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Letov Kbely is an aircraft company located in Kbely, Czech Republic. It is the oldest aircraft company in the region.
Letov was founded in 1918 by the Czechoslovakian Ministry of Defense to repair WWI trophy planes. The first indigenous aircraft, the Letov Š-1, was designed and built in 1920, and some 50 aircraft types were built by 1939. During WWII the factory served as repair shop for the German Luftwaffe. Since the 1950s, the plant has manufactured parts for the MiG-15, MiG-19 and MiG-21.
Over 4,000 L-29 Delfín, a jet trainer aircraft that became the standard jet trainer for the air forces Warsaw Pact nations in the 1960s, were built by Letov Kbely. The company has also built 2500 L-39 Albatros trainer aircraft since the 1970s.
Following the fall of socialism in Czechoslovakia in 1989, Letov Kbely failed to assert itself on the international markets and in 2000 it was bought by French Groupe Latecoere. The company now manufactures parts for large passenger aircraft.
[edit] Aircraft
- Letov Š-1 - reconnaissance plane, 1920
- Letov Š-4 - fighter, 1922
- Letov Š-16 - bomber, 1926
- Letov Š-18 - trainer, 1925
- Letov Š-19 - transport, 1925
- Letov Š-20 - fighter, 1926
- Letov Š-218 - trainer, 1926
- Letov Š-31 - fighter, 1929
- Letov Š-331 - prototype fighter
- Letov Š-231 - fighter, 1933
- Letov Š-328 - reconnaissance plane, 1932
- Letov Š-428 - ground attack aircraft
- Letov Š-50 - bomber prototype, 1938
- Letov LF-107 Luňák - glider
- Letov XLF-207 Laminar - glider
[edit] External links
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