Darzhavna aeroplanna rabotilnitsa (' - State Aircraft Workshops), abbreviated DAR ('), was the first Bulgarian aircraft manufacturer, established in 1924 at Bojourishte.

History

Initially involved in repairing German aircraft then in use in Bulgaria, DAR soon began producing copies of some of these ( DAR Uzunov-1, DAR 2), before moving on to licensed production of the

Focke-Wulf Fw 44 The Focke-Wulf Fw 44 ''Stieglitz'' (Goldfinch) is a twin-seat biplane designed and produced by the Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf. It was the company's first major international success. The Fw 44 had a relatively conventional ...

. The workshops produced a number of original designs, some of these were produced ( DAR 1, DAR 3, DAR 4, DAR 6, , DAR 9, DAR 11), while others never proceeded past prototype stage ( DAR 5, DAR 7, DAR 10). Although aircraft manufacture was moved to the Darzhavna Samoletna Fabrika (''Държавна самолетна фабрика'' - State Airplane Factory, abbr. ''ДСФ'' - DSF) in

Lovech Lovech (, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of ...

in 1940, designers remained in DAR. was DAR's head designer towards the end of the organisation's lifespan. Amongst others, he was responsible for its final design, the DAR 11 fighter of 1941 that never left the drawing board. DAR was closed after 1945 and the personnel and facilities were moved to the DSF in Lovech. Although not direct legal successor, in 1995 a newly established private company called Aeroplani DAR based its name and heritage on DAR.

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Bibliography

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External links

Romanian Military History Forum: Bulgarian Aircraft Production (1910-1945)
– includes pictures of a magazine article with production lists Aircraft manufacturers of Bulgaria Government-owned companies of Bulgaria Defunct manufacturing companies of Bulgaria Manufacturing companies established in 1924 Bulgarian companies established in 1924 {{aero-company-stub