Supermarine Spitfire. European Users, part nineteen. Yugoslav Spitfires.

 

The No. 352 (Jugoslav) Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF), was designated in internal Yugoslav documents as '1 Lovacka Eskadrila Vazduhoplovstva NOVJ' (1st Fighter Squadron of NOVJ Aviation). It was formed at Benina (Libya) on 22nd April 1944 and was initially equipped with the Hawker Hurricane, however the unit quickly transitioned to the Spitfire and by June-July they were already fully equipped with the Mk. V/Trop. 
After their training was complete, they became part of No. 281 Wing RAF, which was subordinated to the Balkan Air Force (an Allied formation operating over the Balkans during World War 2). In that formation, they were joined in September by a second Yugoslav squadron, No. 351, equipped with Hurricanes. 

The Yugoslav No. 352 squadron operated from south-eastern Italy performing a wide variety of missions, such as fighter escort, fighter sweeps or ground attack. In October 1944 a detachment was sent to Vis airfield, a small Croatian island on the Adriatic Sea, which served as an advanced operating base, and since January 1945 the entire squadron was based there. 
In mid-April the entire squadron was rebased at the liberated airfield of Prkos, on the Yugoslav coast. In spite of Yugoslav efforts, the squadron was not re-equipped with the Spitfire Mk. IX or Mk. VIII, although it seems that they managed to acquire three Mk. IXs.

On 18th May 1945 (although some sources claim it was later, on 15th June), at Zemunik airfield, the squadron was officially deactivated from RAF's command, together with No. 351 Squadron (AKA 2 LEV NOVJ, the Hurricane-equipped Yugoslav squadron) and it was reformed into 1. Lovacki Puk (1st Fighter Regiment). 

The first squadron of this regiment took over all operational Spitfires they could find, a total of 17 Mk. V Trop and 3 Mk. IX.

Soon after, linked to the formation of a new bomber regiment equipped with the Soviet Petlyakov Pe-2 aircraft, all experienced personnel of the 1st Regiment was transferred to this new bomber unit, so 1. Lovacki Puk was disbanded and the Spitfires were sent to warehouses in Mostar. 

In early 1946 the Spitfires were re-registered according to the Yugoslav Air Force's system. The Mk. Vs received consecutive numbers, ranging from 9476 to 9493, and the few Mk. IX, from 9501 to 9503. 
During autumn/winter of 1946, the six Spitfire Mk. Vs which were in the best flying conditions, were assigned to the 3rd Fighter Division, receiving each of the two regiments that division was equipped with, (flying the Yakovlev Yak-3) three Spitfire Mk. V each.
The goal was to develop appropriate tactics to fight the Spitfires, as the Yugoslav aerial space was violated various times by Greek Spitfires. Those incidents took place regularly in the context of the Greek Civil War, as the Yugoslav authorities supported the local Greek communist rebels and even were allowed to take shelter and set up camps in the Yugoslav region of Macedonia. 
Oddly enough, the conclusions from those comparisons showed that the Yakovlev Yak-3 had no special advantage over the Spitfire Mk. V Trop in combat, apart from its greater maximum speed.

In May 1947 a regiment (named just as 'Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment') equipped entirely with Spitfires was formed again. This time this unit acted as a reconnaissance unit, and the planes were modified with Soviet photo-cameras installed in them.

In autumn 1948 some Spitfires Mk. IX bearing Yugoslav roundels appeared in Yugoslavia, but actually they were Czechoslovak Spitfires which were sold to Israel, as part of Operation Veletta. Those Mk. IXs were ferried from Czechoslovakia to Israel via Yugoslavia, and refuelling at Niksic (southern Yugoslavia) where they refuelled to continue the flight to Israel. They were temporarily painted in Yugoslav markings to avoid raising alerts among observers.

After Soviet-Yugoslav split, when Yugoslavia broke off 'brotherly relations' with the USSR in early 1949, the Yugoslav forces were reorganized. As part of this reorganization, the previous 'Reconnaissance Regiment' was given the number 103 and was rebased to Pancevo, in Serbia, due to the change in the expected direction of the aggression. 

Either way, by August 1952, the Spitfires were written off and replaced by more modern types.

Sources:

1st AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 40 - Supermarine Spitfire Part 3 (translated)

2nd http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/352_wwII.html

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Supermarine_Spitfire_operators#Yugoslavia

Lazarov Laz-7

 

The Lazarov Laz-7 was a Bulgarian two-seater liaison and trainer aircraft of the immediate post-war era.

Its inception can be traced to April 1946 when Yugoslavia invited Bulgarian aircraft designers, namely those belonging to DAR (the main Bulgarian airplane manufacturer back then) to take part in a design contest for a new two-seater aircraft powered by a light engine water-cooled engine capable of yielding 140-160 hp of power.

