Interwar Czechoslovak Air Force

Brief history of the Czechoslovak Air Force, 1918-1939

Czechoslovakia gained it's independence as a result of the break-up of Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Creation of the military aviation started already in the first days after the declaration of independence (signed on 18 october 1918 in Paris and proclaimed on 28 october 1918 in Prague). On 30 october 1918 in Prague the Air Corps of the Czechoslovak Army (Letecký sbor čs. armády) was formed, with cpt. Jindřich Kostrba (air ace of Austro-Hungarian aviation with 8 victories) as it's first commander. First planes were acquired through requisitions on military aerodrome at Cheb and through arrivals of Czechoslovak aviatiors from Austro-Hungarian aviation with their planes. Within days the Air Corps had a total of 210 airframes and 97 engines, but their technical condition allowed for use of just less than 20 of them. Situation improved after France donated 115 planes in april 1919 and further 89 were bought from France month later. Also, already in it's early days, the Air Corps had to participate in combat operations during border conflicts with Poland and with Hungarian Soviet Republic.

Year after it's creation, on 30 october 1919, Air Corps was reorganized into Czechoslovak Military Aviation with french major Jean Bordage as it's commander. It was organized in four Aviational Groups (with administrative, rather than operational duties):
-I Air Group in Bohemia (4th and 5th Company - setnina, plural: setniny)
-II Air Group in Moravia (3rd Company)
-III Air Group in Slovakia (1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Company)
In 1921 IV Air Group in Carpathian Ruthenia was added. At the same time Command of the Czechoslovak Military Aviation was reorganized into 13th Department of the Ministry of National Defence (MNO, Ministerstvo Narodni Obrany) and year later into 3rd Aviational Department of MNO.
Already beginning in 1920 the air regiments (sing.: letecky pluk) were started to be created, as intermediate level between Air Groups and Companies. In june 1920 1st Air Regiment in Prague was formed (since 1930 "named after Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk"), and month later 2nd Air Regiment in Moravia (since 1937 "named after Dr. Edvard Beneš") and 3rd Air Regiment in Slovakia and Carpatian Ruthenia (since 1924 "named after general Milan Rastislav Štefánik). Further three air regiments were formed around a decade later - 4th Air Regiment in 1928, 6th Air Regiment in 1929 and 5th Air Regiment in 1931. While the first three regiments were of mixed type, new regiments were single-purpose ones (4th - fighters, 5th - night bombers, 6th - day bombers).
In the years 1923 Companies were reorganized into squadrons (letka, plural: letky), while squadrons of the same type were grouped together into Wings (perut').

In 1932 Czechoslovak military aviation was organized as follows:
-1st Air Regiment - Prague (also stationed at Cheb) - with I/1 Wing (squadrons: 1, 2, 3), II/1 Wing (squadrons: 4, 61), III/1 Wing (squadrons: 31, 32);
-2nd Air Regiment - Olomouc - with I/2 Wing (squadrons: 7, 8), II/2 Wing (squadrons: 5, 62), III/3 Wing (squadrons: 33, 34, 35, 39);
-3rd Air Regiment - Piešťany (also stationed at Bratislava and Košice) - with I/3 Wing (squadrons: 9, 10), II/3 Wing (squadrons: 37, 38, 64) and autonomous 13 Squadron;
-4th Air Regiment - Hradec Kralove - with I/4 Wing (squadrons: 6, 13, 63), II/4 Wing (squadrons: 40, 41);
-5th Air Regiment - Prague - with I/5 Wing (squadrons: 81, 82);
-6th Air Regiment - Prague - with I/6 Wing (squadrons: 71, 72) and autonomous 43 Squadron.
-support units - Flight School (Prostějov), Fighter School (Cheb), Barrage Balloons Company (Milovice), depots, workshops etc.
In 1st and 2nd regiments first two wings were observation/reconaissance units and third was fighter unit, in 3rd regiment first wing was observation/reconaissance and second was mixed unit.
Together it was 6 regiments with 12 Wings and 31 Squadrons (12 observation, 4 reconaissance, 11 fighter, 4 bomber), with 546 planes in 1st-line units and further 141 in schools and in reserve.

In 1933 Air Groups were disbanded and in their place three Air District Commands were formed (VZL, Velitelstvi zemského letectva) - in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia respectively - that took command over 1st, 2nd and 3rd Air Regiment, while 4th, 5th and 6th Air Regiments were subordinated to Aviational Brigade with HQ in Prague.

