Caudron C.440 Goéland, Foreign Users Part Two

 

The Caudron C.440 Goéland (French word for "Seagull") was a French six-seat twin-engined utility aircraft of the 1930s that saw service with many foreign users:

• Poland: The Caudron C.445 was used by the Polish Air Force in France in 1940 as a bomber pilot and navigator trainer. They were employed in the flying schools of Lyon-Bron, Clermont-Ferrand, Istres, Corbas, Rennes and St. Cyr. From 13th May 1940 until the end of the Battle of France, the Franco-Polish Goélands were used as utility and transport airplanes to transport both men and materiel to and from frontlines. Later, during the French retreat, they were employed to evacuate Polish transport personnel. In fact, on 23rd June two Goélands evacuated a group of 16 Polish pilots from Perpignan to Oran, in Algeria. 
  At the end of the war, one C.445A-T that was built in France during the German occupation, was captured by the Poles at the city of Dziwnów, in a very bad condition though. In spite of initial interests by the Polish Air Force for the plane, it was transferred to civilian aviation, where PZL-Mielec rebuilt it and used it for transport duties and company business trips. Oddly enough, the production license and technical documentation for the PZL-Mielec Lim-1 (the Polish MiG-15 license-built in Poland) was transported in this airplane. It was used by PZL from 22nd August 1947 until 12th September 1955.
• Slovak Republic: Twelve C.445M (military variant of the regular C.445) were ordered by the Slovenské Vzdusné Zbrane (Slovak Air Force) in 1942 (although, according to other sources they were transferred by the Luftwaffe from captured machines). They were employed in the trainer and transport role, and their ultimate fate is unknown.
• Spain: After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the Republican Spanish Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas (Spanish Postal Airlines - LAPE) acquired three ex-French Goéland machines. They were employed in various aerial routes inside the Republican territory during the Spanish Civil War. All three of them were either destroyed or captured by the Nationalists. After the war, in May 1940 some fleeing machines crash-landed in Spain and their crew and machines were interned.
• Yugoslavia: The Yugoslavian National Airline Aeroput, bought two C.449 monoplanes in 1937 and 1938 as part of their modernization programme in order to cover more aerial routes. One of them was damaged beyond repair in 1939 and the other one was pressed into service with the Royal Yugoslav Air Force in 1941 when Germany invaded and was subsequently captured by them in April 1941.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudron_C.440_Goéland

2. http://www.samolotypolskie.pl/samoloty/638/126/Caudron-C-445-Goeland (translated)

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroput

4. http://equinoxe.dk/SCWaircraft/did.html

5. http://incidentessgm.blogspot.com/2013/11/caudron-c-445.html (translated)

6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_YU-.html

7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_EC-.html

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, Polish users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 was the first supersonic fighter in the world capable of achieving supersonic speeds in level flights. It was employed by many users of the Warsaw Pact and other non-aligned countries.
One of those Warsaw Pact users was the Polish Air Force, which operated three different versions of the MiG-19, the S, P and PM.
It was the first fighter capable of truly supersonic performance throughout the altitude envelope. It was the aircraft that Porucznik (Lieutenant) Roman Operacz was piloting when he broke the sound barrier on 22nd July 1959, becoming that way the first Polish pilot to achieve it.
The first MiG-19P entered service with the 28. Pulk Lotnictwa Mysliwskiego (PLM - 28th Fighter Regiment) 'Koszalin' at Redzikowo Air Base, close to Slupsk, in the Gdansk Voivodeship, during summer 1958. Later the type also equipped the 39. PLM at Mierzecice, in Katowice Voivodeship.
The numbers aren't clear as some reports say that it was 12 or 13 MiG-19 which were delivered, while others claim it were twice as many, 24.
The type was shown to the public on 22nd July 1959 when a MiG-19 piloted by Lt. Roman Operacz took part in the great military parade held in Warsaw due to the 15th anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland. The aircraft pulled into an spectacular climb in front of the spectators' tribunes making to an altitude of several milles. Exactly one year later, Polish Air Forces' MiG-19s took also part in another parade commemorating the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald.
Despite the record breaking, the MiG-19's career in Poland was rather brief as it was considered an interim type until more capable and modern fighters (IE, the MiG-21) became available. Therefore most aircraft were sold to Bulgaria in 1966-1967.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-19#Variants

