Small basket for my profiles of airplanes and ground technics...for the first a few Feathers
Development of jet aviation in Czechoslovakia in the late 40s depended primarily on the production, operational improvements and modernization of the original series of nazi aircraft Messerschmitt Me-262, which had been in limited production after reconstructing if documentation and industrial capabilities in Avia Letňany. Although at this time engineers in Avia created approximately eleven different modifications of basic construction (many of them based on the experiences of the conflict with the Republic of Hungary), which were partially introduced into production or operational units (by conversion sets) and partly served only for technological tests and development, clear that at the current pace of development of world aviation terms of impasse that slowly but surely nearing exhaustion. Because in Czechoslovakia has not been a sufficient experiences with independent development of jet aircraft technology, in 1948 were opened negotiations with the Soviet Union about the possibility of licensing the production of one of the USSR produced jet aircraft, which become a test platform technology usable for subsequent self-development Czechoslovak jet aircraft. The choice fell on a light fighter aircraft Yak-17, whose production in the USSR started in March 1948 in the GAZ-31 factory in Tbilisi, which due to its construction, based on the engine Klimov RD-10A (unlicensed modification of the original German engine Jumo 004B) promised possibility to build on the previous aircraft S / CS-92. However, negotiations about license production of Yak-17 having regard to the discrepancies in the financial settlement lasted until 1949, when it was after the successful testing and industrial prepares for production of more modern fighter Yak-23 which entered in production in October 1949. License production of older Yak-17 that lost its meaning and negotiations were after mutual agreement reconsidered in favour of Yak-23 which part was to be delivered directly from factory and part of placer sets, which will be assembled in Czechoslovakia as a help with the acquisition of experience in the construction of a modern jet technology for subsequent production of advanced and very promising aircraft MiG-15, which were also produced since 1949, but have not yet been released for export.
License production agreement was signed on November 23, 1949, while under contract to be the first aircraft delivered to Czechoslovakia in January 1950. However, as early as December showed that neither production Yak-23 or MiG-15 production could at that time to meet the requirements of VVS for massive rearmament, and it was so obvious that deliveries will be delayed by at least half a year. Within the settlement of contractual obligations to Czechoslovakia was offered to take on several Yak-17, which had to be used for training purposes and had provisionally parry shortage of jet aircraft in the Czechoslovak Air Force. For the delivery were chosen twenty Yak-17s buno IS-10001, IS-10002, IS-10003, IS-10004, IS-10005, IS-10006, IS-10007, IS-10008, IS-10009, IS-10010 , IS-10011, IS-10012, IS-10013, IS-10014, IS-10015, IS-10016, IS-10017, IS-10018, IS-10019 and IS-10020, which represented the final production batch of type Yak-17. VVS after acceptance of Yak -23 send this batch directly from factory into the operating reserve and preserved them in Baranovichi airfield. Before delivery, fighters were fitted over the factory camouflage, which consisted by upper surface coating by green AMT-4 and lower surfaces by pale blue AMT-17, Czechoslovak coat of arms and white numerals with red interior and black exterior trim on the front part of planes. Fighters were numbered according with soviet model 30-49. In this form were 8.1., 10.1. and 11.1.1950 in three groups overflying to the airfield Milovice-Mladá, where were assigned to Training Centre For Requalification To The Jet Planes which operate from Milovice-Mladá with S-92 fighters and CS-92 training aircrafts. Along with aircraft flew to Czechoslovakia three Soviet instructors, Maj. Alexei Dmitrievich Malenkov, Cpt. Fedorovič Pyotr Rykov and Cpt. Mikhail Alekseyevich Monec who have stayed here until the end of March 1950, when first group of Czechoslovak instructors were requalified for Yak-17 and started courses for new pilots on their own command. Yaks-17, in the Czechoslovak Air Force known under code S-100, represented in comparison with S-92 fighters some technological advances, however, as it soon turned out, the structure itself was not entirely without problems and suffered from some shortcomings that led to several incidents. The first lost Yak-17 was buno IS-10016 ("White 45"), which occurred on 8.5.1950 during aerobatics training when right wing with external fuel tank collapsed and ripped of from plane which crash near village Horní Kruty and his pilot, 2nd lieutenant Václav Kasal bails out by parachute.. Another crash occurred in 3.5.1951 when buno IS-10001 ("White 30") was heavily damaged on emergency landing on Milovice-Mladá airfield after hydraulic failure and partially opening of landing