Aero A.18

Last updated
Aero A.18
Aero A.18.jpg
Role Fighter aircraft
National origin Czechoslovakia
Manufacturer Aero Vodochody
Designer Antonin Vlasák
Antonin Husnik
First flightMarch 1923
Retired1939[ citation needed ] (due to German invasion)
Status1 preserved at the Prague Aviation Museum
Primary users Czechoslovak Air Force
Czech Aero Club
Produced1920s
Number built20

The Aero A.18 was a biplane fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in the 1920s. It was a development of the Ae 02 and Ae 04 fighters Aero had designed during World War I, but also borrowed from the more recent A.11 reconnaissance-bomber design.

Contents

Design and development

The A.18 was designed by Antonin Vlasák and Antonin Husnik and first flew in March 1923; only one of three prototype fighters that Aero flew that year, but this one was selected for production over the A.19 and A.20 that competed with it. [1]

Operational history

Twenty machines saw service with the Czechoslovak Air Force in the period between the wars. [1] [2]

The A.18B and A.18C were specially modified racing variants that competed in the Czech Aero Club's first two annual air races, in 1923 and 1924 respectively. Both aircraft won their races, and the A.18C is preserved at the Prague Aviation Museum in Kbely along with a replica of a standard A.18 fighter. [1]

Operators

Specifications (A.18)

MMK 3VIEWS Aero A-18.webp

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters, [1] Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes, [2] Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1924 [3]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Related development

Related lists

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Green, William; Gordon Swanborough (1997). The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander Books Limited. p. 10. ISBN   1-85833-777-1.
  2. 1 2 Sharpe, Michael (2000). Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes. London: Friedman/Fairfax Books. p. 16. ISBN   1-58663-300-7.
  3. Grey, C.G., ed. (1924). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1924. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 85b.