2. Midland Publishing - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19. The Soviet Union's First Production Supersonic Fighter

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

WSK-Mielec Lim-5, other variants

The Lim-5 was built in various variants. There was the Lim-5R which was a reconnaissance variant of the regular Lim-5, fitted with an AFA-39 camera placed under the cockpit. Only 36 exemplars were converted from regular Lim-5 in 1960 and them all served with the Polish Air Force.
The Lim-5M was an attack variant sourcing from an study made in the late 1950s looking for a light attack aircraft based on the Lim-5. As both the MiG-17 and the Lim-5 could only carry 250 kg of bombs underwings, which replaced their external fuel tanks. After the prototype, designated as 'CM' flew for the first time on 2nd June 1959, some months later, in 1960, the Poles began the production of an attack aircraft, the Lim-5M. It introduced many modifications to the fighter, most of which stressed on allowing the modified plane to be based on ground airfields. It had double undercarriage wheels, a braking parachute and sockets for RATO (Rocket Assisted Take Off). The wing sections close to the fuselage were noticeably thicker, as they contained additional fuel tanks. Instead of the two bombs, it could carry two launchers for eight 57 mm S-5 air-to-ground rockets. Sixty of them were built from 1960 until May 1961 and, in November 1961 they started to serve with the Polish Air Force, where they weren't successful as thicker wings decreased performance and made flying tricky, while increased drag meant that increased range wasn't achieved.
The Lim-5P was a Polish licensed version of the MiG-17PF. It was equipped with the Izumrud 5 (RP-5) radar and 130 of them were manufactured by WSK at Mielec from 1959 to 1960. As it was a copy of the MiG-17 it was powered by the Klimov VK-1F (named in Poland as Lis-5F) and although not many of them were built, some of them were exported. They were exported to Bulgaria, Indonesia (which we couldn't find reliable pics of them, so the drawings are speculative) and East Germany. They also served with the Polish Air Force were they were kept active until the 1980s when they were written off. At least one of them was experimentally fitted with ventral cameras under the cockpit at starboard, similar to the Lim-5R.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL-Mielec_Lim-6
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klimov_VK-1
3. https://www.valka.cz/WSK-Mielec-Lim-5-t196637
4. https://www.valka.cz/topic/view/44624
5. https://www.valka.cz/topic/view/80676
6. https://www.valka.cz/topic/view/80677
7. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

WSK-Mielec Lim-5

In 1955, Poland bought a license for manufacturing the Soviet MiG-17F, which was the backbone of the Warsaw Pact's fighter force. The licensed aircraft was given the denomination of "Licencyjny mysliwiec" which translates to "Licensed fighter". The first Lim-5 rolled out of the factories on 28th November 1956, replacing this way the production of the WSK-Mielec Lim-2 (a licensed production of the MiG-15bis).
The Lim-5 was virtually identical to the regular MiG-17F. It was powered by a Polish copy of the Klimov VK-1F engine with 5046 lbf of maximum thrust and 7423 lbf with afterburner. It was armed with one 37 mm N-37 cannon and two 23 mm NR-23 cannons placed under the nose. It also had provisions for underwing bombs.
Production ranged from 1956 until 1960 and, when production ceased, with 448 Lim-5 manufactured, it had become Poland's basic fighter. In fact it was the backbone of Polish Air Force's fighter force during the 1950s and the 1960s until it was replaced by more modern types such as the MiG-21 in the 1970s.
The type was exported also to various countries:

• East Germany: One-hundred and twenty Lim-5 were sold to the East German Air Force during the late 1950s. Apparently some of them had the mast at the opposite side. Just like the MiG-17F some of them were either converted to light bombers or sold to African countries. Anyway, they were replaced during the 1970s by more modern types and put into storage. When Germany was reunified, as the type was considered old and outdated for the modern Luftwaffe, they were sold to Guinea-Bissau.
• Egypt: Many of the Egyptian MiG-17F that fought in the Six-days war were Polish-built Lim-5. It's known that the Polish government sold an undefined number of Lim-5 fighters to the Egyptian Air Force. As we couldn't find a pic of a genuine Lim-5 under Egyptian command, the colours and the registration should be considered as speculative.
• Guinea-Bissau: The Guinea-Bissau Air Force bought some second-hand Lim-5 from Germany after the German reunification, as they were outdated for the modern Luftwaffe's standards. Nowadays they are put into storage. 
• Indonesia: The Indonesian Air Force had 20 Lim-5 in active service during the 1960s. Not much more is known, but most probably they were written off during the 1970s.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL-Mielec_Lim-6

