Avia S-92

Avia S-92 / CS-92
Avia S-92.4 in the Kbely Aviation Museum
Type:	Fighter and training aircraft
Design country:	Czechoslovakia
Manufacturer:	Avia
First flight:	August 27, 1946
Commissioning:	June 24, 1948
Production time:	1946-1948
Number of pieces:	7 (S-92) 3 (CS-92)

The Avia S-92 and its two-seat version, the Avia CS-199, were the first jet aircraft used by the Czechoslovak armed forces . This was to replicas of the German fighter Messerschmitt Me 262 "Swallow", which during the Second World War on the German Reich had been produced occupied territory of Czechoslovakia. Based on the nickname of its German model, it was also referred to as Svalbina or Turbina in allusion to the new "turbo" drive.

prehistory

After the smashing of the rest of Czech Republic by German troops and the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia , the Czech aviation industry was integrated into the armaments of the German Empire and the production of the aircraft factories switched to German types. From 1944 on, the Me-262 fighter was also manufactured in Budweis and Eger . In order to equip the air forces of the 1945 re-established Czech Republic with aircraft as quickly as possible after the end of the war, the decision was made on May 27, 1945 to use remaining aircraft from this German war production. The Eger aircraft factory and its entire Me-262 production were destroyed in a Western Allied air raid on March 25, 1945 , but seven incomplete jet fighters survived the war unscathed on the site of Leichtbau Budweis . Another 18 Me 262s were found along with many spare parts on the premises of the Saaz airfield . These and other parts and components distributed all over the country, including the machines required for construction, were collected and brought together at the Avia plant in Čakovice , where production was to take place. A workshop (today Letecké opravny Malešice, LOM) with a still existing German test bench was set up in Prague-Malešice to manufacture the associated drives .

development

The former V-35(CS-92.5) in the air force camouflage scheme

The first example assembled with the help of a still existing Me-262A cell was named S-92.1 (s for stíhací, hunter) and was completed at Christmas 1945 except for the engines. As with the original, the Jumo 004 was used as the drive , now called M-04 (m for motor). On March 5, 1946, the first model began the test runs and on April 9, the first two M-04s were released for installation. After the weighing was completed on May 27, the S-92.1 began soil testing in June 1946. The aircraft was then dismantled and transferred to the Saaz airfield, now Žatec in the Czech Republic. There the assembly took place with the participation of engineers Václav Svoboda and Jan Pánek as well as experts from the Ministry of Defense (MNO) and the Aviation Research Institute (VZLÚ). The taxiing tests began on August 22nd and on August 27th 1946 Antonín Kraus successfully carried out the maiden flight. The subsequent flights were also successful and Kraus was able to achieve a top speed of 860 km / h at an altitude of 4000 m on the sixth flight. However, the S-92.1 crash-landed on September 5 after the left engine failed and was not rebuilt.

The S-92.2, which was flown for the first time on October 24, 1946, followed as a replacement for the destroyed S-92.1. On September 7, 1947, it was presented to the public by Jiří Manak on the occasion of a flight day over Prague-Ruzyně Airport . It was later equipped with a pressurized cabin in the VZLÚ. The third example was a two-seater school version with double control developed from the Me 262B , which was first tested on December 10, 1946 as the CS-92.3 (cs for cvičné stíhací, school hunter). Seven more copies followed, including two two-seaters, all of which were used by the VZLÚ for testing purposes and then for the most part given to the air force. Yugoslavia also showed interest in the type and sent a delegation to which the CS-92.3 was demonstrated in May 1947, with the Yugoslav pilot Ilija Zelenika also being instructed in its handling and temporarily taking over the controls. Ultimately, however, there was no delivery. Two S-92s received two M-03 engines as a test in 1949, the replicas of the BMW 003 , one of which (CS-92.7) was converted back to the M-04 version after the end of the test and handed over to the air forces.

The S-92 served the armed forces of the ČSR primarily for selected pilots to study the flight characteristics of a jet aircraft and as a temporary solution until better types were available. It was flown until the mid-1950s and was first replaced by the Soviet Yak-17 and later by the more modern Yak-23 and MiG-15 .

Production list of all built S-92 / CS-92

designation	First flight date	Identification at VZLÚ	License plate for the Air Force	Remarks
S-92.1	August 27, 1946	-	-	destroyed during testing
S-92.2	October 24, 1946	V-33	-	only VZLÚ
CS-92.3	December 10, 1946	V – 31	KR – 31st
S-92.4	June 18, 1947	V-34	KR – 34 (?)	today Aviation Museum Kbely
CS-92.5	4th July 1948	V-35	KR-35 (?)	today Aviation Museum Kbely
S-92.6	June 17, 1948	V-36	KR-36
CS-92.7	1948	V-37	KR-37	Test flights with M-03 in February 1949, then converted to M-04
S-92.8	July 20, 1948	V – 38 (?)	-	Test flights with M-03 from November 14, 1949, only VZLÚ
S-92.9	September 24, 1948	V-39 or V-40	KR – 39 or KR – 40
S-92.10	September 24, 1948	V-39 or V-40	KR – 39 or KR – 40

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data (S-92)
crew	1
span	12.5 m
length	10.6
Wing area	21.7 m²
Wing extension	7.2
Empty mass	4,420 m
Takeoff mass	6,398 kg
drive	two Avia M-04 ( Junkers Jumo 004 B-1) with 900 kp each
Top speed	840 km / h
Marching speed	720 km / h
Rise time	11 minutes at an altitude of 8,000 m
Summit height	12,000 m
Range	900 km

Preserved copies

There is still a copy of the S-92 and CS-92, which are exhibited in the Kbely Aviation Museum and can be viewed. The two-seater CS-92 received the camouflage scheme and the license plate (black "A") of a Me 262B-1a, as found in 1945 at Saaz airfield.

literature

• Peter W. Cohausz, Zdenek Nevole: The Me 262 in service in Czechoslovakia. The "swallow" of the Eastern Bloc. In: Flugzeug Classic Jahrbuch 2016. Geramond, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-86245-418-1 , pp. 58–67.

Web links

Commons : Avia S-92  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alexander Kartschall: Messerschmitt Me 262. Secret production facilities. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2020, ISBN 978-3-613-04258-2 , p. 83
2. ↑ Vaclav Nemecek: Československá letadla. Naše Vojsko, Prague 1968, p. 300/301 (Czech).