Avia S-199

Avia S-199
Avia S-199 at Muzeyon Heyl ha-Avir, Hatzerim, Israel
Role	Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer	Avia
Designer	Messerschmitt
First flight	March 1947
Retired	1957
Primary users	Czechoslovak Air Force Israeli Air Force
Produced	1947–1949
Number built	603
Developed from	Messerschmitt Bf 109

The Avia S-199 is a propeller-driven Messerschmitt Bf 109G-based fighter aircraft built after World War II utilizing the Bf 109G airframe and a Junkers Jumo 211F engine in place of the original and unavailable Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. It is notable as the first fighter obtained by the Israeli Air Force, and used during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Constructed in Czechoslovakia, with parts and plans left over from Luftwaffe aircraft production, the aircraft had numerous problems and was generally unpopular with its pilots. Czechoslovak pilots nicknamed it Mezek ("Mule"), while in Israel it was officially known as the Sakeen ("knife" in Hebrew). In practice, the aircraft was more often called Messerschmitt or Messer (which also means "knife", in German and Yiddish).

Design and development[]

Avia continued building Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6s after the war under the Avia S-99 name, at two aircraft factories in Czechoslovakia: one of them officially called závod Avia (Avia Plant) (1946–48) and závod Avia-Jiřího Dimitrova (Avia-George Dimitroff-Plant, 1948–49) in Čakovice near Prague, as a postwar corporative part of the Automobilové závody, n.p. [Automotive Works, National Corp.]. The other was named závod Vysočany (Vysočany Plant, 1948–49) in Prague, as a corporative part of Letecké závody, n.p. [Aviation Works, National Corp.] but soon ran out of the 109's Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine after many were destroyed during an explosion at a warehouse in .

The S-199 continued to use the Bf 109G airframe but, with none of the original engines available, an alternative engine had to be used. It was decided that as a replacement for the original engine, the aircraft would use the same (Junkers Jumo 211F) engine and propeller as the Heinkel He 111 bomber. The resulting combination of parts was an aircraft with extremely poor handling qualities. The substitute engine with the propeller lacked the responsiveness of the Daimler-Benz unit and the torque created by the massive paddle-bladed propeller made control very difficult. This, in combination with the 109's narrow-track undercarriage, made landings and takeoffs extremely hazardous.

The Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine allowed for a central cannon mount (Motorkanone in German) that fired through the propeller spinner. This was not possible with the Junkers Jumo 211, and so the S-199 used a version of the Luftwaffe's Rüstsatz VI modification kit, which consisted of a pair of MG 151 cannon, one each in a gun pod, beneath each wing. This further impinged on the aircraft's performance. A final hidden danger lay in the gun synchronizer for the cowl-mounted MG 131 machine guns, which did not work as it was meant to, leading a few Israeli aircraft to shoot off their own propellers.^[1]

Around 550 S-199s were built, including a number of conversion trainers designated CS-199 (armed) and C-210 (unarmed). The first flight took place in March 1947, and production ended in 1949. The last examples were withdrawn from Czechoslovak service (with their National Security Guard) in 1957.^{[citation needed]}

Operational history[]

Israeli service[]

Israeli agents negotiated the purchase of Avia S-199s from the Czechoslovak government in defiance of an arms embargo that Israel faced at the time. Twenty-five aircraft were obtained and all but two were eventually delivered. The price for a fully equipped plane was $190,000.^[2] The first examples arrived on 20 May 1948, six days after Israel's declaration of independence and five days after the commencement of hostilities by Egypt. Forming Israel's first fighter squadron, they were assembled and sent into combat for the first time on May 29, attacking the Egyptian army between Isdud and the Ad Halom bridge, south of Tel Aviv. A few days later, on 3 June, taking off from Herzliya Airport^[3] the type scored the Israeli Air Force's first aerial victories when Modi Alon shot down a pair of Royal Egyptian Air Force C-47s which had just bombed Tel Aviv.^[4][5]

The type proved unreliable and performed poorly in combat. Furthermore, maintenance problems meant that no more than five were typically airworthy at any one time. The type scored victories over its opponents, including the Spitfire.^[6][7] The Avias were mostly withheld from service by the end of October, at which time only six remained operational. The S-199 continued making sporadic sorties until mid-December.

Variants[]

Avia S-99

Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10 variant assembled postwar in Czechoslovakia. Avia factory designation was C.10, 21 aircraft completed.

Avia CS-99

Training variant of Avia S-99 based on the Messerschmitt Bf 109G-12 variant. Avia factory designation was C.10, 23 aircraft completed.

Avia S-199

Avia S-99 powered by Junkers Jumo 211F engine, main production variant. Avia factory designation was C.210, 559 aircraft completed.

Avia CS-199

Two-seat training variant rebuilt from Avia S-199.

Avia D-199

Reconnaissance version.

Operators[]

 Czechoslovakia

• Czechoslovak Air Force

 Israel

• Israeli Air Force
  • 101 Squadron

Surviving aircraft[]

Czech Republic

• UC-26 – CS-199 on static display at the Prague Aviation Museum in Kbely, Prague. It is serial number 565.^[8]
• UF-25 – S-199 on static display at the Prague Aviation Museum in Kbely, Prague. It is serial number 178.^[8]

Israel

• D-112 – S-199 on static display at the Israeli Air Force Museum at Hatzerim Israeli Air Force Base near Hatzerim, South District.^[9]

Specifications (S-199)[]

Data from ^[10]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 8.94 m (29 ft 4 in)
• Wingspan: 9.92 m (32 ft 7 in)
• Height: 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 16.5 m² (178 sq ft)
• Airfoil: root: NACA 2R1 14.2; tip: NACA 2R1 11.35^[11]
• Empty weight: 2,860 kg (6,305 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 3,736 kg (8,236 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Junkers Jumo 211F V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,010 kW (1,350 hp) for take-off

790 kW (1,060 hp) at 5,300 m (17,388 ft)

• Propellers: 3-bladed paddle-bladed VS 11 constant-speed propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 528 km/h (328 mph, 285 kn) at sea level

598 km/h (372 mph; 323 kn) at 6,000 m (19,685 ft)

• Range: 860 km (530 mi, 460 nmi)
• Rate of climb: 13.7 m/s (2,700 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 231 kg/m² (47 lb/sq ft)^{[citation needed]}
• Power/mass: 0.195 hp/lb (0.321 kW/kg)^{[citation needed]}

Armament

• Guns:
  
  • 2× 13 mm MG 131 machine guns
  • 2× MG 151/20 cannon
• Bombs:
  
  • 1× 250 kg (551 lb)^{[citation needed]}

or

• • 4× 70 kg (155 lb) bombs^{[citation needed]}

See also[]

Related development

• Messerschmitt Bf 109
• Hispano Aviación HA-1112

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Ikarus S-49
• Supermarine Spitfire
• Yakovlev Yak-9

Related lists

• List of fighter aircraft

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avia S-199.

• Avia S 199 Mezek, o Messerschmitt tchecoslocavo [The Avia S-99 and the Avia S-199] (in Portuguese).
• 101 Squadron's Avia S-199s
• Valka.cz forum with more pictures and further information
• Yaakov, Katz (July 16, 2012). "'It was all destiny' – One of last surviving founders of IAF recalls mission that stopped Egypt from advancing on Tel Aviv". The Jerusalem Post.
• Avia S-199, Jewish Virtual Library