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Forces_of_the_National_People%27s_Army

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Air_Force

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissau_Air_Force

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_Air_Force

6. https://www.valka.cz/WSK-Mielec-Lim-5-t196637

7. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI, part ten, Polish versions.

The MiG-15UTI was locally built in many eastern-bloc countries such as Czechoslovakia or Poland. The Polish versions were one of the most used ones as they were used from the early 1950s until nowadays where they are still used in aerial shows.
The WSK-Mielec SBLim-1 was a Polish version of the MiG-15UTI made from converted old Lim-1 (or even Czechoslovak Aero S-102 -The Czechoslovak produced MiG-15bis) fighters. They were manufactured by Lotnicze Zaklady Remontowe Nr.2 at the Polish town of Bydgoszcz, close to Warsaw. The first converted exemplar was completed in 1957 and production lasted until 1966 with approximately 280 units converted. It was powered by the Lis-1 engine (a licensed version of the Klimov RD-45F engine) which delivered 5005lb (22,26kN) of thrust and was armed with a single 23mm (0.9in) NS-23 cannon or a single 12,7mm (0,5in) A-12.7 machine gun.
It served alongside the SBLim-2 until it was gradually replaced by either the SBLim-2 itself or the PZL TS-11 Iskra as the main Polish trainer aircraft.
The SBLim-2 was the next step as it was a MiG-15UTI made either from scratch or converted from obsolete Lim-2 fighters. It was also manufactured by Lotnicze Zaklady Remontowe Nr.2 at the town of Bydgoszcz. Production started in 1966 and continued well until the 1970s with around 200 of them converted and some of them even adapted for artillery spotting duties. It was powered by the Lis-2 engine which was a licensed version of the Klimov VK-1A and could deliver a power of 5952lb of thrust (26,48kN). It differed from the regular MiG-15UTI, apart from the better engine, in being better armed as it was armed both with the NS-23 cannon and the A-12.7 machine gun. They were used by the Polish Air Force until the fall of communism both in the trainer and artillery spotter role.
One SBLim-2 was bought in 1997 by a private owner in Argentina and flew again three years later in the year 2000. Nowadays is shown (repainted) at the Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica (National Museum of Aeronautics).

