The
Aero A.14
was a
Czechoslovakian
biplane
military reconnaissance aircraft built in the 1920s. It was essentially a slightly modified version of the
Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
aircraft that Aero had built during
World War I
as the
Ae.10
, and for this reason, the aircraft is sometimes referred to as the
A.14 Brandenburg
. When equipped with a slightly different engine (the
Hiero L
in place of the standard
Hiero N
), the aircraft was designated
A.15
instead. The two versions were otherwise almost identical.
Even though it was obsolete by the time it entered production in
1922
, the A.14 is nevertheless noteworthy for its role in the establishment of Czech
airline
CSA
. A.14s provided by the
Czechoslovak Air Force
served to survey routes that CSA airliners would soon fly, and at least 17 were put into service as
mail planes
between
Prague
and
Bratislava
. They could also carry a single passenger when required.
Development and design
[
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]
The
Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
was an
Austro-Hungarian
reconnaissance aircraft that was designed by
Ernst Heinkel
as a development of the earlier
Hansa-Brandenburg B.I
. It was built in large numbers by three manufacturers (
Hansa-Brandenburg
,
Phonix Flugzeug-Werke
and
Ufag
), with 1258 aircraft delivered by 31 October 1918, after which reliable delivery records are not available.
The Hansa-Brandenburg C.I was one of the first aircraft types to be operated by the newly formed
Czechoslovak Air Force
, with some aircraft being flown to Czechoslovak airfields at the end of
World War One
and the dissolution of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
, and others being rebuilt from damaged examples found in factories and warehouses. By November 1919, the Czechoslovak Air Force had 46 airworthy C.Is, and in 1920 it purchased another 15 surplus machines from Austria, although further deliveries from that source were stopped by the
Inter-Allied Commission
that monitored the terms of the
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
, the peace treaty that ended the state of war between the
Allies of World War I
and Austria.
The Hansa-Brandenburg proved popular in Czechoslovak service, with the type being easy to fly and maintain, and even when the faster
Letov ?-1
reconnaissance aircraft entered service, the C.I remained in use for photo-reconnaissance and as an advanced trainer. As a result, the Czechoslovak
Ministry of Defence
decided to order production of the C.I under license in Czechoslovakia, with
Aero Vodochody
being ordered to build three different versions of the Hansa-Brandenburg, the Aero A.14 and A.15, both powered by the
Hiero 6
engine rated at 172 kW (231 hp), and the
Aero A.26
, powered by 138 kW (185 hp)
BMW IIIa
engines.
[a]
Both Hiero-powered variants were based on the
Ufag
-built C.I(U) series 369,
while the less powerful Aero A.26 was based on the Phonix-built C.I(Ph) Series 26.
A total of 25 A.14s and 24 A.15s were ordered in 1922, with five A.14s fitted with dual controls.
The A.14 and A.15 were two-bay
biplanes
of conventional construction. The fuselage had a wooden framework with plywood covering, while the wings had a wooden structure with fabric covering, with steel-tube
interplane struts
with wooden fairings. The tail surfaces were built of steel tubing with fabric covering.
The A.14 was powered by a Hiero N engine, new-built by Breltfeld and Dan?k of
Prague
, while the A.15 used imported Hiero L engines.
Both types were designed to carry armament, but in practice, the A.14, used as a trainer and transport, was unarmed. The A.15 was fitted with a fixed forward firing
synchronised
7.7 mm (.303 in)
Vickers machine gun
, while a flexibly-mounted
Lewis gun
of the same calibre was fitted in the observer's position. Bombs could be carried under the wings, with 12 10 kg (22 lb) to 20 kg (44 lb) bombs or two 50 kg (110 lb) bombs carried.
The Czechoslovak aircraft had a modified wing structure compared to the original Hansa-Brandenburg C.I on which it was based, with more wing ribs, while the A.14s were fitted with revised controls, using a joystick rather than a control wheel, but the A.15 reverted to the original controls.
Operational history
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]
The first A.14 was accepted by the Czechoslovak authorities on 25 October 1922, with deliveries continuing into December that year. Because of the Czechoslovak Air Force's urgent need for new pilots, the A.14s were used as trainers, and the intended armament was not fitted.
The A.15s were delivered from March to August 1923, and were used for several roles within the Czechoslovakian Air Force's frontline units, including reconnaissance, bombing, artillery direction and as an intermediate trainer.
Some A.15s were modified for night flying, with modified cockpit lighting added,
landing lights
fitted and extended exhaust pipes to avoid blinding the crew, and were designated Ab.15.
