Arado Ar.79

 

The Arado Ar.79 was a German two-seat aerobatic trainer and touring aircraft of the 1930s. 

It was a monoplane with retractable tailwheel undercarriage with plywood wings covered in fabric and forward fuselage made of steel tube covered in fabric too. The rear fuselage was of monocoque structure. 

Designed in 1937 by engineer Dr. Walter Blume and Wilhelm von Nees, a total of three prototypes were made with a total of three variants with improvements made to the airframe. 

A total of 48 machines were built between 1938 and 1941 and the production model was powered by a single Hirth HM 504 A-2 engine inline engine which yielded 104 hp of power and drove a two-bladed propeller. 

A re-edition of the Ar.79 was planned in 1952 in the German Democratic Republic, however, the uprising of 1953 thwarted the project. In 1958 another machine, the Wimmer R-110 took over the design of the Ar.79 in the Federal Republic of Germany, however, due to its high price, it wasn't successful.

All three prototypes were tested in the flight around Germany between May 22nd and 29th 1938 and later, in July a speed record was achieved by test pilot Lüber as his machine reached an average speed of 229,397 km/h over a distance of 1.000 km. (621.371 miles). Later that same month, a second world record was achieved over a distance of 2.000 km (1242.742 miles) with an average speed of 227,029 km/h. 

A third Ar.79 made history when, with Lt. Pulkowski and Lt. Jenett at the commands,  flew  non-stop from Benghazi (Italian Libya) to Gaya (British Raj) covering a total distance of 6.303 km. Their original intention was to fly to Australia and, after stoping at Bangkok, Sumatra and Bali, on 14th January 1939 they reached Darwin and two days later, Sydney. During return flight, on 10th February 1939, their machine crashed when it collided against a bird of prey when they were performing a sightseeing flight over Madras killing Pulkowski and an Indian passenger.

The Ar.79 also served with the Royal Hungarian Air Force. A comparison flight took place in Budapest on 9th December 1938 between an Ar.79, a Bücker Bü.131 and a Klemm Kl.35 resulting in the sales of almost 20 machines to private customers in Hungary. István Horthy, son of Admiral Miklós Horthy - Regent of Hungary-, owned one Ar.79 as his personal aircraft.

It was also used by the French High Commissioner in the Saar Protectorate as his personal aircraft.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_79

2. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_79 (translated)

3. http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/arado_ar-79.php

4. https://www.valka.cz/Arado-Ar-79-t57840

Caproni Ca.310, foreign users, part one

 The Caproni Ca.310 'Libeccio' (Italian word for "south-western wind") , was an Italian twin-engined reconnaissance monoplane used during World War II. The aircraft itself was a derivation of the previous Ca.309 and it was employed by many users around the world. Among them, the following ones:

• Independent State of Croatia: The Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia (whose acronym was ZNDH) employed 6 (seven, according to some other sources) Ca.310. Five of them were bought from German stocks, which were ex-Yugoslav machines and one machine captured by themselves, plus one Ca.310bis (which was a variant with an unstepped glazed nose, which would eventually become the prototype for the Ca.311). 
  A single ZNDH Ca.310 fleed to Italy on 31st October 1943 and landed at Tortorella airfield, controlled by the South African Air Force. That airplane was loaded with 7 Yugoslav and one Gestapo officer. Of those people, the most important was Cpt. Janko Dobnikar a Slovene pilot working for Zemun WNF (ex Ikarus) who was arrested the previous day by the Gestapo for cooperating with partisans but the flight was hijacked and sent to Italy.
• Hungary: Hungary bought a total of 36 Ca.310 in 1938. Three of them were soon lost to accidents and the Hungarians were not satisfied with the type's performance, so during the next year (according to some other sources it was in 1940) the remaining 33 machines were sent back to Caproni. They were taken into account for the MKHL's (Hungarian acronym for Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légiero - Royal Hungarian Air Force) purchase of the Caproni Ca.135bis medium bomber. Returned aircraft were refurbished and assigned to the 50º Stormo Assalto, to replace the Breda Ba.65 as part of the 12º Gruppo of the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force)
• Norway: Norway ordered 24 Ca.310 as part of a dried and salted cod barter between Norway and Italy. After the delivery of the first four aircraft, testing revealed that flying characteristics weren't as satisfactory as Caproni had promised and build quality fell way behind too. Therefore, Norwegian authorities cancelled the order and any further Ca.310 wasn't delivered. The four Norwegian machines received the following serial numbers: 501, 503, 505 and 507. Aircraft No. 503 was bought by the Norwegian national airline Norske Luftfartselskap and was employed as a fast mail aircraft in the Oslo-Göteburg (Sweden)-Copenhagen (Denmark) night route during summer 1939. By the start of the war it was recalled by the Haerens Flyvevaaben (Norwegian Army Air Service) and was put back into military service.
  When Germany attacked Norway on 9th April 1940, all four Norwegian Ca.310 were based at Sola airfield, where they were called to move to Oslo, to defend the capital, but two of them, numbers 503 and 507 were destroyed on the ground by the Luftwaffe. One Ca.310, number 505 managed to take off, but it was destroyed by its own crew after having to perform an emergency landing at Opstad. The other surviving machine, number 501 managed to take off from Sola, although having been damaged, but eventually it crashed in lake Vangsmjosa, in the region of Valdres on 19th April 1940. This aircraft was recovered and restored and is nowadays on exhbition at the Sola aircraft museum.