Years 1933-1938 are time of significant growth and technical modernization of Czechoslovak military aviation, initially due to foreign purchases of airplanes, and later due to well developed domestic industry. As a result, in time of Munich Dictate of 1938 it was Europe's 6th strongest air force (after France, Great Britain, Germany, Soviet Union and Italy).

In early 1938 Czechoslovak military aviation was organized as follows:
1st Air Regiment - Hradec Kralove (also stationed at Tabor, Milovice, Plzeň and Prague)
-I/1 Wing - 1 and 2 Observation Squadron with Letov Š-328, 61 Reconaissance Squadron with Aero A-100 and Avia B-71 (Tupolev SB-2);
-II/1 Wing - 3 and 66 Observation Squadron with Letov Š-328, 66 Reconnaissance Squadron with Aero A-100 and Avia B-71 (Tupolev SB-2);
-III/1 Wing - 31, 32 and 34 Fighter Squardon with Avia B-534, 4 and 11 Observation Squadron with Letov Š-328;
2nd Air Regiment - Olomouc (also stationed at Prerov and Vyskov)
-I/2 Wing - 5 and 14 Observation Squadron with Letov Š-328, 63 Reconaissance Squadron with Aero A-100 and Avia B-71 (Tupolev SB-2);
-II/2 Wing - 7 and 8 Observation Squadron with Letov Š-328, 62 Reconaissance Squadron with Aero A-100 and Avia B-71 (Tupolev SB-2);
-III/2 Wing - 33, 35, 36, 51 Fighter Squadron with Avia B-534;
3rd Air Regiment - Piešťany (also stationed at Vajnory, Spišská Nová Ves, Nitra and Zvolen)
-I/3 Wing - 9 Observation Squadron with Letov Š-328, 64 Reconaissance Squadron with Aero A-100;
-II/3 Wing - 12 and 13 Observation Squadron with Letov Š-328, 49 Fighter Squadron with Avia B-534;
-III/3 Wing - 37, 38, 39, 45 Fighter Squadron with Avia B-534;
-IV/3 Wing - 10, 15 and 16 Observation Squadron with Letov Š-328;
4th Air Regiment - Prague (also stationed at Pardubice)
-I/4 Wing - 40, 41, 42 Fighter Squadron with Avia B-534;
-II/4 Wing - 43, 44, 50 Fighter Squadron with Avia B-534;
-II/4 Wing - 46, 47, 48 Fighter Squadron with Avia B-534;
5th Air Regiment - Brno (also stationed at Hlohovec and Nitra)
-I/5 Wing - 81 and 82 Heavy Bomber Squadron with Aero MB-200 and Fokker F.IX;
-II/5 Wing - 83 and 84 Heavy Bomber Squadron with Aero MB-200 and Fokker F.IX;
-III/5 Wing - 75, 76 and 77 Light Bomber Squadron with Aero Ab-101 and Avia B-71 (Tupolev SB-2);
6th Air Regiment - Prague (also stationed at Chrudim and Nemecky Brod)
-I/6 Wing - 71 and 72 Light Bomber Squadron with Aero Ab-101 and Avia B-71 (Tupolev SB-2);
-II/6 Wing - 73 and 74 Light Bomber Squadron with Aero Ab-101 and Avia B-71 (Tupolev SB-2);
-III/6 Wing - 85 and 86 Heavy Bomber Squadron with Aero MB-200;
as well as training and support units. Each regiment had also: technical, reserve and training squadrons, administrative and logistics units.
Together it was 6 regiments with 19 Wings and 55 Squadrons (21 fighter, 7 light bomber, 6 heavy bomber, 5 reconnaissance, 16 observation) with 1514 aircraft, including 838 1st line (326 fighters, 101 light bombers, 54 heavy bombers, 61 reconnaissance and 259 observation aircraft), 170 older combat types in 2nd line, 399 trainers in flight schools and 107 trainers earmarked for liason duties). Air force had at it's disposal 18 large and 12 small military airfields plus 80 forward airfields, and could use around 40 civilian airfields.
In the 1938 forming of 7th Air Regiment was formed, as well as 5 new liason squadrons. Also, an introduction of new aircraft types into service was about to begin, both of domestic and of foreign origin.