gear. Plane turnover on his back and pilot, captain Miroslav Paces was seriously wounded. This accident forced Czechoslovak Air Force command to short grounding of all Yak-17 and starting at the beginning of June 1951 for more than three-month were Yaks send to aircraft factory Red Letov, where were completely inspected and with collaboration of engineers from GAZ-31 factory repaired from construction and service damages. During inspections, was former soviet camouflage removed and planes were left in natural metal finish covered by coating from clear lacquer with aluminium powder on all surfaces. Initial imatriculations were double-digit numbers was according to the regulations of the Czechoslovak Air Force designation changed to the appropriate output current for Jet Air Force Training Centre, which was reorganized from former Training Centre For Requalification To The Jet Planes on 01.06.1951. The aircrafts received the following matriculations, but considering the gradual passage of the revisions in accordance with the technical state, their imatriculation was not bound to the original series of numbers:
IS-10002 KR-35
IS-10003 KR-42
IS-10004 KR-36
IS-10005 KR-45
IS-10006 KR-30
IS-10007 KR-43
IS-10008 KR-32
IS-10009 KR-37
IS-10010 KR-31
IS-10011 KR-46
IS-10012 KR-38
IS-10013 KR-41
IS-10014 KR-47
IS-10015 KR-34
IS-10017 KR-39
IS-10018 KR-44
IS-10019 KR-33
IS-10020 KR-40
The only historically proven operational deployment of Czechoslovak Yaks-17 occurred two years later.I n March 1953, in response to the riots in Hungary, Czechoslovak Air Force command decided to strengthen surveillance and defence of the Hungarian border. While land-based border security should ensure that two mechanised divisions temporarily moved to southern Slovakia, the Air Force units dislocated in in Bohemia and Moravia must stayed intact, because intensive confrontations with NATO air forces over western border od Czechoslovakia did not allow to reduce the numbers of aircraft in combat readiness. It was therefore decided to divide twelve of Yak-17 fighters from Jet Air Force Training Center and send one flight to the 2nd Fighter Regiment in Malacky-Kuchyňa, one flight to the 6th Fighter Regiment in Sliač and one flight to the 7th Fighter Regiment in Košice-Barca, which, despite retraining of personnel 2.slp and 7.slp on jet aircraft, yet still operated piston fighters Avia S-199. Ti the 2.slp and 7.slp were thus transferred only individual aircraft, which were overflew by pilots of 1st squadrons of both regiments in 12.03.1953 and three days later, on 15.03,1953 flew four aircraft piloted by instructors of current Jet Air Force Training Centre to Zvolen, where they were temporarily assigned to 4th squadron. All fighters were remarked by the regimental imatriculations and received regimental distinguishing color features:
2nd Fighter Regiment (yellow nose)
IS-10005 VM-11
IS-10009 VM-10
IS-10010 VM13
IS-10019 VM-12
6th Fighter Regiment (white rudder)
IS-10006 ES-80
IS-10007 ES-78
IS-10014 ES-81
IS-10017 ES-79
7th Fighter Regiment (yellow rudder)
IS-10008 IF-12
IS-10015 IF-11
IS-10018 IF-13
IS-10020 IF-10
On the Slovakia aircraft were used primarily for border air patrols, but without recorded clash with Hungarian fighters whose intervention against Czechoslovakia was, in consequence to the war in 1948 between Czechoslovakia and Hungary, expected. Yet, one of the fighters, buno IS-10006, was lost in 07.02.1953 after crash. Maj. Richard Chládek, while return from a patrol flight, crashed in severe weather conditions during descent through the clouds into the hill Čiertaž west of Osrblie, and died in wreck of his fighter. As a replacement machine was on 10.07.1953 flown to Zvolen fighter buno IS-10003, designated ES-80. Back to Milovice-Mladá were fighters overflew after the normalization of situation in Hungary in December 1953 and reassigned to the Jet Air Force Training Centre under new matriculation as they were flying over gradually return to Milovice-Mladá and repainted:
IS-10003 KR-39
IS-10005 KR-31
IS-10007 KR-34
IS-10008 KR-42
IS-10009 KR-40
IS-10010 KR-44
IS-10014 KR-30
IS-10015 KR-45
IS-10017 KR-33
IS-10018 KR-43
IS-10019 KR-32
IS-10020 KR-37
In this final form flew Yaks-17 in Milovice-Mladá until 01.10.1955 when the Ministry of Defence decided to exclude aircraft and replaced them in training duties by MiG-15 which is already beginning to be available in a number of enabling of rearming of training units. Before that happened, however, lost the next four aircraft, buno IS-10011 of 06.01.1954 after engine failure and emergency landing into terrain near Křinec (pilot, Capt. George Urban was unharmed), buno IS-10009 and IS-10020 on 02.04.1955 after midair collision during practicing flying in formation (leader, 1st lt. Oldřich Koks bails out by parachute, wingman, airm. Michal Kokeš was killed) and finally IS-10015 on 30.041955 due to the gross indiscipline of pilot, 2nd.lt. Milan Petránek, who crashed near Lodín when during unauthorized aerobatics hit the ground by the left wing and crashed. Pilot was seriously injured and after healing was excluded from further flight preparation and transferred to the commissary service.