Designed by Tsvetan Lazarov, chief engineer of DAR, in Yugoslavia, the Laz-7 was a cantilever monoplane with a low wing, a fixed-undercarriage and a two-seat glazed cockpit with the pilot and the trainee/passenger/observer sitting in tandem. It was equipped with double controls and was almost entirely made out of wood, with the exception of the engine.
It was powered by a single Czechoslovak-made Walter-Minor 6-III water-cooled engine, rated at 160hp of power. 
On 20th August 1947 a production order was put and it wasn't until 10th June 1948 that the first prototype, Lazarov Laz-7.1 flew for the first time, with eng. Popganchev (a famous Bulgarian test pilot of the time) at the controls. 

After satisfactory flight-tests, the Laz-7.1 was sent to Belgrade, to honour the terms of the contest, and work on an improved variant, called Laz-7.2. This Laz-7.2 was equipped with an improved (and heavier) wing and was flight tested at the city of Karlovo, with almost identical results to those of the Laz-7.1. Those flights caught the attention of the Bulgarian Air Army and in August 1948 an order was placed for a two-seater trainer. However, as DAR was busy with another project, derived from the Laz-7, the Lazarov Laz-8, work on the Laz-7.3 (the production variant of the Laz-7) was delayed until May 1949, which made production runs to not be ready until September. 
The Laz-7.3 had every improvement the Laz-7.2 had and was equipped with a backwards retractable landing gear. When retracted, half of the wheel was left uncovered, feature which turned to be very useful in case of a belly landing. Unlike both Laz-7.1 and 7.2, where main pilot sat at the rear and the trainee at the front, in the Laz-7.3 the main pilot sat at the front, so he could have a better firing angle, as the Laz-7.3 was the first variant to be equipped with weapons. These consisted in two 7,7 mm M-30 machine guns mounted in the wings or one 7,92 mm T6-200 machine gun. It could also carry up to 120 kg (265 lb) of underwing bombs. The increased weight of the armament, spoiled flight characteristics, however, not enough to be rejected, so in June 1949 the Bulgarian Air Army ordered the mass production of the type.
The initial batches of the Laz-7.3 were still equipped with a fixed landing gear, but from the third production run onwards, the retractable landing gear was standardized. Some machines in the late production batches featured mechanical bomb release mechanisms, while others were equipped with pneumatic ones. Some very late models featured a different propeller, thanks to which higher altitudes could be attained. 
A total of just 160 serial Laz-7 were manufactured between 1949 and 1950 and served through the 1950s with the Bulgarian Air Force School and some other flight clubs. Some night light bomber regiments equipped the type too, mimicking Soviet night bomber regiments, typically equipped with the Polikarpov Po-2.

Sources:

1st http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other/laz7m.html (translated)

2nd http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/bulgaria/af/types/lazarov.htm

Kaproni Bulgarski KB-11 Fazan

 

The Kaproni-Bulgarski Kb-11 'Fazan' (Bulgarian word for 'pheasant') was a Bulgarian army liaison aircraft built by Kaproni-Bulgarski, a Bulgarian subsidiary of the Italian Caproni.

Its origins can be traced back to 1938 when the Royal Bulgarian Air Force (RBAF) issued a specification for a light divisional reconnaissance aircraft with some ground attack capabilities, built around the Alfa-Romeo 126 R.C.34  radial engine, rated at 770 hp of power for take off. Kaproni-Bulgarski, led by engineer Carlo Caligaris, presented a project for a biplane, the KB-11, which was rejected as the RBAF considered the type as obsolete. Therefore, Caligaris and his team presented a second project, this time a high-wing monoplane with a fixed landing gear. A scale model of this second design was tested at a wind tunnel in Milan (Italy), where Caproni's headquarters were located and after some satisfactory results, a first prototype was built.

 

This first prototype, nicknamed as "Quasimodo", after the hunchback of Notre-Dame, was flight-tested during April 1940 by Col. Vasil Valkov and Lt.Col.Eng. Petko Popganchev who considered the type as unstable, nose-heavy in level flight and unsafe during forced landings, so the RBAF couldn't accept the KB-11 due to its many flaws.

This left Kaproni-Bulgarski in a difficult situation, as their rival company, DAR, was pushing forward with the better-looking DAR-10A. So, fearing that DAR would win the contract, they hastily redesigned the KB-11 with a high-wing supported by V-shaped struts, a revised undercarriage, a new glazed cockpit, equipped with photo-hatches, walkie-talkies and aerial cameras, and was powered by the same Alfa-Romeo engine the prototype was powered with. This redesign, was accepted by the RBAF and the aircraft was put into green light for mass production under the denomination of KB-11A. Initial operational flights made in early 1941, found that the Fazan was seriously underpowered so a new, more powerful engine was needed. 