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15
2. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/196324
3. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/53631
4. http://www.muzeumlotnictwa.pl/zbiory_sz.php?ido=131&w=a
5. http://www.muzeumlotnictwa.pl/zbiory_sz.php?ido=53&w=a
6. http://www.castelar-digital.com.ar/nota.asp?id=464 (translated)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis / WSK-Mielec Lim-2, Polish users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis equipped the Polish Air Force during the 1950s. Since June 1951 the MiG-15 equipped the Polish 1st Fighter Regiment with additional fighter regiments being set up shortly later. On 23rd January 1953 the first MiG-15bis arrived in Poland, which equipped the 5th Fighter Regiment.
Most of the MiG-15bis of the Polish Air Forcem probably up to 20 copies, were used to compare with the previous version, the regular MiG-15, which was already being manufactured locally as the WSK-Mielec Lim-1, and most of them were integrated into the air force serving most of them with the regiments based in the north.
As it happened with the MiG-15, it was decided to manufacture the MiG-15bis locally under the denomination of WSK-Mielec Lim-2. The first copy rolled out of the factory on 17th September 1954, only after 17 days of the last Lim-1 exemplar. It was produced until 23rd November 1956 with 500 or 530 (depending on the source) exemplars being built by WSK located in Mielec, Poland.
The Lim-2 was equipped with a single Klimov VK-1A engine which delivered a power of 6041lb of thrust (26.87kN) and was locally manufactured under the denomination of Lis-2.
Some Lim-1s were modernized in 1956 by the LZR (Lotnicze Zaklady Remontowe) receiving the unofficial denomination of Lim-1.5 and some of them replaced their guns for tow-equipment in order to tow targets for anti-air regiments. Another sub-variant was the Lim-2 Streak which was a regular Lim-2 equipped with a special smoke-extending device which was mainly used in air parades.
By 1955  almost every fighter regiment and squadron was equipped with Polish manufactured Lim-1 or Lim-2 as the Yakovlev Yak-23 was withdrawn from service and sent to flying schools. Most of the Fighter Regiments were based in the north of Poland, along the Baltic coast, patrolling the airspace from possible NATO intruders like Lockheed U-2 incursions (which they couldn't intecept as it was beyond its service ceiling) or shooting down propaganda balloons sent from West Germany. Franciszek Jarecki, a Polish pilot defected from Poland to Denmark on 5th March 1953 receiving that way the reward the CIA gave for every defector who could bring a piece of Soviet technology, allowing that way the western technicians to examine the aircraft for the first time. He flew from Slupsk, in northern Poland to the Danish island of Bornholm in just some few minutes. There the American specialists, called by Danish authorities, thoroughly checked the aircraft. Jarecki was granted the American citizenship, received a reward of 50.000$ of the time and, according to international regulations, the aircraft was taken back to Poland by ship some weeks later.
The Lim-2 remained in service until mid-1955 when the first MiG-17F entered service with the 5th Fighter Regiment and they were gradually withdrawn from active service.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15
2. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotnictwo_ludowego_Wojska_Polskiego (translated)
3. https://www.polot.net/wsk_mielec_lim_2_mig_15_bis_english_version/historia
4. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/53180
5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 - Czechoslovak & Polish users (Aero/Letov S-102 & WSK Mielec Lim-1)

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 served both with the Czechoslovak Air Force and with the Polish Air and Air Defence Forces of Country.

• Czechoslovakia: When the Czechoslovak Army was reformed after the 1948 communist Coup d'Etat, the country was supplied with Soviet fighters, mainly MiG and Lavochkin La-7s among some other bombers. They received licenses to manufacture the MiGs locally. They equipped their main fighter squadrons alongside with the locally-built variants.
• Poland: In 1951 the Polish Air and Air Defence Force received some MiG-15, together with a manufacturing license. They equipped the main Polish fighter squadrons and served together the locally produced variants.

The Czechoslovakians produced the MiG-15 under two firms, Rudý Letov, in Prague, which manufactured them from 6th November 1951 until July 1953 when their license was revoked and was passed on to Aero Vodochody, in Odolena Voda, close to Prague too. Between 1951 and July 1953 Letov manufactured 160 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s under the designation of Letov S-102. 

When Aero overtook overtook the production of the MiG-15 in July 1953, the MiG-15 was already being replaced in the USSR by the MiG-17 which a more refined version of the MiG-15 and they only manufactured it until 1954. However, during that period, they manufactured 661 MiG-15s under the designation of Aero S-102.

As by the mid 1950s there were many outdated MiG-15s in Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovak government ordered a ground-attack conversion of many MiG-15s to the Letecké opravny Kbely s.p. in the Czechoslovak city of Kbely in 1958. Threfore, this company reinforced the wings of the standard MiG-15 to arm them with either LR-130 rocket launchers (plus external fuel tanks), LR-55 rockets or OFAB-100 bombs. One-hundred and fifty-four of them were converted from 1958 until the early 1960s. They were assigned to ground-support squadrons of the Czechoslovak Air Force during the early 1960s when they were replaced by better ground-attack types. 

The Polish license-built MiG-15s were manufactured by Wytwórnia Sprzetu Komunikacyjnego No.1, at the Polish city of Mielec commonly known as WSK-Mielec. They received the manufacturing license in 1951 and kept manufacturing them until 1st September 1954 when they switched production (also under license) toward the MiG-15bis. The Polish-built MiG-15s received the denomination of Lim-1 and 227 of them were manufactured. They served alongside the Polish MiG-15/Lim-2 (the Polish version of the MiG-15bis) in the main fighter squadrons of the Polish Air Force of the early-to-mid 1950s until they were replaced by the MiG-17.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15

2. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/53179

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovak_Air_Force

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Air_Force

5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters