Saturday, 13 August 2016

Avia B-534-IV - Slovak Users

Today it's the turn for the Slovak users of the Avia B-534-IV, excluding the early and the insurgent ones.

The Slovak Air Force (SVZ) was much more involved in the attack on the operation Barbarossa than in the invasion of Poland. Right on 7th July 1941 two SVZ squadrons, the 12th and 13th Letka were assigned to Ternopol, in Ukraine. They had the mission of escorting the German Ju.87 and Hs.126 of 3(H.)/Aufkl. Gr.32 and 4(H.)/Aufkl. Gr.32 of the Luftflotte 4.
Since then, they were employed several times, from ground attack duties, to escort ones.
On 28th July 1941 the Slovaks made their first claim when machines from 12th Letka damaged a Soviet Polikarpov I-153 forcing them to land in the Yuzefpol area. It's noteworthy that the Soviets had initally advantage thanks to their new MiG-3 airplanes that took part that day on the combat.
On 15th August the 13. Letka returned to Piest'any and redesigned later to Kiev sector, far from Odessa.
They remained in the frontlines on the Eastern Front until 1st June 1942 when the 11. Letka was assigned to anti-partisan duties in the hinterland. It lasted two months and two machines were lost due to anti-aircraft fire.
Their frontline career was heavily conditioned by the supply problems of the BiBoLi fuel type which was a mixture of alcohol-benzol-petrol that was used by the Czechoslovak pre-war air force. But the main problem overall was the obsolescence and the wear and tear caused by the war operations.
In February 1942 the first Slovak pilots arrived on Denmark in order to be trained in the usage of the Bf.109G that would become the standard airplane of the Slovak air force from then on.










Sources: 
1. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/avia_slovakia.htm
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avia_B-534
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

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