary users Czech Air Force
Finnish Air Force
Produced1924-1928
Number built108
Variants Aero A.12
Aero A.21
Aero A.25
Aero A.29

The Aero A.11 was a biplane light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft built in Czechoslovakia between the First and Second World Wars. It formed the basis for many other Czechoslovakian military aircraft of the inter-war period. Around 250 were built, with some remaining in service at the outbreak of World War II.

Contents

Designed by Antonin Husnik [1] , it was a development of the Aero A.12 (despite what the numbering of the designs might suggest). A Hispano-Suiza 8Fb-powered version, the A.11H-s was built for the Finnish Air Force, the only foreign operator of the type. The Finns had eight aircraft of this type and used them between 1927 and 1939.

Replica Ab.11 in Prague Aviation Museum, Kbely Replica Aero Ab-11 L-BUCD (8236059976).jpg
Replica Ab.11 in Prague Aviation Museum, Kbely

The Aero A.11 was the basis of the later Aero A.25 Aero A.29, Aero A.30, and Aero A.32 aircraft. [2] [3] [4]

Aircraft A-11.105 was modified in 1928 with a 240 hp (176 kw) Walter Castor I engine installed, and first flown in March 1930. After undergoing military trials, 25 planes were produced as the Aero A.211 from 1930-1933. [5] The A.211 featured advanced instrumentation in comparison to the A.11, was lengthened to 8.6m, and the weight was reduced to 880 kg. These planes carried no weapons and stayed in service until around 1939. [6] [7]

After the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Slovak Air Force retained 3 Aš.11, 3 AP.32, 1 A.25, and 3 A.211s. The aircraft that remained in the Czech Republic were captured by Germany and A.211s were used by the Luftwaffe for training, with 4 units still on the books as of May 1940. [8] [9] [10]

Variants

Aero Ab.11 L-BUCD Aero Ab.11 L'Aeronautique October,1926.jpg
Aero Ab.11 L-BUCD

Operators

Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland

Specifications (Ab.11)

Data from Tschechoslowakische Flugzeuge : von 1918 bis heute [11]

General characteristics

1,537 kg (3,389 lb) (A.11}[ citation needed ]
176 kW (236 hp) Walter W.IV (A.11}[ citation needed ]

Performance

240 km/h (150 mph; 130 kn) (A.11}[ citation needed ]
7,600 m (24,900 ft) (A.11}[ citation needed ]
42 kg/m2 (8.6 lb/sq ft) (A.11}[ citation needed ]

Armament

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aero A.12</span> Type of aircraft

The Aero A.12 was a Czechoslovakian biplane light bomber and military reconnaissance aircraft manufactured in small numbers shortly after World War I. Although reminiscent of the Hansa-Brandenburg-designed aircraft that Aero was building during the war under licence as the Ae.10, the A.12 was the company's own design. It is perhaps most significant as the direct descendant of the highly successful A.11 and its various derivatives. An example of the type is preserved at the Letecké Muzeum in Kbely.

The Aero A.25 was a biplane military trainer aircraft developed in Czechoslovakia from the Aero A.11 reconnaissance-bomber and generally similar to the Aero A.21 night trainer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aero A.30</span> Type of aircraft

The Aero A.30 was a biplane light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s. It originated as an attempt by Aero to improve the performance of the Aero A.11, but soon evolved into quite a different aircraft, larger and more powerful than its predecessor. The aircraft is readily distinguished from other related types by the difference in spans between its wings – the upper set being of much greater span than the lower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aero A.304</span> Type of aircraft

The Aero A.304 was a Czechoslovakian bomber aircraft that first flew in 1937. It had originally been developed as an airliner, the A.204, but when Aero could not find buyers for the design, it was militarised and successfully marketed to the Czechoslovak Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Venus</span> 1920s Czech piston aircraft engine

The Walter Venus was a seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use, built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avia BH-4</span> Type of aircraft

The Avia BH-4 was a prototype fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1922. It was a development of the BH-3 fitted with a Hispano-Suiza 8 engine in an attempt to improve the aircraft's performance. To accommodate the new powerplant, the forward fuselage was considerably redesigned, and the structure in general and undercarriage in particular were strengthened. Performance was found to be only marginally better than the BH-3, and development was quickly abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avia BH-10</span> Type of aircraft

The Avia BH-10 was a single-seat aerobatic sports plane built in Czechoslovakia in 1924, based on the Avia BH-9, which was in turn developed from the BH-5 and BH-1. It was easily visually distinguished from the BH-9 by the tall anti-roll pylon added behind the open cockpit in order to protect the pilot in the event that the aircraft flipped over or crashed while inverted. 21 copies of the aircraft were built, 10 of which were bought by the Czechoslovakian Army as a training aircraft and operated under the designation B.10.

