Aero A.304
| Aero A.304 | |
|---|---|
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|
|
| Type: | bomber |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
1937 |
| Commissioning: |
1938 |
| Number of pieces: |
19th |
The Aero A.304 was a twin-engine aircraft produced by the Czechoslovak manufacturer Aero .
history
In 1934, Aero began developing a twin-engine low - wing aircraft with retractable landing gear after ČSA , the state-owned Czechoslovakian airline, needed modern twin-engine passenger aircraft for eight to ten passengers. The machine, equipped with Walter Pollux II R - radial engines with an output of 265 kW (360 hp), was manufactured in all-metal construction, the oars were fabric covered. The prototype with the designation A.204 had its first flight in 1936, and its flight performance was quite satisfactory, but the ČSA had in the meantime decided to meet the demand with the British-made Airspeed Envoy . So it stayed with the single prototype of the A.204.
When the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defense announced an aircraft designed as a light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft in January 1936 , Aero resorted to the A.204 and revised the design. The machine received a glazed bow, a rotating machine-gun turret on the back of the fuselage and, with the Walter Super-Castor I-MR, more powerful engines. The design was named A.304 and took off on its maiden flight in August 1937.
The Czechoslovak Ministry of Defense was quite satisfied with the flight performance and therefore ordered 18 machines. Another copy was ordered by the Bulgarian Air Force and used there as a liaison aircraft under the name “Pelikan” .
After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in early 1939, a large part of the A.304 fell into the hands of the German Air Force . This used the machines as training and liaison aircraft, and three copies were handed over to the air force of the newly founded Slovakia as bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, where they were in service until 1943. In 1941 five A.304s were sold to the Bulgarian Air Force.
variant
- A.300 : Further development of the A.304 as a medium-sized bomber; Development began in 1937, but only a prototype was produced until the German occupation of Czechoslovakia
Military users
-
Bulgaria
- a copy
-
German Empire
-
Slovakia
- 1939-1943
-
Czechoslovakia
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Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 3 (one pilot, one observer / bombardier, one radio operator / gunner ) |
| length | 13.20 m |
| span | 19.20 m |
| height | 3.40 m |
| Wing area | 45.50 m² |
| Empty mass | 3010 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 4755 kg |
| drive | two air-cooled 9-cylinder radial engines Walter Super Castor I-MR on fixed two-blade wood propellers |
| Top speed | 326 km / h at an altitude of 3000 m |
| Climb performance | 6.75 m / s |
| Service ceiling | 6200 m |
| Range | 1250 km |
| Armament | a 7.92 mm MG ZB-30 permanently installed in the bow a 7.92 mm MG VZ-30 in the turret on the back of the fuselage a 7.92 mm MG VS-30 in the floor hatch Bomb load maximum 300 kg |
See also
literature
- William Green: War Planes of the Second World War. Volume Seven. Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft. Macdonald, London 1967.