A.15s were also used in trials of spraying against
Black arches
(also known as Nun moths), an early example of
crop dusting
.
The Aero A.14 suffered from excessive engine vibration, and served for a relatively short time with the Czechoslovakian Air Force, with aircraft being transferred to the military transport group for evaluation, starting flying
airmail
trials in March 1923 between Prague and
Bratislava
in March 1923.
The A.15 had a much longer career in front line service, serving until about 1930, when the deteriorating physical condition of the aircraft led them to be withdrawn from use and sold to civil users such as flying clubs.
The airmail trials carried out by the Czechoslovak Air Force in March?April 1923, which mainly used A.14s carrying civilian markings and registrations, were intended as proving flights to support the establishment of a state-owned civil airline. These plans were realised with the establishment of
?eskoslovenske statni aerolinie
(?SA) on 28 October 1923. Amongst the airline's initial equipment were 17 Aero A.14s loaned by the Czechoslovak military. These were used to fly the airline's first services, between Prague and Bratislava, on 29 October 1923.
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[9]
In 1924 and 1925, A-14s were responsible for almost all of ?SA's services, flying over 90% of flights. Six A-14s were modified to carry two passengers, who sat facing each other, and these six aircraft were preferred for regular operations, with the single passenger aircraft being held in reserve.
From 1926,
de Havilland DH.50s
(licence-built by Aer) took over ?SA's mean routes, with the A.14 relegated to reserve aircraft, with ?SA returning its last A.14 to the Czechoslovak Air Force in 1927.
A.14s and A.15s remained in private use well into the 1930s, with the last aircraft removed from the register in 1936.
Specifications (A.14)
[
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]
Data from
Monografie: Aero A-14, A-15
General characteristics
- Crew:
2
- Length:
8.40 m (27 ft 7 in)
- Upper wingspan:
12.30 m (40 ft 4 in)
- Lower wingspan:
11.75 m (38 ft 7 in)
- Height:
3.13 m (10 ft 3 in)
- Wing area:
37.50 m
2
(403.6 sq ft)
- Empty weight:
933 kg (2,057 lb)
- Gross weight:
1,275 kg (2,811 lb)
- Fuel capacity:
250 L (66 US gal; 55 imp gal) main tank plus 25 L (6.6 US gal; 5.5 imp gal) reserve
- Powerplant:
1 × Breitfeld & Dan?k
Hiero N
6-cyl water-cooled in-line piston engine, 169 kW (227 hp)
- Propellers:
2-bladed wooden fixed pitch propeller, 2.80 m (9 ft 2 in) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed:
179 km/h (111 mph, 97 kn)
- Cruise speed:
150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
- Range:
425 km (264 mi, 229 nmi)
- Endurance:
2.6 hr
- Service ceiling:
4,900 m (16,100 ft)
- Time to altitude:
- 4 min 45 sec to 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
- 36 minutes to 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
- Wing loading:
34 kg/m
2
(7.0 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass
:
0.130 kW/kg (0.08 hp/lb)
Operators
[
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]
See also
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Aero A.14
.
Related development
Related lists
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
The Hansa-Brandenburg B.I was also produced under license in Czechoslovakia, by Aero as the
Aero Ae 01
and by Letov as the ?-10.
References
[
edit
]
- Grosz, Peter M.; Haddow, George; Schiener, Peter (1993).
Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One
. Mountain View, California, US: Flying Machines Press.
ISBN
0-9637110-0-8
.
- Krumbach, Jan; Sedla?, Milo? (1986). "Monografie: Aero A-14, A-15: ?ast I".
Letectvi a Kosmonautika
(in Czech). Vol. 62, no. 10. pp. 390?392.
- Krumbach, Jan; Sedla?, Milo? (1986). "Monografie: Aero A-14, A-15: ?ast II".
Letectvi a Kosmonautika
(in Czech). Vol. 62, no. 11. pp. 429?432.
- Krumbach, Jan; Sedla?, Milo? (1986). "Monografie: Aero A-14, A-15: ?ast III".
Letectvi a Kosmonautika
(in Czech). Vol. 62, no. 12. pp. 470?472.
- Stroud, John (1966).
European Transport Aircraft since 1910
. London: Putnam.
External links
[
edit
]
- "Aero A-14"
.
valka.cz
(in Czech)
. Retrieved
18 May
2017
.
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1919-1938
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1945-1992
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1993-present
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Under licence
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