Tuesday 18 September 2018

Hispano Aviación HA-1110 & HA-1111

After having manufactured the HA-1109, Hispano Aviación tried to push the models to increase their sales with a new trainer variant.
The first of these was the HA-1110-K1L which had the cockpit extended to fit two persons inside. The first and only prototype flew for the first time in 1952 and, as there wasn't any production order from the Air Ministry as they had already bought some North-American Texan to fill that role (which wouldn't be delivered until two years later, in 1954) the only prototype served as a trainer for an aerial unit based in the city of Seville.
After having discovered the many virtues of the Merlin engine in the HA-1112, the company started a project for fitting the Rolls-Royce Merlin 500/45 engine into the HA-1110-K1L airframe. However, it didn't go beyond the project stage but it was called HA-1110-M1L by the company.
In the same time, as the light-attack aircraft or as they are also called, counter-insurgency aircrafts, were already rising in popularity, another project was made, this time by fitting wingtip fuel tanks to the HA-1110-K1L (which was powered by the Hispano-Suiza 12Z-17) in order to greatly increase its range. They most probably would've been armed with underwing cannons and rockets and would've been employed in the Ifni war. It received the denomination of HA-1111-K1L and it remained just a project.
As the 'Buchón' (the nickname the the HA-1112 received, meaning literally 'Pouter') was very popular within the Spanish pilots, two of them were modified to serve as trainers. They received the denomination of HA-1112-M4L and were used operationally in the trainer role under the 471st Squadron.










Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispano_Aviación_HA-1112
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

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