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#Post#: 14791--------------------------------------------------
Plane of the Week: Avia B-534
By: vonofterdingen Date: December 21, 2020, 2:15 pm
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When I first got the IL-2 game so many years ago, I looked
through the aircraft list to see what I wanted to fly. I ran
across the Avia B-534 and wondered just what the heck it was. I
had never heard of it before. Now both the game and myself have
many more planes in our inventory, but I continue to be
interested in the aircraft of the 1930s and the Avia in
particular. I feel like it is a mistake not to explore some of
these lesser-known planes in the game, in the QMB if nothing
else.
From Wikipedia
The Avia B-534 is a Czechoslovak biplane developed and
manufactured by aviation company Avia. It was produced during
the period between the First World War and the Second World War.
The B-534 was perhaps one of the most well-known Czechoslovakian
aircraft of the era.
During 1932, work had commenced on the development of a new
single-engined biplane fighter aircraft, the Avia B-34, which
had been designed by aeronautical engineer František Novotný.
During its development, various alternative engines were
considered and trialled before eventually settling upon the
license-built Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine. Other improvements
during the prototype stage included the adoption of an enclosed
cockpit along with a revised tail and undercarriage arrangement.
On 14 April 1934, the second prototype, while flown by test
pilot Václav Kočí, successfully attained a Czechoslovak
national speed record of 365.7 kilometres per hour (227.2 mph).
Deliveries of production aircraft to the Czechoslovak Air Force
commenced in October 1935.
Partially as a result of its impressive maneuverability, as
well as some operators continuing to maintain a preference for
the established biplane configuration over the incoming
generation of monoplane fighters that would soon prove to
outperform them, the B-534 stayed in production for considerable
time (1933-1939). During the late 1930s, Czechoslovakia sought
to expand production of the type in response to German claims
over the Sudetenland (the western border area of
Czechoslovakia). Large numbers of the type saw combat with
multiple nations during the course of the Second World War.
While relatively ineffective in combat during the later stages
of war due to its obsolescence, the type formed a sizeable
proportion of several country's military aviation components.
During 1932, the Czechoslovak aircraft company Avia flew the
first prototype of a single-engined fighter biplane, the Avia
B-34, designed by aeronautical engineer František Novotný. After
modification, the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence placed an
order for B-34s. A second prototype, the Avia B-34/2, was built,
which was intended to be powered by a 450 kilowatts (600 hp)
Avia Rr 29 radial engine instead of the Hispano-Suiza 12N V12
engine of the first prototype and the initial production series.
This engine proved prone to overheating and vibration, however,
and it was decided to re-engine the B.34/2 before it flew,
fitting it with a Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs V12 engine.
The Avia B-34/2 made its maiden flight on 25 May 1933.[5] The
prototype was sent for testing in September and was redesignated
B-534.1. On 10 September, the B-534 was displayed to the public
for the first time at an Army Air Day. It was to compete against
the Praga E-44 and Letov Š-231.
A second prototype, the B-534/2 was completed in September
1933. It differed from the first prototype by having an enclosed
cockpit, and a revised tail and undercarriage. On 14 April 1934,
the second prototype, while flown by test pilot Václav
Kočí, successfully attained a Czechoslovak national speed
record of 365.7 kilometres per hour (227.2 mph).
The B-534 was furnished with a monoplane tailplane, composed
of steel and covered by fabric; similar construction methods
were used for the fin and rudder. Both the rudder and the
elevator were statically and aerodynamically balanced. The
undercarriage was of a split-type configuration, being
oleo-sprung and equipped with Dunlop-built wheels. The wheels,
which were housed within streamlined fairings, were fitted with
brakes; for conducting operations under winter conditions, skis
could also be fitted to the undercarriage. According to reports
from pilots who flew the B-534, it possessed excellent handling
characteristics for the era.
The Bk-534 was designed to carry one 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon
FFS-20 cannon firing through the nose, along with a pair of 7.92
mm (0.312 in) machine guns to the sides of the fuselage. By the
summer of 1938, Czechoslovakia, sensing rising political tension
caused by German claims to Czechoslovak border territory, was
eager to get more aircraft in the service, thus Avia decided to
use a third machine gun in the nose. However, there have been
claims that the company had encountered substantial difficulties
in adapting the aircraft to accommodate the additional weapon
and these were not quickly resolved. Judging by the size of the
gun magazine, the nose machine gun was matched with an increased
supply of ammunition. Consequently, however, the fuel load was
decreased.
Upon its introduction to squadron service with the
Czechoslovak Air Force during the latter half of 1935, the B-534
was put to use in the interceptor role.[14] Initially, the
responsibility for pursuit and aerial combat was shared with
several other aircraft, including the Avia BA-33L and the Letov
Š-31; however, by 1938, the B-534 was the sole type of aircraft
in Czech service to be tasked with this role. By 10 November
1938, a total of 370 B-534 and Bk-534 aircraft in service;
additionally, 53 aircraft had been written off as a result of
accidents.[15]
On 1 September 1938, less than a month before the Munich
Agreement would cause Czechoslovakia to lose 30 per cent of its
territory and 34 per cent of its population, 328 B-534s and
Bk-534s equipped 21 fighter squadrons of the Czechoslovak Air
Force, while other aircraft were assigned to reserve and
training squadrons, and deliveries continuing of the final batch
of fighters.
On 14 March 1939, Germany forced the partition of
Czechoslovakia, with Slovakia being declared as the nominally
independent Slovak Republic with Germany annexing the remaining
"Czech" part of Czechoslovakia as the Protectorate of Bohemia
and Moravia the next day.[18] The abrupt partition of
Czechoslovakia during 1939 prevented any actual combat
operations of the B-534 to be conducted by the nation that had
produced it. By then, high performance monoplanes such as the Bf
109 and Britain's leading models – the Hawker Hurricane and
Supermarine Spitfire – were raising the bar of
fighter/interceptor standards. The Slovenské vzdušné zbrane
(Slovak Air Force) was organised out of the units of the
Czechoslovak Air Force that were based in Slovakia at the time
of partition, and inherited about 71 B-534s and Bk-534s.
Slovakia had to quickly make use of its newly formed air
force, weakened by the departure of many Czech pilots, to defend
itself when neighbouring Hungary launched an invasion on 23
March 1939.[20] During the ensuing combat, a pair of B-534s were
shot down by Hungarian anti-aircraft fire while a further four
were claimed to have been shot down by Hungarian Fiat CR-32
fighters. Another Avia was compelled to perform a forced landing
behind Hungarian lines and was captured.
During September 1939, Slovakia participated in the German
Invasion of Poland; the nation held the aim of regaining
territories which had been previously lost to Poland at Munich.
A pair of squadrons of B-534s were assigned to support the
invasion. In the theatre, these were typically used to escort
Luftwaffe aircraft, such as the Junkers Ju 87 dive-bomber, on
eight missions, during which a pair of B-534s were lost while
the downing of a single Polish RWD-8 liaison aircraft was
claimed.
The same squadrons fought alongside the elements of the German
military in the area of Ukraine during summer 1941. According to
aviation author Josef Krybus, on this front, moral amongst the
Slovak pilots was low and no significant victories were achieved
during their deployment. During 1942, one of these squadrons was
redeployed to Slovakia to conduct anti-partisan operations. Over
time, a combination of obsolescence, the lack of spare
components and the old Czechoslovak air force's proprietary fuel
mixture (BiBoLi, or some other mix of ethanol, benzol and
petrol) finally relegated the surviving B-534s to performing the
trainer role and other secondary duties during 1943.
The training role would have been the last operational service
of the B-534s in Slovak colors if not for the Slovak National
Uprising of September–October 1944. The rest of the Slovak air
assets did not turn-coat as expected and the leaders of the
uprising were faced with using a rag-tag collection of leftover
aircraft, including several B-534s stationed at Tri Duby
airfield. On 2 September 1944, Master Sergeant František
Cyprich, just after testing a repaired B-534, downed a Junkers
Ju 52 transport under Hungarian colors on its way to a base in
occupied Poland. This was at once the first aerial victory for
the Uprising and the last recorded biplane fighter air-to-air
victory. As the Slovak National Uprising was desperate for
available aircraft, Sergeant Cyprich was derided by his colonel
for not trying to force the Junkers Ju 52 to land and be
captured instead. The last pair of B-534s at Tri Duby were
burned as the base was evacuated on 25 October 1944.
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During 1939, Bulgaria opted to procure a batch of 78 B-534s,
well after the enactment of the Czech partition, from Germany,
who had captured a large number of the type. The last batch of
these aircraft were delivered from Czechoslovakia during March
1942. On 1 August 1943, seven of these aircraft were able to
make two passes at American Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers
returning from the raid on Ploieşti. Hits were scored but
no B-24s were shot down and some of the B-534s that received
damage in the combat, cracked up on landing.
The B-534s saw little use as frontline aircraft as Bulgaria
had also procured the more capable Bf 109E and the French-built
Dewoitine D.520 monoplane fighters. After the anti-German coup
of 9 September 1944, Bulgaria switched sides overnight. As such
its B-534s were quickly pressed into use to conduct ground
attacks against German units. On 10 September 1944, a flight of
six B-534s were involved in a brief melee with six German Bf
109s at low altitude. One B-534 was lost, but the Germans
quickly broke off, wary of both the low altitude and the B-534's
manoeuvrability.
During 1937, a batch of 14 B-534s was supplied to Yugoslavia;
some of these aircraft were still in service when Germany
launched the Invasion of Yugoslavia in early 1941.[15] During
1937, a handful of fighters were delivered from Czechoslovakia
to Greece, additional Greek B-534s appear to have been acquired
from Yugoslavia as well. During 1940–1941, these fighters were
later used during the Greco-Italian War as part of efforts by
Greece to resist the invading Axis forces.
Following Germany's forced annexation of the remaining
"Czech" part of Czechoslovakia as the Protectorate of Bohemia
and Moravia on 15 March 1939, large numbers of captured B-534s
were impressed into the Luftwaffe.[18] In German service, the
type was heavily used as a fighter-trainer at several fighter
pilot training schools; another major use was as a glider-tug
and target tug, which involved those B-534s involved being
outfitted with cables and release-gear.
Germany was also took interest in potentially using the B-534
as a carrier-based aircraft. In order to evaluate its
suitability for such a role, three aircraft were equipped with
tailhook and underwent structural strengthening before the
commencement of a flight test programme; however, none of
Germany's aircraft carriers, the Graf Zeppelin-class, were ever
completed. The B-534 also featured in the German propaganda
movie Kampfgeschwader Luetzow in which the type was used as a
stand-in for Polish PZL P.11, being painted in Polish Air Force
markings.
Germany also sold a number of the captured B-534s to its
allies, reportedly at 40 per cent of their original cost.
Following the German occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941, the
Axis-aligned Croatian Air Force was created and supplied with
B-534s by Germany, as well as the integration of remaining
examples from Yugoslavia's own B-534s ordered prior to the
outbreak of the conflict.
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In game…
I have mentioned in the past that I have something of an
aversion to flying biplanes. Their visibility is my main
concern. The B-534 still has biplane visibility issues but it is
better than most. Though obsolete at the start of WW2, in more
remote theaters, like Yugoslavia and Greece, it will hold its
own. In those theaters after all we still see Gloucester
Gladiators, Fiat 32 and 43 models, and early Hurricanes against
which the B-534 is competitive to say the least. In my
experience, with any biplane it is best to use its turning
ability to your advantage by staying low and inviting your
opponent into a turning style fight. You definitely will not
want to encounter a Spitfire or Bf-109 at 3,000 meters in your
Avia B-534. If you are like me and love early-war scenarios,
don’t miss out on trying this aircraft.
#Post#: 14799--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Avia B-534
By: JG51_Ruski Date: December 21, 2020, 6:26 pm
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Thank You Von for another interesting POW article...BTW I enjoy
flying bi-planes but only against other bi-planes that have the
same limits Yep WW I Kites
#Post#: 14836--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Avia B-534
By: DHumphrey Date: December 22, 2020, 9:22 pm
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Another good PoW Von !!! ... Learned more about a lessor used
aircraft, thanks for sharing. :)
#Post#: 14844--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Avia B-534
By: Beowolff Date: December 23, 2020, 4:17 am
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Excellent article, Von! ;D ;D ;D You've outdone yourself
this time. I LOVE this little scrappy plane and you've done
good justice to it.
Salute!
Beo
#Post#: 14850--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Avia B-534
By: cafs Date: December 23, 2020, 6:44 am
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Nice article, Von!
Thanks 😃🤙🎄🎅
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