Aero A.32 – Billeder og videoer

Den Ærø A.32 var et biplan bygget i Tjekkoslovakiet i slutningen af 1920'erne til hærens samarbejdsopgaver, herunder rekognoscering og taktisk bombning. Mens designet tog udgangspunkt i Aero A.11 (og oprindeligt blev betegnet A.11J), indarbejdede flyet betydelige ændringer for at gøre det egnet til sin nye rolle på lavt niveau.

Kilde: Aero A.32 på Wikipedia

The Aero A.32 was a biplane built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s for army co-operation duties including reconnaissance and tactical bombing. It was derived from the Aero A.11, but had significant modifications to suit its low-level role. The A.32 had a steel tube fuselage covered with fabric and metal, and wooden wings with plywood and fabric covering. The pilot and observer sat in tandem open cockpits, equipped with dual controls and a flexible machine gun for defense. The A.32 could carry up to 300 kg of bombs under the wings and fuselage.
The A.32 was powered by a Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr V-12 water-cooled engine that produced 650 hp and drove a two-bladed propeller. The A.32 had a maximum speed of 240 km/h, a range of 600 km, and a service ceiling of 6,000 m. The A.32 first flew in 1927 and entered service with the Czechoslovak Air Force in 1928. It was used for reconnaissance missions over Poland during the Polish-Soviet War of 1920-21, and for border patrols during the Sudeten crisis of 1938.
The A.32 also found an export customer in Finland, which purchased 16 aircraft in 1929 as the A.32IF (Ilmavoimat) and A.32GR (Ground Reconnaissance). The Finnish A.32s were used mainly for training purposes until they were retired in 1944. Some of them were modified with skis for winter operations or floats for water landing.
The Aero A.32 was one of the most successful Czechoslovak aircraft designs of its time, combining good performance, reliability, and versatility.