Sources:

1. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235096763-caproni-ca310/

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caproni_Ca.310

Junkers Ju.52/3m in Hungary, part two

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German cargo plane that manufactured by the thousands and saw service with many airlines and air forces all around the world. In this post we're covering its usage by the Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légiero (MKHL - which translated stands for Royal Hungarian Air Force).

The MKHL took in charge of the six Ju.52/3m which belonged to MALERT (Hungarian national airline) in 1941. They were assigned to the 2.Szállitó Század (2nd Transport Squadron) which was tasked with flying supply missions between Hungary and the Second Hungarian Army stationed on the Don river during the summer of 1942. In September that year Germany supplied an additional Ju.52/3mg7e for aerial ambulance duties. 

MKHL's Ju.52/3m-s also took part on the evacuation of Hungarian troops from Poltava, in Ukraine, in February 1943 and in September that year, they all were reassigned to the 102/1 Szállitó Század (102/1 Transport Squadron). Five of the six original MALERT Ju.52/3m were destroyed on the ground when stationed at Börgönd, Hungary by P-51 Mustangs of the 325th Fighter Group of the USAAF on 12th and 13th October 1944. The remaining Ju.52/3m flew air supply missions to Budapest when the Hungarian capital was sieged by the Soviet Army on 24th December 1944. The aircraft kept on flying those missions until the city fell on 13th February 1945 when it was destroyed on the ground.

Sources:

1. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 186 - Junkers Ju-52 in Action

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Junkers_Ju_52_operators

3. Hikoki Books - Hungarian Eagles - A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légiero

Junkers Ju.52/3m in Hungary, part one

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German transport airplane that saw service all around the world. One of its main foreign users was Hungary.

The Hungarian national airline Magyar Légiforgalmi R.T. (MALERT) was until the early 1930s equipped with Junkers F.13 and many Fokker passenger planes which were becoming obsolete. The first Junkers to arrive in Budapest was a Ju.52/3m registered as HA-DUR in 1931 which served as the personal transport of Miklós Horthy, the regent of Hungary during the interwar period and most of the World War 2. This Junkers was beautifully decorated with the coat of arms overpainted over the Hungarian flag at the tail.

In order to expand and modernise its fleet, the Hungarian government donated the HA-DUR in 1936 to MALERT to be used in their network with an additional 6 ones purchased from Germany. They were put into use in the line Budapest-Vienna- Salzburg -Munich - Zurich which served jointly with Deutsche Lufthansa and ÖLAG. In 1937, thanks to big increase in numbers of MALERT, a new airport was built in Budapest, named Budaörs, which served as the company's new hub. In April 1939 two additional Ju.52/3m were ordered which were delivered in the summer but, the start of the World War 2 interrupted some aerial routes for a brief period of time. In February it was sought to open a new route to London and Paris via Venezia and Marseille and even another one to Moscow, via Sofia, in Bulgaria, however those were established because of the war.

The most important route MALERT served during this period was Berlin-Budapest-Bucharest between January and 31st March 1940. The Ju,52/3m served with MALERT until they were requisitioned by the Royal Hungarian Air Force (MKHL) to serve in the invasion of the USSR.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Junkers_Ju_52_operators

2. http://www.europeanairlines.no/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/A_Maefort_Malert_020209.pdf

3. http://airliner.narod.ru/airliners1931-ju52/ju52-1europe.htm (translated)

4. Hikoki Books - Hungarian Eagles - A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légieró 1920-1945

Arado Ar.96, Hungarian users

 

The Arado Ar.96 was a German single-engined, low-wing monoplane which was made entirely out of metal. It was designed and manufactured by Arado Flugzeugwerke and was exported and produced by various countries abroad. 

