The Letov Š-31 was a fighter aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s in a number of variants. All of the aircraft had metal tubular framing and fabric covering with a metal engine cowling. The first flight of the definitive and highly altered Š.231 version was on March 17, 1933. After testing at the Czechoslovak flight facility at Prague-Lethany, modifications were undertaken to improve the machine's performance. It entered production the following year and began equipping Czech fighter units in June 1936. The machines however did not remain in frontline fighter status with the

Czechoslovak Air Force The Czechoslovak Air Force (''Československé letectvo'') or the Czechoslovak Army Air Force (''Československé vojenské letectvo'') was the air force branch of the Czechoslovak Army formed in October 1918. The armed forces of Czechoslovakia c ...

until the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. The sole Š.331 and 22 out of 24 produced Š.231s were sold to representatives of the Spanish Republican government. Reports of their combat record in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

are vague, but at least three machines survived the war and were used by victorious Nationalists. The operational performance and ultimate fate of the Š.331 is unrecorded. While the Š.31, Š.131, Š.231, and Š.431 had engines of 480 to 680 hp, the Š.331 had a Walter K.14 engine, giving it outstanding performance for an aircraft of the early 1930s. In May 1935, the aircraft established a new Czechoslovak altitude record of .

Operators

; *

Slovak Air Force (1939–1945) The Slovak Air Force (, or SVZ), between 1939 and 1945, was the air force of the short-lived World War II Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovak Republic. Its mission was to provide air support at fronts, and to protect Bratislava and metropolita ...

; *

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics () and Naval Aeron ...

; *

Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...

– Post civil war.

Variants

* Š-31 – initial version with

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

-built

Bristol Jupiter The Bristol Jupiter is a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine that was built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developme ...

(33 built) * Š-131 – racing version with

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

-built

Pratt & Whitney Hornet The Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet was a widely used American aircraft engine. Developed by Pratt & Whitney, 2,944 were produced from 1926 through 1942. It first flew in 1927. It was a single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled radial design. Displaceme ...

(three built) * Š-231 – main production version with

-built

Bristol Mercury The Bristol Mercury is a British nine-cylinder, air-cooled, single-row, piston radial engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. Developed from ...

engine * Š-331 – version with Walter K.14 engine (one built) * Š-431 – version with

Armstrong Siddeley Tiger The Armstrong Siddeley Tiger was a British 14-cylinder air-cooled aircraft radial engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley in the 1930s from their Jaguar engine. The engine was built in a number of different versions but performance and dimensi ...

engine (one built)

Specifications (Š-231)

References

External links

Letov S.231/S.331/Spain (Republicans)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letov S-31 1920s Czechoslovak fighter aircraft Letov aircraft Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929

Operators

Variants

Specifications (Š-231)

See also

References

External links