A 1949 jet trainer fighter project: M-003 engine, maximum speed 580 km/h
1 engine
Letov L.501
A postwar piston fighter project with M-211 (Jumo 211) engine; not unlike the Mustang.
Letov XLA-54
Czech Air Force designation for a trainer of 1950. Powered by an M 411R.
Letov L-105
A 1946 ultralight sport aircraft made of laminated wood. One-man crew, 25-hp Walter A engine, maximum speed 136 km/h.
Letov Š.39 / Š.139 / Š.239
A two-seat, parasol monoplane sports plane (with HP slats) of 1931. After a prototype with a 36.8kW Orion LL-50 engine, 23 aircraft were built in 1934, powered by a 55 hp 3-cyl Walter Polaris radial engine.
An Š.139 development prototype (OK-ELA) of 1933 was powered by an 80 hp 7-cyl Pobjoy R radial.
Sixteen Š.239 developments were built, powered by an 85 hp 4-cyl Walter Minor 4. Ten went to flying clubs.
Engine: Walter Polaris, 40.5 kW / 55 hp
Propeller: two-blade wooden
Wingspan: 10,00 m
Length: 6,14 m
Wing Area: 14,00 m2
Empty Weight: 270 kg
Maximum Take-off Weight: 515 kg
Wing Loading: 36,8 kg/m2
Maximum Speed: 150 km/h
Cruise Speed: 130 km/h
Service Ceiling: 3300 m
Range: 480 km
Crew: 2-3
Undercarriage: fixed
Letov Š.33
A 2- to 3-seat high-wing bomber, powered by a 790 hp W-12 Praga Asso 9-W. After a brief test hop, the aircraft was grounded for excessive vibration and replaced by Š.516.
Letov Š.231
A 1933 development of the Š.31 with a new wing profile, the aircraft is open cockpit and radial engine with a separate exhaust collector ring and Townend ring cowling. Power was a 550 hp Bristol Mercury.
The single-bay wings have N-type interplane struts and centre section struts.
Only one prototype and 23 production examples were produced, and the Š.231 was briefly used by the 35th and 36th Squadrons of the 2nd Air Regiment of the Czechoslovak Air Force.
Characteristics being somewhat short of the desirable and an opportunity presenting itself to cut losses, the fighter was withdrawn, crated and shipped to Spain where circumstances were dictating a more generous attitude to the shortcomings of flying equipment. In Spain, it was assigned to the 2a Escuadrilla of the Grupo de Gaza nüm 71 of the Republican air arm. The operational career of the š -231 was to be less than outstanding in Spain, a number being lost in training accidents and lack of spares back¬ing resulting in something of a nightmare for the maintenance personnel.
The Czech-designed, Finnish-built S.231 Smolik OH-SME was fitted with an enclosed canopy.
Letov Š.31 / Š.131 / Š.331 / Š.431
An all-metal single-engine, single-seat, biplane fighter/trainer of 1929. The Š.31 was based on S-20J with a 450 hp 9-cyl Walter Jupiter radial. Thirty-three were built.
Variants:
Š.31A, Bristol Mercury (becomes S-231)
Š.131, 500 hp 9-cyl BMW Hornet, 3 built.
Š.331, prototype fighter, 1935 (sold to Spain), 880 hp 9-cyl Walter K-14 radial
Š.431, prototype fighter, 1936 (crashed on trials), 14-cyl AS Tiger III
Specifications:
S-131
Engine: 500 hp 9-cyl BMW Hornet
Wingspan: 9.8 m
Length: 7.15 m
Empty weight: 970 kg
Maximum speed: 292 kph
Climb to 5000m: 6 min 50 sec
Range: 450 km
Service ceiling: 10000 m
S-431
Engine: Armstrong Siddeley Tiger, 680 hp
Propeller: wooden two-blade
Wingspan: 10.06 m
Length: 7.9 m
Empty weight: 1310 kg
Top speed: 370 kph
Climb to 5000m: 6 min 58 sec
Service ceiling: 9500 m
Letov S.239
Wood-framed wings and tail-plane and fin covered by plywood, elevator and rudder by fabric. Fuselage steel-tube-framed, fabric-covered.
Letov S-239.16 (the 16th production S-239) was built in 1933. Ten were used by Flying Clubs and Masarykś Flying League units until March 15,1939.
An S-239 was powered by a British radial Pobjoy R engine. But the Pobjoy licence was not purchased and that reason for a Pobjoy-powered production of S-239s was not undertaken.
Engine: Walter Minor 4, 85 hp
Span : 10 m
Length: 6.14 m
Empty weight: 375 kg
Top speed: 174 kph
Climb to 1000 m: 5 min 16 sec
Range: 420 km
Crew: 2
Letov Š.28 / Š.128 / Š.228 / Š.328 / Š.428 / Š.528
A two-seat reconnaissance biplane of 1928, powered by a 235 hp 9-cyl Walter Castor radial engine.
An Letov S-328 multi-role biplane was used for reconnaissance and light bombing, designed in 1932 for a Finnish customer`s demand to fit an strenghtened engine in the airframe of the S-228. The S-328 one was the most numerous in the Czechoslovak Air Force. Range of the recce and observer version was from 700 to 1280 km, service ceiling from 6300 to 7200 m.
The 108th production S-328 was a bomber version powered by a 580 Walter Pegas II M-2 engine. It could carry a bombload of up to 500 kg, and range of 340 to 1250 km.
An observer of one of seven S-328 biplanes used by the Insurgent Flight during the Slovakian Uprising downed one German recce Focke-Wulf 189 in Sept 1944.
The Š.328V float-version of the S-328 type amounted two machines only, built 1925-1926. These were used for target- tug duties over the Adriatic Sea in the Boka Kotorska Region, where gunnery was practised bby the Czechoslovak artillery. Handling characteristics did not deteriorate by fitting the floats and neither center of gravity nor the fin was in the need of change. Made in the period.
Variants:
Š.128, 1931, 450 hp 9-cyl Walter Jupiter VI radial
Š.128SM with 500 hp 9-cyl Gnome-Rhône Mercure VII radial (became Š.228)
Š.228, 1931, as per Š.128SM (demonstrated to Finns with 500 hp 9-cyl P&W Hornet radial)
Š.228E, 1932, four export aircraft for Estonia
Š.328, reconnaissance aircraft, 1932, 730 hp Walter Pegasus III-M2
Š.328F, engine change prototype, 740 hp V-12 Avia Vr-36
Š.328FM, armaments change (Skoda vz. 30)
Š.328V, twin-float seaplane (Short Bros. floats)
Š.328W (S-328-2), as per Š.328F, 630 hp V-12 Avia Vr-36
Š.328N (Nachtjäger) Luftwaffe conversions for Störkampfstaffeln
Š.428, 1933, S-238W ground attack variant, 650 hp V-12 Avia Vr-36
Š.528, 1934, 800 hp 14-cyl Walter K14 (Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major 14 Krsd)
S-328
Wingspan 13.71 m
Length 10.36
Empty weight 1680 kg
Top speed 380 kph
Climb to 5000m: 17 min