One of those users was Hungary which, back in 1938 the newly formed Royal Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légiero in Hungarian language or just MKHL) acquired some few Arado Ar.96A which, together with the Bücker Bü.131 formed the basic trainers of the MKHL. Later, in 1940 the MKHL acquired further unknown numbers of the Ar.96B model. The aircraft served as the basic trainer of the MKHL during the whole war, and, just after the war, in the ensuing chaos, more ex-Luftwaffe machines were captured in Austria, in August 1945. 

In the postwar period, when the Air Force of the Hungarian People's Army (Magyar Néphadsereg Légiereje - MNL) was created in 1948, there were just 4 or 6 (the numbers are not clear) Ar.96B and Bü.131 available as the other ones were either savaged, rusted out or not in flying condition. That's why the Czechoslovakian Avia C.2 (which was the Czechoslovak copy of the Ar.96B) was acquired. In fact, by 1949 30 Avia C.2 were in service with the MNL and served as its main trainer. They were in service until 1954 when they were replaced by Soviet-made trainers like the Yakovlev Yak-11 or the Yakovlev Yak-18.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_96

2. http://www.repulomuzeum.hu/Tikuldtetek/Nemedi-Varga/Nemedi-Varga.pdf (translated)

3. http://www.publikon.hu/application/essay/125_1.pdf (translated)

4. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/user/every/all-time-aircraft-used-list-hungarian-air-force.htm (translated)

5. Hikoki books - Hungarian Eagles - The Hungarian Air Forces 1920-1945

Messerschmitt Bf.108, part one

The Messerschmitt Bf.108 was a German single-engine sport and touring aircraft that was used for military liaison purposes during the World War 2. It was designed and developed by the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in the 1930s and was exported to many countries:

• Austria: A single Bf.108 was ordered by the Austrian government on 22nd April 1937 and was delivered on 27th July. It was the only Bf.108 to serve with the Austrian Air Force and when Germany annexed Austria, it went back to serve with the Luftwaffe.
• Bulgaria: During the war Bulgaria bought a total of six Bf.108 in 1941. They were assigned to the 1st Courier Squadron but were used mainly for training purposes.
• Independent State of Croatia: The 15.(Kroat)/JG.52 squadron composed by Croatian pilots who fought in the Eastern Front, used some Bf.108 for liaison purposes outside combat zones. The one depicted below was used by four Croatian pilots on 19th September 1942 to fly to Uman, in the USSR, where they were based.
• Hungary: In 1937 the Royal Hungarian Air Force bought a total of seven Bf.108 which were used in a wide range of duties. From liaison, communications and even trainer. They served through the war on the Eastern Front and until the end of the war.
• Romania: The Royal Romanian Air Force had at least one Bf.108 at the beginning of the war. It was assigned to the 11th Courier Squadron which belonged to the 1st Air Corps. During 1943 and 1944 it was still in service.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_108

2. http://www.warbirdalley.com/bf108.htm

3. Wydawnictwo Militaria 149 - Messerschmitt Bf-108 Taifun

Messerschmitt Me.210, Foreign users

The Messerschmitt Me.210 was a German heavy fighter that was originally designed to replace the Bf.110 and was designed just before the start of the World War II.
It saw many versions which we will cover them later, but on this we're centering on the Me.210C which was powered by two Daimler Benz DB 605 engines and some changes to the airframe.
It was used by the following countries:

• Hungary: The performance of the Me. 210C satisfied Hungarian authorities which purchased a production license for the type, to fill the role of the Varga RMI-1 X/H (a prototype recon-bomber which never managed to fly) and received the denomination of Me.210Ca where "a" stands for ausländisch (foreign) as well as for its DB 605 engines. They purchased many airframes as well to be completed in Hungarian factories for practice while the production assembly lines were being setting up. Production started in the Dunai Repülogépgyár Rt. (Danubian Aircraft Plant), under an agreement where the Luftwaffe received two of every three produced. The Hungarians manufactured a total of 272 exemplars with the Luftwaffe receiving 114 of them and the Royal Hungarian Air Force 158 during the production period that went from March 1943 to September 1944.
  Some Ca-1 airplanes were modified to carry a 40mm Bofors autocannon in the lower fuselage in order to destroy Allied bombers. Additionally, they could also carry 152mm rockets which were a Hungarian version of the German Nebelwerfer 41 for ground attack. A sound directed anti-bomber air-to-air weapon was under development to be mounted on the Me.210Ca, but the project wasn't finished before the fall of Budapest.
  The Royal Hungarian Air Force operated a total of 179 Hungarian-built Me.210Ca-1. It was relatively successful against Soviet airplanes and last Me.210 were destroyed on the ground by their crew at Pándorfalu (Parndorf in German) after the fall of Hungary in March 1945 due to the lack of fuel and spare parts and to prevent them from falling into Soviet hands.
  It served in four squadrons of the Royal Hungarian Air Force:
  -1º and 2º RKI Század "Villám" (Test Evaluation Squadron)
  -5/1. Légi Század "Bagoly" (Night Fighter Squadron)
  -102. Gyorsbombázo, 102/1. Század "Tigris"
  -102. Gyorsbombázo, 102/2. Század "Sas"
  -102. Gyorsbombázo, 102/3. Század "Villám"
• Japan: The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service received one Me.210A-2 in 1943 which was delivered dissasembled directly to Japan via U-Boat. It was operated by the First Tachikawa Air Army Arsenal. Not much is known about those testings, except that in the end the Japanese decided to rely on their own domestical models because of the adaptation to the environment.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_210

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/44M_Lidérc

3. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/17166

4. https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=103890

5. Salamander Books - The COmplete Book of Fighters

Marton X/V

The concept of a cantilever monoplane pusher-puller fighter with twin tail units on booms was retaken by Hungarian engineers at the end of 1942.
As the locally-built fighter, the Weiss WM-23 'Ezüst Nyíl' proved to be obsolete, the Royal Hungarian Air Force centered their attention on Martons' project.
Externally it resembled the original Fokker D.XXIII, the first fighter flying with such configuration, however it was shaped more aerodynamically. The prototype was built along 1943 and was powered by two Daimler-Benz DB.605 engines, one in pusher and another one in puller configuration yielding each of them 1475hp of power. Expected maximum speed was of, at least 580km/h (360,40mph) at some altittude that haven't been found.
It was going to be armed with two 20mm guns plus another two 12.7mm machine guns, the late ones placed in the nose over the engine and the first ones placed in the wings, however the prototype never had armament installed.
The sole prototype was destroyed in an US air raid on 13th April 1944, so the programme was abandoned and the Royal Hungarian Air Force decided that it was best to concentrate on the already adquired Messerschmitt Bf.109G and Messerschmitt Me.210.

Sources:
1. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww2/marton.html (translated)
2. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marton_X/V (translated)

MÁVAG Héja II

The MÁVAG Héja II (Goshawk II) was an Hungarian fighter from the World War 2 that was based on the Italian Reggiane Re.2000.
Unlike the Héja I, which was a license-built Re.2000, the Héja II was entirely made in Hungary with locally produced airframes, engines and armament.
Unlike the Re.2000, it was armed with two 12,7mm Gebauer machine guns placed in the upper nose and was powered by a single Manfred-Weiss built Gnome-Rhône 14kfs air-cooled piston radial engine which delivered 1030hp of power. The first Héja II flew for the first time on 30th October 1942 and in total 203 of them were built for the Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légiero (Royal Hungarian Air Force). The production continued until 1st August 1944 when it ceased.
It served primarily as a fighter trainer as the type was already obsolete against more modern Soviet and allied fighters. Their last operational action took place on 2nd April 1944 when an USAAF raid targeted Danube Aviation Works in Budapest and the Héja II from 1/1 squadron, together with Messerschmitt Me.210 and various Messerschmitt Bf.109G battled against American fighters and bombers.

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

Avia B-534-IV - Various Foreign users

Today we cover the next users for the Avia B-534-IV

• Independent State of Croatia: Apparently the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia received some surplus machines from Germany. Further details are unknown so the drawing should be considered speculative.
• Kingdom of Hungary: One B-534-IV was captured from Slovakia during the Slovak-Hungarian war in March 1939. It was pushed into service as a fighter trainer. Later, in 1941, it was used as a glider tow bearing civilian registrations until it was destroyed during the battle of Budapest in 1945.
• Kingdom of Romania: The Royal Romanian Air Force received some Avia B-534-IV together with the DFS 230 gliders. The Avias were used as glider tows. As the graphical sources for these are inexistant, or at least we couldn't find them, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• USSR: Apparently the NKVD used some captured machines to form a secret squadron. As there isn't graphical evidence on this, it should be considered as speculative.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avia_B-534

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters