Aero A.18

Aero A.18
Role Fighter aircraft
National origin Czechoslovakia
Manufacturer Aero Vodochody
Designer Antonin Vlasák
Antonin Husnik
First flight March 1923
Retired 1939 (due to German invasion)
Status 1 preserved at the Letecke Muzeum
Primary users Czech Air Force
Czech Aero Club
Produced 1920s
Number built 20


The Aero A.18 was a biplane fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in the 1920s. It was a development of the Ae 02 and Ae 04 fighters Aero had designed during World War I, but also borrowed from the more recent A.11 reconnaissance-bomber design.

Design and development

The A.18 was designed by Antonin Vlasák and Antonin Husnik and first flew in March 1923; only one of three prototype fighters that Aero flew that year, but this one was selected for production over the A.19 and A.20 that competed with it.[1]

Operational history

Twenty machines saw service with the Czech air force in the period between the wars.[2][1]

The A.18B and A.18C were specially modified racing variants that competed in the Czech Aero Club's first two annual air races, in 1923 and 1924 respectively. Both aircraft won their races, and the A.18C is preserved at the Letecke Muzeum in Kbely along with a replica of a standard A.18 fighter.[1]

Specifications (A.18)

Data from [2][1]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Operators

See also

Related development


Related lists

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aero A-18.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Green, William; Gordon Swanborough (1997). The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander Books Limited. p. 10. ISBN 1-85833-777-1.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sharpe, Michael (2000). Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes. London: Friedman/Fairfax Books. p. 16. ISBN 1-58663-300-7.