BOXART STORY

#8192

The Calm Before the Storm

The Avia B.534 is one of the symbols of the

determination of Czechoslovakia to stand up

against the threat of Nazism that had gripped

Germany, and the threat of its spread to other

nations in Europe. The attempts to rip away the

border regions of Czechoslovakia were obvious

from the mid thirties and diplomatic rifts were

the order of the day. A strong fighter force was

the only way to deter German aggression from

the air and to make negotiating meaningful. The

Czechoslovak industry lacked the capacity to

develop and especially to produce a fast, single

engine fighter that could hold its own against

the Bf 109 and the fast German bombers of the

Luftwaffe. For this reason, the nation turned to

the more multi-functional Avia B.534 biplane.

The aircraft’s prototype, designed by

Frantisek Novotny, first flew in May 25,

1933. It displayed a very good rate of climb,

excellent maneuverability, and, for that

time, a good maximum speed, approaching

250mph. Its performance exceeded those

of its competition from Praga and Letov. The

initial versions had an open cockpit which later

was covered, and there was an evolution in the

aircraft’s armament, engine cooling system,

propeller and on-board equipment. The

currently available kit represents the epitome

of the B.534, not including the cannon armed

Bk.534 which never saw the installation of the

cannon firing through the propeller hub, and

so production versions were only armed with

three machine guns instead of four.

The B.534 entered service at the beginning

of 1935. AT the time of increasing tensions

provoked by Germany, 27 aircraft were loaned

30

INFO Eduard

by the army to border guard units. The main

acceptance of the type into service took

part in the immediate pre-war years, seeing

a growth in numbers from 326 at the beginning

of September, 1938 to 443 in March, 1939.

The family tree of the type in production can

be divided into four blocks, plus the planned

cannon armed Bk.534.

The B.534s played their role during both

Czechoslovak mobilization periods in May and

September, 1938. Their pilots were ready and

willing to protect their freedom. As a result

of the complete betrayal by Czechoslovakia’s

legally bound allies Great Britain and France,

culminating in the Munich Agreement and

the dismemberment and occupation of

Bohemia and Moravia, the B.534 never got the

opportunity to put up a fight. In fact, the B.534

became a welcomed prize for the Germans that

pressed them into service in their own units

and in those of their allies. The type was used

by the Luftwaffe, primarily in the advanced

training role, and was supplied to Slovakia and

Bulgaria, as well as to a lesser extent, Greece.

The exception to this are three B.534s that

were used during the Slovak National Uprising

against the Germans, an event that brought

about the last air to air victory to be achieved

by a biplane fighter in history.

The painting by Martin Novotny takes us back

to the summer of 1937, where the clear sky

represents the fragile calm, but history tells us

that storm clouds were gathering on the other

side of the border. The aircraft bearing the

serial number 534.208 was first flown on July

1, 1937 by factory test pilot Oldrich Kosar, and

Text: Jan Zdiarský

Illustration: Martin Novotný

two days later was handed over to Air Force

reps. On July 13, 1937, the aircraft was ferried

to Kbely, from where it made its way to the 2nd

Aviation Regiment at Olomouc, and was later

assigned to the 36th Flight.

There, it served with this unit on September

6, 1937, when during a formation flight

over Hostynske Vrchy at 6,500m there was

a collision involving two B.534s. Jaroslav

Sodek, later to become a Czechoslovak

member of the RAF, collided with aircraft

serialed 208 while flying aircraft B.534.035

as a result of being blinded by the sun. He

collided with the second Avia from the left

and from behind. The Flight Leader, flying that

second plane, was Sgt. Julius Zaoral, who was

able to nurse his plane back to Olomouc and

land, while Sodek had to take to his chute. The

damage to the aircraft flown by the Sergeant

was restricted to both the upper and lower

left wing and included the interwing struts.

The aircraft was repaired and pressed back

into service, only to be later taken over by the

Germans.

Although the B.534 by 1938/39 would not have

the opportunity to stand up to the aggressor,

the same could not be said of its pilots. They

were, to varying degrees, involved in domestic

resistance, and significantly left to oppose

the Germans in foreign services of allies that

took them to Poland, France, Africa, the Soviet

Union, the far east, and most notably, Great

Britain.

That, though, leads to other events through

history, with which you can get acquainted

through other Eduard kits.

March 2023