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Avia B.135

1942 WORLD WAR 2

Avia B. 135 Stories

Although the B. 135 originated from pre-war Czech designs (through the Avia B. 35 project), it was used only under the flag of the Bulgarian Air Force during World War II (1939-1945). This model is a modern low-wing aircraft developed for the Czech Air Force in 1935 at the request of the Ministry of Defense. Three advanced B.35 prototypes appeared - two before the German occupation in March 1939 and a third after.

The Bulgarian Air Force flew the B.35/2 prototype in November 1939, followed by the B.35/3 in June 1940. The latter was accepted as the B.135, for which the Luftwaffe allowed Lovech to produce the aircraft locally for Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Air Force ordered 12 fighter jets and a batch of 62 engines.

The B. 135 retains many of the qualities eliminated in the final B. 35/3 prototype. The structure of the original prototype was wooden wings, but the final form abandoned these to carry all-metal wings. Standard armament consists of a 1 x 20mm cannon fired through the propeller hub and 2 x 7.92mm machine guns mounted on the wings.

During the "tail" arrangement, the landing gear is retractable. The pilot sits under a closed canopy with a general view of the surrounding scenery - the position of the main-wing aircraft (forward from midship) and the raised fuselage spine do little to help.

In addition to the initial order of 12, a further 50 will be built on the Bulgarian production line, designated DAR ("Darzhavna Aeroplanna Rabotilnitsa") 11 "Ljastuvka" ("Swallow"), in support of the Bulgarian Air Force. The first 12 arrived in mid-1942, although the procured engines partially failed, with only 35 delivered.

This forced Bulgaria to rely on German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters.

Most wartime use of the B.135 was in training, mainly due to unreliable engines. At least four men were involved in combat-level missions during an interception mission on March 30, 1944 that brought down a downed enemy bomberthe only known airstrike in the B.135 series of wars .

Total production of the B.135 was an initial 12.