The groudned fighters were kept in Milovice-Mladá with the prospect of scrapping, which eventually avoided after they were offered to buy by the Polish People's Republic, which is intended to be used for restocking the Polish People’s Air Force, heavily affected by the civil war in Poland erupted in the summer of 1955 . The aircrafts were therefore dismantled, transported to Prague and in aircraft factory Red Letow were repaired and repainted to the polish imatriculations. In addition, abnormally they retained only the numerical part of the Czechoslovak imatriculations, which were the repainted from former black to the red colour used by the Polish People’s Air Force. Fighters were in 16.02.1956 over flew from Letňany airfield to polish airfield Rakowice-Czyzyny near Krakow, where were assigned to 2nd fighter regiment of Polish People’s Air Force. During service in this unit pilot of ex-czechoslovak Yaks-17 credited 9 confirmed kills with loss of five killed and one captured pilot and 11 Yaks destroyed partially in aerial combat and close air support and partly on the ground. Last two ex-Czechoslovak Yaks-17 in Polish People’s Air Force, buno IS-10002 and IS-10019 were destroyed in Rakowice-Czyzyny repair facilities in 28.08.1956 when they were blown up with repair facility during the retreat of Polish army from Krakow in the end of summer offensive of the Polish Royal Army to the southeast of Poland.
Black chapter in the history of the Czechoslovak Yak-17 is the fate of a pair of fighters buno IS-10004 and IS-10013, which in 8.7.1956 piloted by cpt. Jacek Burczyk and cpt.Arek Tylka defected during a patrol flight in Łódź. Both pilots landed at the Bydgoszcz airfield, where they surrendered to the Polish Royal Army and after they expressed willingness to join Polish Royal Army, flew with their aircraft at the Pila airfield where they were assigned to XXII. squadron. Both aircraft were at the new location repainted to tri-color camouflage used by the Polish Royal Air Force and with the new imatriculation XXII-06 (IS-10004) and XXII-08 (IS-10013) they were involved in combat operations primarily against the besieged Warsaw, where, however, due to attenuation of the Polish Air Force after heavy losses mainly flew mainly bomber operations and flights for the close air support of the royal troops. Back to aerial combat so Burczyk and Tylka given until October 1956, when war broke out between the Polish Kingdom and Czechoslovakia. Tylka, was killed in the cockpit of IS-10004 already 10.07.1956, in the first day of Operation Fagot when he was over the Pila airport outnumbered by Czechoslovak MiGs-15 from 17.slp and shot down in flames.Burczyk credited in second Yak two victories, when in 11.13.1956 near Zyrardow intercept and shot down two Czechoslovak ground attack aircrafts Avia B-33 (both crews from 28th Ground Attack Regiment, Maj. Emil Gončár, 2nd lt. Jiři Stoklasa, st.sgt. Vaclav Douša and st.sgt. Peter Chochol were killed). Despite success, his short fighter career ended in 16.11.1956 when he was shot down near Pruszkow by antiaircraft fire. Burczyk, who bails out from the burning Yak by parachute fell into captivity, and after ascertaining of his identity was arrested and brought before court-martial of Polish Poeple’s Army which sentenced him for desertion and treason to death. Jacek Burczyk was hanged on 30.11.1956 in Warsaw.
So, the only aircraft that has survived from the original twenty Yak-17, which in the summer 1950 landed in Milovice-Mladá remains is IS-10001 fighter, which was after crash in 05.03.1951 disassembled and stored in storage of National Center for Research, Development and Testing of Aerospace and during 60s it was renovated by volunteered work of workers from Aircraft Repair Facility Kbely into exhibited state and restored with the original paint from the time of the accident. In this state, Czechoslovak People’s Army loaned them for exhibit in Technical Museum in Brno and after establishing of the Military Aviation Museum in Prague-Kbely airfield in Prague-Kbely in 1971, Yak was moved to its exposure where it is exhibited to these days.
