The Avia B-34 was a biplane fighter aircraft built in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

in the early 1930s. It was the first design of František Novotný for the Avia company and although built only in small numbers, it paved the way for the

Avia B-534 The Avia B-534 is a Czechoslovak biplane developed and manufactured by aviation company Avia. It was produced during the period between the First World War and the Second World War. The B-534 was perhaps one of the most well-known Czechoslovakia ...

Development

The B-34 was an all-metal single-bay biplane of conventional configuration, with

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

. The mainwheels of the prototype were fitted with large spats. The first prototype underwent testing from 2 February 1932, leading to a large number of modifications being made, in particular the

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammal ...

and engine

cowling A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...

designs were considerably revised. The resulting B-34.1 served as the prototype for the 12 production machines ordered by the Czechoslovakian Air Force. These had an even larger vertical tail,

interplane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s of narrower chord, and no wheel spats. A second prototype, the B-34.2 was fitted with an Avia Rr 29

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

but was never actually flown with it as the engine was not sufficiently developed. It was, however, offered to the Air Force under the redesignation B-234. The second prototype was then fitted with an inline

Hispano-Suiza 12Y The Hispano-Suiza 12Y was an aircraft engine produced by Hispano-Suiza for the French Air Force before the Second World War. The 12Y became the primary French 1,000 hp (750 kW) class engine and was used in a number of famous aircraft, i ...

brs piston engine, and later redesignated B-534.1.

Operational history

The twelve production B-34s entered service with the 37 Stíhací Letka (fighter squadron) of the Czechoslovakian Air Force in September 1934. They were retired to training duties in 1937. Despite inferior overall performance and some unpopularity, the aircraft was robust. Until the end of the

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, První československá republika, sk, Prvá česko-slovenská republika), often colloquially referred to as the First Republic ( cs, První republika, Slovak: ''Prvá republika''), was the first Czechoslo ...

in March 1939, only one aircraft was lost; B-34.4 crashed and was written off in April 1937. Eight of the B-34s were handed over to the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

when the Czechoslovakian state ceased to exist in March 1939. At least three were soon lost in crashes and it is likely that the others were retired from use rather than being used for training purposes. The remaining three B-34s were retained by the new Slovenské vzdušné zbrane (Slovakian Air Force). One, perhaps two of these were still being used for training at Tri Duby airfield (today called

Sliač Airport Sliač Airport or, historically, ''Letisko Tri Duby'' (literally, "The Three Oaks Airport") is a military airport in central Slovakia situated between the towns of Zvolen and Banská Bystrica and near the spa town of Sliač. The airport has one ...

) in August 1944. They then effectively became part of the Kombinovaná letka (combined squadron) of the

Slovak Insurgent Air Force The Slovak Resistance Air Force (in Slovak language, Slovak: ''Slovenské povstalecké letectvo'') was an Allies of World War II, Allied air unit which fought against Axis powers, Axis forces in Slovak State, Slovakia and participated in the Sl ...

during the Slovak National Uprising against the Germans in September 1944. There is no evidence of them being used in combat at this time and if they survived the uprising they were almost certainly among the aircraft destroyed by the Slovaks before they left the airfield after the failure of the uprising.

Variants

B-34.1 First prototype, flew Feb 1932 B-34.2 Second prototype, redesignated B-234 with Avia Rr 29 engine, then again as B-34.2 with

brs engine, redesignated

.1. B-34.3 to B-34.14 Production aircraft

Units using this aircraft

;: Czechoslovak 37 Letka (squadron) 3rd Air Regiment ;: The German ''

'' ;

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

:'' Slovenské vzdušné zbrane'' (Slovak Air Force)

Specifications (B-34/1)

References

P. Schumirast, J. Andal. ''Avia B-34, B-534 a Bk-534'' (HT Model Special). Jiri Vrany. ''Avia B-534'' (MBI).

External links

{{AVIA aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes 1930s Czechoslovakian fighter aircraft B-034 Aircraft first flown in 1932