Postwar Czechoslovak Airforce & facts on Avia S-199 Mule

[Pisis]

Hi, this is some gathered info on the topic written above, digged out from one of my eventuall discussion on some other forum. I think you might be interested in it (sorry for the grammar, it's crappy):

First there is necessary to be said something about the postwar Czechosklovak Air Force - it represents a very interesting and rare capitol of the aviation history.

After the very end of WWII, Czechoslovakian pilots came back home from two fronts: former RAF members from the West and former VVS airmen from the East. And they also brought their planes there. So the postwar airforce was build up from various planes of various countries - the CsAF flew English, Soviet, American and German (hybrid) planes.

The RAF planes brought to the country:
--------------------------------------

Cs. Fighter wing Command - 1x Tiger Moth Mk.II

No. 310 Sq:
- 18x Spitfire F Mk.X
- Auster AOP Mk.II

No. 311 Sq:
- 17 Liberator GR Mk.VI
- 1 Oxford Mk.I

No. 312 Sq:
- 18x Spitfire F Mk.X
- Auster AOP Mk.II

No. 313 Sq:
- 18x Spitfire HF Mk.X
- Auster AOP Mk.II

Fromer VVS units:
-----------------

1st Cs. Flight Mixed Divison Command:
- 4x Polikarpov Po-2
- 1x Focke Wulf Fw 58B Weihe

1st Cs. Fighter Regiment 'Zvolenský':
- 23x Lavočkin La-5FN
- 13x Lavočkin La-7
- 2x Lavočkin La-5UTI
- 1x Polikarpov Po-2



2nd Cs. Fighter Regiment:
- 4x Lavočkin La-5FN
- 41x Lavočkin La-7
- 4x Lavočkin La-5UTI
- 1x Polikarpov Po-2
- Junkers Ju W-34

3rd Cs. Fighter Regiment:
- 24x Iljušin Il-2
- 2x Iljušin Il-2U
- 1x Polikarpov Po-2

& plus other around 20 Mosquitoes FB. Mk.VI, 15 Petiljakovs Pe-2, some Dakotas and maybe more (I dunno all, sorry... )
& plus all what was left here by the Luftwaffe (a very lot! - 109's, 262's, Ju 52's, He 111's etc...)

So you can see how varaible the re-born Cs. AF was looking like. In this case, there were no problem with the maintance and if something was missing on eg. Mosquito, it was brought on it from eg. He 111 (not kiddin', really there were flying Mossies with a complete German gunnery!)

That was the reason why there were so many types of S-199. So let's bring some light on it, read this:

Cs. callsing x Original callsign
--------------------------------
C-10 Bf 109G/K
Avia S-99 Bf 109G/K
S-199 Bf 109G/K Jumo 211 F/J engine (also marked as C-210)



At the end of WWII a lot aircraft bodies (dont know the proper word for this in ENG, but you understand whadda mean...) of Messerschmitts Bf 109 G and K-versions were left on the territory of Czechoslovakia by the Luftwaffe. The Czech government decided to complete them to airacrft for newly biulided CsAF. The main supporter of theses reconstructed "One-o-nines" was the Avia facility in Letnany (hey, this is where I live:

Because of lack of the original engines Daimler Benz DB 605 there were some adaptations of the body to fit the Jumo 211 (cs. marking M-211 or C-210 - what the hell who knows?).

The adaptation works begun in Avia on Fall 1946 and first S-199 took off on 25th April 1947.

Beginning February 1948 (btw, this was the communist putsch here, most of the RAF pilots were imprisoned or even executed!) the Military Command sterted to take serial aircarft from Avia and Aero facilities.

With a slight change and correction of the former Luftwaffe trainer Bf 109G-12 with one-seater fuselages a one-seater training type was born - CS-199.

During the years 1947-1951 450 S-199 and 82 two-seater CS-199 airacraft were built.

The Avias became a standard fighter of the CsAF untill the first half of the fifties. The very last ones eneded its service in 1957.