The Avia BH-20 was a civil trainer aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1924. It was a single-bay, unstaggered biplane of conventional configuration. The wings were braced with N-struts at around half-span. The pilot and instructor were seated in tandem, open cockpits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avia BH-22</span> Type of aircraft

The Avia BH-22 was a trainer aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1925, based on the BH-21 fighter. A smaller engine was used and armament removed. The lighter engine required the wing stagger to be decreased. No significant modifications were made to the airframe structure, reduced weight further increasing the ultimate load factor. Some aeroplanes carried a camera gun. The type saw long service as a special aerobatic trainer and eventually several examples found their way into Czechoslovakia's aero clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avia BH-25</span> Type of aircraft

The Avia BH-25 was a biplane airliner built in Czechoslovakia in 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avia BH-28</span> Type of aircraft

The Avia BH-28 was a military reconnaissance biplane aircraft developed in Czechoslovakia in 1927 to meet a requirement for such an aircraft by the government of Romania. Avia based the design on their BH-26, but replaced the engine with an Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar, as specified in the requirement. The completed aircraft was taken to Bucharest for demonstration, but no order ensued, and this prototype was the only example constructed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Praga E-39</span> Type of aircraft

Praga E-39/BH-39 was a Czechoslovak trainer aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mráz Bonzo</span> Type of aircraft

The Mráz M-3 Bonzo was a light aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1948 as a further development in the family of light aircraft that had commenced with the M-1 Sokol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letov Š-6</span> Type of aircraft

The Letov Š-6 was a bomber aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia during the 1920s. Derived from the Š-2, it was a biplane of conventional design. The wing cellule was an all-new design with a thicker profile, and while it had been intended to build them with a metal structure, wood was used instead due to shortages. Performance during testing was so promising that in 1924 an Š-6 was used to set a new altitude record with a 500 kg payload, and a national endurance record of 10 h 32 min.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letov Š-19</span> Type of aircraft

The Letov Š-19 was an airliner produced in small numbers in Czechoslovakia during the 1920s.

The Letov Š-32 was an airliner produced in small numbers in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. It was a trimotor monoplane with a high, cantilever wing, and was designed to meet a requirement by ČSA for a machine to service a night route between Prague, Bratislava, Uzhorod, and Bucharest. It could carry up to six passengers in a fully enclosed cabin which was praised at the time as being "particularly roomy and lofty". The wings were of all-metal construction, and the fuselage was built up from steel tube and was mostly skinned in metal, other than its very rear part, which, like the empennage, was fabric-covered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beneš-Mráz Be-60 Bestiola</span> Type of aircraft

The Beneš-Mráz Be-60 Bestiola was a Czechoslovakian light aircraft produced in the 1930s. The highwing monoplane had two side-by-side seats in an enclosed cabin, braced wings, and a fixed undercarriage. It was first flown in 1935, undergoing testing quickly. Twenty of these aircraft were then sent out to Czechoslovakian flying clubs from April to November 1936.

The Letov Š-5 was a light scout aircraft built by Letov in the early 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beneš-Mráz Be-56 Beta-Major</span> 1930s Czech aircraft

The Beneš-Mráz Be-56 Beta-Major was a single-seat aerobatic advanced trainer manufactured in Czechoslovakia shortly before World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Praga E-51</span> Type of aircraft

The Praga E-51 is a Czechoslovakian reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber built by Praga in the 1930s. Development was halted by the annexation of Czechoslovakia by Germany, after only one prototype had been built. The appearance of the construction is very reminiscent of the contemporary twin engined fighter, the Fokker G.I from Holland.

References

  1. https://www.fronta.cz/letecky-konstrukter-antonin-husnik
  2. NÉMEČEK, Václav (1983). Československá letadla I (1918-1945), 3rd ed. Prague: Naše vojsko. p. 77–78, 250–251.
  3. ŠOREL, Václav (2005). Encyklopedie českého a slovenského letectví. Brno: CP Books. p. 40. ISBN   80-251-0733-7.
  4. Jirout, Jar (September 1930). "Pozorovací letouny firmy Aero typu AP-32". Letectví. 10 (9): 338–341.
  5. Fidler, Jiří (2015). In the betrayed sky. Prague: Libri. p. 13. ISBN   978-80-7277-532-3.
  6. NÉMEČEK, Václav (1983). Československá letadla I (1918-1945), 3rd ed. Prague: Naše vojsko. p. 77–78, 250–251.
  7. ČIŽEK, Martin (2015). Letadla zrazeného nebe. Prague: Naše vojsko. p. 41-45. ISBN   978-80-206-1576-3.
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20201026172254/https://www.gonzoaviation.com/clanok/prehlad-poctu-aeroplanov-na-slovensku-v-obdobi-1939-1945
  9. ČIŽEK, Martin (2015). Letadla zrazeného nebe. Prague: Naše vojsko. p. 41-45. ISBN   978-80-206-1576-3.
  10. KRUMBACH, Jan (June 1964). "A-11". Křídla vlasti (13): 426–428.
  11. Tschechoslowakische Flugzeuge : von 1918 bis heute (in German and English) (1st ed.). Berlin: Transpress : VEB verlag fur Verkehrsween. 1987. pp. 166–167. ISBN   3344001213.