Arsenalul Aeronautic ("Aeronautical Arsenal" in English) in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

was the first factory with an aeronautical profile in Romania. Its activity took place between 1919 and 1939. ''Arsenalul Aeronautic'' manufactured three models of aircraft: Hansa-Brandenburg C.I,

Proto 1 Proto 1 was a training biplane designed by Major :ro:Ștefan Protopopescu, Ștefan Protopopescu in collaboration with Dumitru Baziliu and Gheorghe Ticău at Arsenalul Aeronautic in Bucharest in 1922. It was the first Romanian airplane to be built ...

and Aeron and modified

De Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London. Operations were later moved to ...

aircraft for passenger and freight transport (aircraft intended for domestic airlines). Also, at the Aeronautical Arsenal, research in the field of study and testing of materials was organized.

History

In November 1919, an aeronautical factory was created in

on the field of Cotroceni, as a result of the transfer of the material and the majority of the personnel of the ''

Rezerva generală a aviației Rezerva generală a aviației (RGA) or the General Aviation Reserve in English language, English was a Romanian aircraft factory founded during the First World War. It operated between 1916 and 1919 in Iași. After the war it was transferred to Bu ...

'' (General Aviation Reserve or RGA) from

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

. On 1 July 1920, the factory was renamed to the Aeronautical Arsenal. In the beginning, the activity was to repair different types of airplanes and aircraft engines from the endowment of the Romanian military aviation, but after only two years the factory started to build airplanes. The activities specific to the aeronautical industry (repairs, design, manufacture and research) lasted until June 1939, when ''Arsenalul Aeronautic'' became part of the Administration of aeronautical and naval establishments.

Manufactured aircraft

Hansa-Brandenburg C.I

Hansa-Brandenburg C.I was the first mass-produced aircraft at the Aeronautical Arsenal, starting in 1922. Between 1922 and 1923, 120 aircraft were built. It was a two-seater reconnaissance and observation aircraft and was equipped with the Austro-Daimler 160 hp engine. Until 8 May 1922, 10 units were built, on the fuselage of which was written "''Construit în România''" ("Made in Romania"). 72 aircraft were built and delivered by the end of 1922.

Proto 1

was produced at the Aeronautical Arsenal two years after its establishment, in 1922. It was a

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

used as a school and training aircraft, designed by Major Ștefan Protopopescu in collaboration with engineers Dumitru Baziliu and Gheorghe Ticău. The first experimental flights were performed by Protopopescu himself. The qualities of the aircraft led the Ministry of War to order a series of 25 aircraft of this type from the '' Fabrica de avioane Astra'' in Arad. After the accident of Ioan Sava Câmpineanu in 1924, production of Proto 1 aircraft was stopped, the airplanes were improved and delivered by the ''Fabrica de avioane Astra'' under the name of Proto 2.

Aeron

Aeron was a

sesquiplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

built in 1934, in two variants. The first prototype had a Cirrus 105 hp engine, while the second had a Salmson 120 hp engine. The airplane was designed and built by Lieutenant-Commander Petre Macavei, Captain Cristea Constantinescu, Captain Constantin Istrate and Lieutenant Simion Stănculescu. The novelty brought by this model was that the uneven wings were placed with the lower plane offset from the upper one, there were no struts between the wings. The Aeron was also flown by French pilot Lepreux, who was greatly satisfied with the behavior of the airplane. Despite its promising features, the aircraft was not mass-produced.

Specifications (Salmson engine prototype)

Other projects

''De Havilland'' modified

The Aeronautical Arsenal also undertook a project to modify the fuselage of De Havilland bombers in order to convert them into aircraft for the transport of passengers or for the transport of goods. These modified De Havilland aircraft were intended for domestic airlines established in Romania. A total of 10 De Havillands were modified, with 6 at the Aeronautical Arsenal and 4 at

SET Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

Research

The first laboratory in Romania for the study and testing of materials was set up at the Aeronautical Arsenal. This laboratory was run by Captain Ion Gudju. In 1923, the installation and the process of manufacturing Emaillite, a

varnish Varnish is a clear Transparency (optics), transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not to be confused with wood stain. It usually has a yellowish shade due to the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmente ...

used for covering the canvas of airplanes, were designed by engineer Gheorghe Ionescu.

Repairs

The Aeronautical Arsenal also repaired various aircraft (captured

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

s and Hansa-Brandenburg C.Is,

Potez XV The Potez XV (also erroneously written Potez 15) was a French single-engine, two-seat observation biplane designed as a private venture by Louis Coroller and built by Potez and under licence by Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów and Plage i Laśkiew ...

SPAD XIII The SPAD S.XIII is a French biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War, developed by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) from the earlier and highly successful SPAD S.VII. During early 1917, the French designer Louis Bé ...

s, etc.) and engines (

Austro-Daimler Austro-Daimler was an Austrian car manufacturer from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the Germany, German ''Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft'' (DMG) until 1909. History In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The company so ...

Hispano-Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft engines, trucks and weapons. ...

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

etc.).

References

Aerospace companies of Romania Aircraft manufacturers of Romania Romanian brands Defence companies of Romania {{Romanian aerospace industry, state = expanded