Circa 30 of these airacrft served within the Defense Air Force - Bezpečnostní letectvo:

a B/W pic here




In 1948 24 pieces of S-199 were sold to Khel ha'Avir (israeli Air Force), where they served under a fight nickname Sakyin (Knife - a first part of the original name Messerschmitt - Messer - from German to Hebrew - what a paradox!) by No. 101 and No. 105 Tayeset.



There are currently about five pieces of Avia S-199 in the Czech museum expositures.

Vojenský historický archiv (Military historical archive) has one Avia S-199 (UF-25), výrobní č. 178. The general reparation was done by LO (letecké Opravny - Aircarft Maintance Services) Trenčín (Slovakia) in April 1985.

Besides this one, the museum has also a trainer Avia CS-199 (UC-26), výrobní č. 565, found in the backyard of a school in Čelechovice near Prostějov. From there this peiece was transported in Novemeber 1966 to Military Maintence Services. A general reconstruction was made during 1966-68 in the National Facility Avia. The last work was done by the museum technicians in 1972. The current appearance is the same as it was during the end of 40ies and beginning of the 50ies in the Military Academy in Prostějov. Pics here

Additional info on Avias S-199:

Avia S-199

Avia S-199 Close Up


---

Avias became a standard fighter of the CsAF untill the first half of the fifties. The very last ones eneded its service in 1957.

Circa 30 of these airacrft served within the Defense Air Force - Bezpečnostní letectvo:

a B/W pic here




In 1948 24 pieces of S-199 were sold to Khel ha'Avir (israeli Air Force), where they served under a fight nickname Sakyin (Knife - a first part of the original name Messerschmitt - Messer - from German to Hebrew - what a paradox!) by No. 101 and No. 105 Tayeset.





camo here and here

There are currently about five pieces of Avia S-199 in the Czech museum expositures.

Vojenský historický archiv (Military historical archive) has one Avia S-199 (UF-25), výrobní č. 178. The general reparation was done by LO (letecké Opravny - Aircarft Maintance Services) Trenčín (Slovakia) in April 1985.

Besides this one, the museum has also a trainer Avia CS-199 (UC-26), výrobní č. 565, found in the backyard of a school in Čelechovice near Prostějov. From there this peiece was transported in Novemeber 1966 to Military Maintence Services. A general reconstruction was made during 1966-68 in the National Facility Avia. The last work was done by the museum technicians in 1972. The current appearance is the same as it was during the end of 40ies and beginning of the 50ies in the Military Academy in Prostějov. Pics here

Ooof, that's all I know. Source: Jiří Fidler a Jiří Rajlich: Soumrak králů vzduchu - Československé vojenské letectvo 1945 - 1950 (The dusk of the air kings - CsAF 45-50)

Additional info on Avias S-199:

Avia S-199

Avia S-199 Close Up

[Nonskimmer]

Very, very interesting.

[FLYBOYJ]

Very cool - I heard these things were real "Torque Monsters" if you got one slow and went full power, max pich and were slow on the rudder!

[evangilder]

Interesting. I did not know much about the early Czech Air Force. Thanks!

[Pisis]

Very cool - I heard these things were real "Torque Monsters" if you got one slow and went full power, max pich and were slow on the rudder!

Yeah, complete Mules. Especially in the first moments of the take off they had a great tendency to float to left. This effect caused a lot of crashes.

Another thing is that when Israeli pilots went through the training from Czechoslovak pilots in 1948 in CZ, they first trainied on some planes without extending undercarriage. And when they switched to Avia S-199 eventually, three of them in a row forgot that this plane has the ext. undrcrg and damaged them during the landing.

I'm going on a friend's cottage now for a weekend, but when I'll get back home, 'Im gonna go with my digicam to the near Air Museum in Kbely (three bus stops from my house) and take some pics for you. They have a lot of warbirds (Czechoslovak Spitfire, La-5FN, Avia S-199, Avia S-99 (Czech-built Me 262) on the show, as well as pre-WWII and Cold War jets & rotors.


Cheers,
Pisis

[evangilder]

Sounds like some pics that I am going to want to see. I am looking forward to seeing the pics.

[FLYBOYJ]

Ditto!

[Nonskimmer]

Ditto again.

[Pisis]

Oh, and they got one of the space modules Sputnik series as well!!!