KITS 05/2022

S-199.285, CPL Josef Jiroušek, No. 1 Squadron, Aviation Regiment 8,

Brno-Černovice, Czechoslovakia, July 25, 1949

One of the first of seven S-199s produced by the Aero factory had an oil cooler installed under the nose, as did all

early examples. Four aircraft from this seven-unit production run remained in Czechoslovakia; three were released for export to Israel (Nos. 282, 286 and 287). “Mezek”

(translated as Mule) No. 285 was assigned to LP 8 (Aviation Regiment 8) on August 4, 1948, based at Brno-Černovice

Air Base. There, the aircraft served with No. 1 Squadron.

On July 25, 1949, it suffered a mishap while flown by CPL

Josef Jiroušek and the damaged airframe was sent in for

repairs, while the engine underwent a factory check. From

December 12, 1949 to February 25, 1950 the aircraft was

overhauled at the Kunovice factory and handed over to

LP 1 (Aviation Regiment 1) in September that same year.

From June 22, 1953, it served with No. 3 Squadron of No.

45 Air Artillery Regiment based at Plzeň-Bory Air Base.

At that time, it bore the fuselage code HY-56. On August 4,

1953, it was severely damaged in a crash by Lt. Ladislav

Kadlecovič. The airframe was written off, by which time

it had logged 116.23 flight hours. At the time of CPL Jiroušek’s accident, the machine was painted standard MNO

Smalt Avion 2036.02 on all surfaces. Contrary to standard

practice, there was no arrow pointing to the fuselage step

on the left side below the cockpit, nor were there triangular warning symbols on the rear fuselage.

S-199.486, Lt. František Fořt, No. 1 Squadron, Aviation Regiment 7,

Brno-Černovice, Czechoslovakia, 1950

This "Mezek" was test flown by factory pilot Antonín Kraus

on December 12, 1949. On January 24, 1950, the aircraft

was taken over by the military administration, and assigned to LP 7 (Aviation Regiment 7) stationed at Brno-Slatina airport on February 7 of the same year. It was

coded IV-8 and, according to the memories of veterans

and unit logs, it sported a drawing of Diana carrying

a bow. The author of the drawing was the fiancée and fu-

ture wife of the deputy Squadron Commander and Flight

Commander František Fořt. According to period witnesses,

the same emblem also appeared on the aircraft of two

other Flight Commanders, Lieutenants Jaromír Jech and

Jiří Váňa. As it is mentioned in the unit memoirs, more

S-199s were equipped with various emblems, at least for

a certain period of time. They are even documented in the

said memoirs, but it is not clear to which specific aircraft

they refer. The aircraft was probably painted with a darker

green paint on all surfaces. At that time, the white color

of the spinner belonged to the aircraft of Air Division, to

which LP 7 and LP 8 (Aviation Regiments 7 and 8) belonged, but not all aircraft were so marked and IV-8 was

probably one of these. There is no photographic evidence

unfortunately.

S-199.54, Sgt. František Novák, Fighter Training Center, No. 2 Squadron,

Aviation Regiment 4, Planá u Českých Budějovic,

Czechoslovakia, May, 1948

After the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia, military

pilot defections to the West were nothing unusual. Former RAF members, who either suspected or even knew

that they would be persecuted by the communists, crossed the border and many younger pilots also decided to

leave the country. One of them was Sgt. František Novák,

at that time a trainee of the second class from the Figh-

May 2022

ter Training Centre (SVS), who fled to then West Germany

on May 24, 1948. The aircraft was stored in Munich and,

after various obstacles were ironed out, was transported

to Czechoslovakia by land in March 1950. From March 31

until October 24, 1950, it underwent a general overhaul

at the Avia factory. Later it served with LP 4 (Aviation Regiment 4). The Avia produced aircraft bore the standard

MNO Smalt Avion 2036.02 paint scheme on all surfaces

and this aircraft was the tenth Avia factory production

piece to be fitted with a heat exchanger instead of the

original oil cooler. The cabin was of the older design and

the aircraft did not have machine guns in the wings, nor

underwing cannons.

INFO Eduard

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