Avia C-10/S-99 – The First Czechoslovak 109s
Text: Michal Ovčáčík
Illustration: Antonis Karydis
Cat. No. 2157
Within the borders of the former Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia after the end of the war, there were, among other things, a number of Bf 109G-10/U4 aircraft in various states of completion, or parts thereof. The vast majority of these were products of the protectorate branch of Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke (WNF) in Tišnov, and included three Bf 109s from Kralupy nad Vltavou that had been flown before the end of the war, one aircraft being found at Prague-Letňany Airport, as well as tail subassemblies from smaller factories in Bučovice and Koryčany. By the end of 1945, the entire aircraft and components, together with other captured material, were concentrated at the Avia factory in Prague-Čakovice. There, they were overhauled and subsequently assembled. The refurbished aircraft were designated ‘C-10 – Me 109’, the letter C indicating a trainer aircraft. On September 13, 1945, under this designation, the type was accepted by the decree of the Defense Ministry’s MNO-HŠ VL ref. no. 13091/let., 1945, into the list of designations and names of aircraft of captured and foreign origin. The assembly of the first aircraft began by Avia before the end of 1945, while the official order ref. no. 56749 II/4. sec. 1946 was for twenty aircraft, which were intended for the newly established units – police air patrols – of the Air Force of the National Security Corps (SNB) established by the Ministry of the Interior on March 25th, 1946.
The first prototype C-10.1 prototype was flown on February 22nd, 1946 by the company's test pilot Petr Široký and was then tested at the Scientific Aviation Institute (VLÚ) in Letňany, including with rocket boosters, among other items. Its original W.Nr. 613 156 places it in the 5th series of aircraft of the G-10/U4 version (as part of the WNF/Diana production) in the block of production numbers 613 000 – 613 200 completed between January and March, 1945. Another twenty C-10 conversions also came from the same production block, but the assignment of their known production numbers to the military registration numbers of Czechoslovak aircraft has not been documented (with the exception of the first aircraft). The difference of one unit between the ordered and delivered aircraft was due to the replacement of the destroyed C-10.3 aircraft with the new-built C-10.21. The first aircraft were available in mid-1946 and their flights were carried out alternatingly by Avia factory test pilots Petr Široký and Antonín Kraus. By the end of that year, sixteen aircraft had been completed, and in mid-September, according to a report at a meeting of the Air Force Command, only five C-10 aircraft were in service. The remaining five aircraft from the entire twenty-one series were delivered almost six months later than the previous machines, in April and May 1947. The aircraft were taken over from production by the Military Acceptance Commission and then handed over to representatives of the SNB Air Force (which was established on March 25, 1946).
The function of this air unit was identical to the tasks of the pre-war Border Police (ČLH): it was mainly about ensuring the air defense of the state against the activities of foreign aircraft, supervising compliance with aviation regulations, and protecting airports. In addition, its task was also to assist ground security forces in carrying out their tasks and to provide rescue and assistance services.
Ten air patrols were gradually established from June 1946 to November 1948, distributed throughout the entire territory of the Republic. The following LHs were subordinate to the three Regional Commands of the SNB (State Security Service): Prague-Ruzyně, České Budějovice, Plzeň-Bory, Karlovy Vary, Jičín, Olomouc-Neředín, Brno, Bratislava-Vajnory, Košice and Rimavská Sobota. Detachments were temporarily established in Přerov and Zvolen, and later also in Klatovy and Mariánské Lázně, which performed specific tasks in the fight against the so-called ‘Banderovets’ (members of the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army), or to prevent aircraft from leaving the Republic after February 1948.
At least seven C-10 aircraft were assigned for the retraining of the first SNB pilots, on which they trained together with military pilots from the summer to fall of 1946 as part of the pilot retraining course of the Air Force Command at the Prague-Kbely airport. After completing the course, these aircraft were assigned to the others in the SNB LH network. In the spring of 1947, the SNB Air Force lent nine of its C-10 aircraft for the retraining of military pilots to the Fighter Training Center at the 2nd Air Division at Planá airport (České Budějovice), where they were assigned to the Command Squadron.
The aircraft retained their original C-10 designation only until May 1947, when they were redesignated S-99, where the S stood for ‘fighter’. The name of the SNB Air Force existed until mid-December 1947, when it was changed to the Security Air Force. However, its activity did not last long, because after three years, on December 23rd, 1950, this air component was abolished. On its basis, a new, now military unit was created - aviation regiment LP 51, with deployment at the airport Plzeň-Skvrňany, using the same personnel and equipment including the S-99s. In the end, the Ministry of National Defense took over only thirteen aircraft, the rest were not handed over due to damage or accidents. Only four aircraft were lost or stricken off charge during service. At the end of 1950, ten aircraft were selected and converted to the S-199 with the Jumo 211F engine. The remaining serviceable S-99s reached their end of service in the spring of 1951.