German demands on Czechoslovakia to cede border territories with significant German minorit, so-called Sudetenland led to partial mobilization of the Czechoslovak military on 21 may 1938. Deepening of the crisis, that led to infamous Munich Conference, let to declaration of general mobilization on 23 september 1938. For the air force it meant a dissolution of all higher-level command formations and subordination of aviation units to Air Staffs of four field armies and of General Reserve.
-1st Army (main defence force) received 24 squadrons: 7 observation (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 11, 12), 5 reconnaissance (61, 65, 66, 69, 70), 2 bomber (71, 72), 9 fighter (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48) and 1 liason (101);
-2nd Army (northern Moravia) received 8 squadrons: 2 observation (5, 14), 1 reconnaissance (63), 4 fighter (33, 35, 36, 51) and 1 liason (102);
-3rd Army (Slovakia) received 11 squadrons: 4 observation (10, 13, 15 16), 1 reconnaissance (64), 1 bomber (75), 4 fighter (37, 38, 39, 49) and 1 liason (103);
-4th Army (southern Moravia) received 14 squadrons: 4 observation (2, 7, 8, 9), 1 reconnaissance (65), 4 bomber (73, 74, 76, 77), 4 fighter (31, 32, 34, 45) and 1 liason (104);
-General Reserve received 12 squadrons: 1 observation (15), 1 reconnaissance (62), 6 bomber (81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86), 2 fighter (49, 53) and 2 liason (111, 112).
Total of 23 fighter, 13 bomber, 9 reconnaissance, 18 observation and 6 liason squadrons.

That force didn't help, however, and on 30 september 1938 major powers forced on Czechoslovakia ceding of their border territories to nazi Germany. That led to further territorial demands by Hungary and Poland, and ultimately to German takeover of remaining Czech lands on 15 march 1939 and creation of puppet state of Slovakia. Large industrial capacity of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as military materiel of Czechoslovak army was now in nazi hands and was to be used in their later expansion.
Subsequently, a Czechoslovak government-in-exile was formed, initially in France, and later in Great Britain. Also, military formations in exile were formed, first of them in Poland from march 1939, and later in Great Britain and Soviet Union, playing significant part in defeating Germany during World War 2.

Avia B-534
Avia B-534 fighter was first flown in may 1933 and in subsequent years it formed the backbone of Czechoslovak fighter force. First series of 100 aircraft was made between 1934 and 1935, followed by second, improved, series of 45 in 1935-1936 (with two of the machine guns being moved from wings to fuselage), third series of 35 in 1936 (with certain aerodynamical refinements, including wheel covers). Fourth, most numerous series, entered production in late 1936 and until late 1937 total of 271 were made. These planes had enclosed cockpit and metal propeller. Last produced version was Bk-534 of 1938 that was to be armed with 20mm cannon (but due to the delivery delays none of the 26 produced actually managed to received it).
Planes that were in Slovakia in march 1939 were later used in Slovak Air Force, taking part in border conflicts with Hungary, invasion of Poland in 1939 and of the Soviet Union in 1941. Their last combat appearance was during Slovak National Uprising in 1944, scoring the last air victory of the biplane aircraft, against Hungarian Junkers Ju-52 on 2 september 1944.
Planes captured by the Germans in march 1939 were used later by the Luftwaffe as fighter-trainers and assault glider tugs, while 78 of them were sold to Bulgaria (together with significant number of other ex-Czechoslovak aircraft), where they were used initially as fighters and later as attack planes.

Letov Š-328
Letov Š-328 equipped in the second half of the 1930s Czechoslovak observation squadrons. They were created in 1932 by installing Bristol Pegasus engine on earlier Š-228 plane. It was done on Finnish order, that was later cancelled, but the Czechoslovak air force got interested in the plane, and after some minor modifications ordered them in large quantities (with more 400 being built).
After march 1939 they were used by Slovakia and 62 were sold to Bulgaria (while some others being used by Germany in training and auxiliary duties).

Aero A-100, A-101, Ab-101
Aero A-100 was a long-range reconaissance and light bomber aircraft first flown in 1932. Total of 44 were produced, equipping reconaissance squadrons of the Czechoslovak air force. These were followed by re-engined A-101 (12 planes) and it's further development Ab-101 (64 airplanes for light bomber squadrons). Some of them were apparently exported to Spain, and after 1939 several ended up in the air force of Slovakia.

Since unfortunately I can not English, so all text wrote Eswube, which I thank very.

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Interwar Czechoslovak Air Force

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