Aero A.100

Aero A.100

Manufacturer: Aero Vodochody
First flight: 1933
Retired: late 1940s
Primary user: Czech Air Force
Produced: 1930s
Number built: 44

The Aero A.100 was a biplane light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft built in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. It was the final step in a design lineage that extended back to the Aero A.11 a decade earlier. A.100s remained in service throughout World War II and for a few years post-war. A number were also supplied to Nationalist Spanish forces during the Spanish Civil War.

Development

Development of the A.100 was in response to a Czech Air Force requirement of 1932 for a uniform replacement for the A.11s, Aero Ap.32s, and Letov Å .16s then in service. Work began with a revision of the Aero A.430 that quickly became quite a different aircraft. Of standard biplane configuration, the A.100 was a somewhat ungainly-looking aircraft and somewhat obsolescent by the time of its first flight in 1933, a member of the final generation of biplane military aircraft to be designed in Europe. Nevertheless, since the only other competitor for the air force contract, the Praga E.36 had not flown by the close of tenders, the A.100 was ordered for production. A total of 44 were built, in two batches.

Specifications (A.100)

Data from

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 11.08 m (36 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 14.70 m (48 ft 3 in)
Height: 3.60 m (11 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 44.3 m² (476 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,040 kg (4,490 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,220 kg (7,080 lb)
Powerplant: 1x— Avia-built Hispano-Suiza Vr-36, 552 kW (740 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 270 km/h (150 knots, 170 mph)
Range: 900 km (490 nm, 560 mi)
Service ceiling: 6,500 m (21,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 4.2 m/s (820 ft/min)
Wing loading: 73 kg/m² (9.4 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 170 W/kg (0.10 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns:
2x— forward-firing 7.92 mm (0.312 in) wz.29 machine guns
2x— 7.92 mm wz.30 machine guns in ring mount for observer
Bombs: 600 kg (1,300 lb)

Operators

Czechoslovakia
Germany
Luftwaffe (small numbers)
Spain

Related development

Aero A.430
Aero A.101

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Source: WikiPedia