Aero A.11: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft family by Aero Vodochody}}

{{Multiple issues|

{{More citations needed|date=January 2020}}

{{Expand Czech|topic=transp|Aero A-11|date=January 2020}}

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| name = Aero A.11

| image = Aero A-11.jpg

| caption =

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{{Infobox aircraft type

| type = [[Light bomber]]<br/>[[Reconnaissance aircraft]]

| manufacturer = [[Aero Vodochody]]

| designer = Antonín Husník

| first flight = 1924

| introduced = 1920s

| retired = 1940s

| status =

| primary user = [[Czech Air Force]]

| more users = [[Finnish Air Force]]

| produced = 1924-1928

| number built = 108

| variants with their own articles = [[Aero A.12]]<br />[[Aero A.21]]<br />[[Aero A.25]]<br />[[Aero A.29]]

The '''Aero A.11''' was a [[biplane]] [[light bomber]] and [[reconnaissance aircraft]] built in [[Czechoslovakia]] between the [[World War I|First]] and [[World War II|Second]] World Wars. It formed the basis for many other Czechoslovakian [[military aircraft]] of the inter-war period. Around 250 were built, with some remaining in service at the outbreak of World War II.

Designed by [[Antonin Husnik]]<ref>https://www.fronta.cz/letecky-konstrukter-antonin-husnik</ref>, it was a development of the [[Aero A.12]] (despite what the numbering of the designs might suggest). A [[Hispano-Suiza 8]]Fb-powered version, the '''A.11H-s''' was built for the [[Finnish Air Force]], the only foreign operator of the type. The Finns had eight aircraft of this type and used them between 1927 and 1939.

[[File:Replica Aero Ab-11 L-BUCD (8236059976).jpg|right|thumb|Replica Ab.11 in Prague Aviation Museum, Kbely]]

The Aero A.11 was the basis of the later [[Aero A.25]] [[Aero A.29]], [[Aero A.30]], and [[Aero A.32]] aircraft.<ref>{{cite book |last=NÉMEČEK |first=Václav |author-link= |date=1983 |title=Československá letadla I (1918-1945), 3rd ed. |url= |location=Prague |publisher=Naše vojsko |page=77–78, 250–251 |isbn=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=ŠOREL |first=Václav |author-link= |date=2005 |title=Encyklopedie českého a slovenského letectví |url= |location=Brno |publisher=CP Books |page=40 |isbn=80-251-0733-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jirout |first1=Jar |date=September 1930 |title=Pozorovací letouny firmy Aero typu AP-32 |url= |journal=Letectví |volume=10 |issue=9 |pages=338-341 |doi= |access-date=}}</ref>

Aircraft A-11.105 was modified in 1928 with a 240 hp (176 kw) [[Walter Castor|Walter Castor I]] engine installed, and first flown in March 1930. After undergoing military trials, 25 planes were produced as the [[Aero A.211]] from 1930-1933.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fidler |first=Jiří |author-link= |date=2015 |title=In the betrayed sky |url= |location=Prague |publisher=Libri |page=13 |isbn=978-80-7277-532-3}}</ref> The A.211 featured advanced instrumentation in comparison to the A.11, was lengthened to 8.6m, and the weight was reduced to 880 kg. These planes carried no weapons and stayed in service until around 1939.<ref>{{cite book |last=NÉMEČEK |first=Václav |author-link= |date=1983 |title=Československá letadla I (1918-1945), 3rd ed. |url= |location=Prague |publisher=Naše vojsko |page=77–78, 250–251 |isbn=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=ČIŽEK |first=Martin |author-link= |date=2015 |title=Letadla zrazeného nebe |url= |location=Prague |publisher=Naše vojsko |page=41-45 |isbn=978-80-206-1576-3}}</ref>

After the [[Dissolution of Czechoslovakia]], the [[Slovak Air Force]] retained 3 Aš.11, 3 AP.32, 1 A.25, and 3 A.211s. The aircraft that remained in the [[Czech Republic]] were captured by Germany and A.211s were used by the [[Luftwaffe]] for training, with 4 units still on the books as of May 1940.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20201026172254/https://www.gonzoaviation.com/clanok/prehlad-poctu-aeroplanov-na-slovensku-v-obdobi-1939-1945</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=ČIŽEK |first=Martin |author-link= |date=2015 |title=Letadla zrazeného nebe |url= |location=Prague |publisher=Naše vojsko |page=41-45 |isbn=978-80-206-1576-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=KRUMBACH |first1=Jan |date=June 1964 |title=A-11 |url= |journal=Křídla vlasti |volume= |issue=13 |pages=426-428 |doi= |access-date=}</ref>

|ref=Tschechoslowakische Flugzeuge : von 1918 bis heute<ref name=Mau>{{cite book |title=Tschechoslowakische Flugzeuge : von 1918 bis heute |date=1987 |publisher=Transpress : VEB verlag fur Verkehrsween |location=Berlin |isbn=3344001213 |pages=166–167 |edition=1st |language=German, English}}</ref>

|gross weight note=<br/>

|eng1 note=<br/>

|max speed note=<br/>

|ceiling note=<br/>

::::{{cvt|7600|m}} ('''A.11'''}{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

|time to altitude={{cvt|5000|m}} in 19 minutes 30 seconds

|wing loading note=<br/>

|guns=

** 1× forward firing .303 in (7.7&nbsp;mm) [[Vickers machine gun]] ('''A.11'''}{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

** 2× .303 in (7.7&nbsp;mm) [[Lewis Gun|Lewis machine gun]] in flexible mount for observer ('''A.11'''}{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

* [[List of interwar military aircraft]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:World War II aircraft of Finland]]

{{Aero-1920s-stub}}