Before the outbreak of World War 2, Bulgaria signed a contract with Poland for license production of the PZL.37 bomber, so a number of Polish-built Bristol Pegasus XX engines were supplied. However, the German invasion thwarted this operation and the engines were stored. They were found to be very handy for the KB-11A and so the PZL Pegasus were fitted to the 2nd and 3rd batches, which were characterized for driving a two-bladed propeller. 

Both KB-11 and KB-11A were armed with two 7,92 mm M-30 machine guns placed in the forward part of the fuselage plus two twin 7.7 mm FK-33 defensive machine guns placed at the observer's post. At the central part of the lower fuselage, the Fazan had also provision for eight 50 Kg (110 lb) bombs or four 100 Kg (220 lb) bombs. 

The KB-11 was initially intended to replace both the Czechoslovak Letov S.328 and the Polish PZL.43 in the short-range reconnaissance squadrons of the RBAF. The KB-11A saw action for the first time in joint Bulgarian-German-Italian anti-partisan operations against Tito's partisans in Serbia during 1943, as a ground attack aircraft. Following Bulgarian armistice in 1944 and their switching of sides, the Fazan was used to support Bulgarian ground troops in Macedonia and Serbia, serving mostly with 333rd and 453rd close recon squadrons. However, due to the resemblance of the type with the German Henschel Hs.126 recon aircraft (which also harassed positions of the Bulgarian Army), the KB-11A was sometimes victim of friendly fire who miss-identified the Fazan. That's why the KB-11A's usage during this later-period of the war was very limited and was eventually withdrawn from active combat duty. 

After the war, in 1947, Bulgaria transferred many of their former aircraft to Yugoslavia as war reparations, among them 30 KB-11A, which were used as liaison, target tug and trainer aircraft, having their wooden wings replaced with metal ones by Ikarus allowing the KB-11A to remain in active service with Yugoslavia until 1958, although some sources claim it was until 1956. 

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaproni_Bulgarski_KB-11_Fazan

2nd http://www.airwar.ru/enc/spyww2/kb11.html (translated)

3rd https://www.valka.cz/BGR-SFKB-KB-11-Fazan-t57179

Junkers Ju.52/3m various European Users

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German cargo aircraft which was widely used all around the globe. It was used, among many other ones, by the following countries:

• Slovak Republic: Two Ju.52/3mg7e were purchased from Germany in 1942 when the Slovak Air Force (SVZ) replaced their old inherited Czechoslovak-made material. They were destined to their flying school. Their fate is not known, but they were most probably destroyed on the ground during an aerial strike. 
• USSR: The Soviet Union employed the Ju.52/3m both before and after World War 2. Before the war, the type was evaluated by the NII-VVS (Soviet Air Force's Technical Research Unit) in 1937. 
  The Soviet State airline, Aeroflot, began operating captured Ju.52/3m on the Perm to Samara aerial route in the summer of 1944. These aircraft were also used to transport sulphur from mines in Central Asia to Soviet factories. Many of them were retrofitted with Soviet RPK-10 radio compasses and remained in active service until the late 1950s.
• Sweden: The Swedish national airline, AB Aerotransport, bought five Ju.52/3m, (according to some sources it was just 5 of them) in 1932. Though the airline's main aircraft was the famous Douglas DC-3, the Ju.52/3m was kept in service for routes from Sweden to Germany. They were extensively used, even during the war years, with neutrality markings. After the War, they served until 1948. 
  In order to prepare the country for a possible invasion during World War 2, the Swedish Air Force hired five Ju.52/3m from Aerotransport which gave them the designation of 'TP-5'. They were employed in many different roles, like cargo, personnel and VIP transport, but also as trainers and some of them were allocated to train the first Swedish paratroopers, though, eventually, they never served as such.
• Yugoslavia: During the very end of World War 2 and the immediate postwar, the Yugoslav Air Force operated some ex-German Ju.52/3m. They were complemented in 1946 with two French-made AAC.1 Toucan which were ordered in late 1945. In 1950 they acquired four more Toucans and two years later they were replaced by the Soviet Lisunov Li-2, the Soviet copy of the Douglas DC-4. The AAC.1s were passed on to JAT, the Yugoslav state airline, which operated the type until 1964. Nowadays one of them is preserved in Belgrade.

Sources:

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

2. https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABA (translated)

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

4. http://www.vrtulnik.cz/ww2/slovac.htm (translated)

5. http://www.lietadla.com/historia/slov-heinkel.htm (translated)

6. https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2020/04/11/aac-1-toucan-frances-post-wwii-ju-52/

7. https://www.avrosys.nu/aircraft/Transport/255tp5/255Tp5.htm

8. Signal Squadron - Aircraft in Action 186 - Junkers Ju.52 in Action