Acquisition of Aviation Material from Czechoslovakia for the Air-Forces of the Navy and the Army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia  Cover Image

НАБАВКА ВАЗДУХОПЛОВНОГ МАТЕРИЈАЛА ИЗ ЧЕХОСЛОВАЧКЕ ЗА ПОТРЕБЕ ВАЗДУХОПЛОВСТВА ВОЈСКЕ И МОРНАРИЦЕ КРАЉЕВИНЕ ЈУГОСЛАВИЈЕ
Acquisition of Aviation Material from Czechoslovakia for the Air-Forces of the Navy and the Army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Author(s): Dragan Aleksić, Nebojša Đokić
Subject(s): History
Published by: Institut za noviju istoriju Srbije
Keywords: the Kingdom of Serbs; Croats and Slovenes; France; Czechoslovakia; air-forces; combat aircraft; air-industry

Summary/Abstract: The air-forces of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were mostly equipped with French types of combat air-craft in the fi rst years after WWII. The same tendency existed until the end of 1920s, although the Air-Force Command strove, whenever possible, to organize production of franchised French plains in the country. Practically all fi ghter-planes, bombers, and reconnoitering planes (so-called war or combat planes) and large number of training planes in the Air-Forces’ arsenal, were French made or franchised until mid-1930s. However, from 1929 to WWII, there were no new acquisitions from France, with Yugoslavia only producing with French franchise previously ordered French planes. The reason for interruption in acquisitions of French aircraft between 1927 and 1937 was the fact that French constructors made no important project. According to the general opinion, French plains were in those years not only much inferior to the British or American ones, but also to the Czechoslovak and Polish ones. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia bought very few aircraft in that period, except for domestic training planes and already ordered planes made under French license. The total of 73 plains and hydro-planes of foreign construction was ordered, 45 of them (62%) of Czechoslovak, 15 (20%) of German and some 13 (18%) of British construction. The Czechoslovak domination of the Yugoslav market was ended in the second half of 1930s when the new generation of fi ghter-planes (Hurricanes, ME-109) and bombers (DO-17, Blenheim) of British and German made appeared.

  • Issue Year: 2007
  • Issue No: 1-2
  • Page Range: 43-64
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Serbian