MÁVAG Heja I/II

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MÁVAG Héja
Type	Fighter
Manufacturer	MÁVAG
Maiden flight	1940
Introduced	1941
Retired	sommer 1944
Primary user	Hungarian Air Force
Number built	192
Variants	Héja I Héja II

[edit] History

In December of 1939, Hungary purchased 70 Reggiane Re.2000 fighters from Italy. They were delivered to the Hungarian firm Magyar Állami Vagon és Gépgyár (Hungarian State Waggon and Engineering Factory) and were modified into the MÁVAG Héja I (Hawk I). The original Piaggio P.XI engines were replaced by the Hungarian-built Manfred Weiss WM K-14 that drove a Hamilton Standard three-bladed, constant-speed propeller. The WM K-14 was a licensed copy of the French Gnome-Rhône 14K engine that necessitated a 1-foot 3-inch lengthening of the fighters’ forward fuselage, due to a shift in the center of gravity from the lighter engine. Oddly enough, the Piaggio engine was itself a copy of the Gnome-Rhône 14K, but it wasn't as reliable as the original.

A decision was soon made to produce more Héja fighters under licenses in Hungary as the MÁVAG Héja II (Hawk II). The new Héja II was entirely Hungarian with locally produced airframes, engines and armament. The new fighter differed from the Reggiane fighter in a number of ways. Armament was changed to 2 × 0.50 inch (12.7 mm) Gebauer fixed forward-firing guns in the upper nose with 300 rounds each. Length was 27 ft 6.25 inch (8.39 m), and max level speed was 301 mph (485 km/h) at 13,780 ft (4,200 m). Endurance was 2 hours and 30 minutes. The first MÁVAG Héja II took to the air on October 30, 1942, and in total MÁVAG built a further 203 Héja's for the Royal Hungarian Air Force. The last machine was completed on August 1, 1944 when production ceased. At least one Hungarian squadron flew the MÁVAG Héja I/II in combat on the Eastern Front while Hungary was allied to Germany. Most Héja's operated inside Hungary in an air defense role or as a trainer.

[edit] Specifications (Héja II)

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 8.39 m (27 feet 6 inches)
Wingspan: 11.00 m (36 feet 1 inch)
Height: 3.10 m (10 feet 2 inches)
Empty weight: 2,070 kg (4,563 pounds)
Loaded weight: 2,520 kg (5,555 pounds)
Powerplant: 1× Gnome-Rhône (Manfred-Weiss) 14kfs Mistral-Major, 14-cylinder, air-cooled radial piston engine, 694 kW (930 hp)