The beginning of the successful jet era in Czechoslovak aviation must be sought as early as the spring of 1944, when the leadership of the German aircraft industry decided to split up the production of aircraft into smaller factories due to the escalating raids on aircraft factories in Germany. The Avia factory in Letňany produced the forward fuselage sections, and Semiloch repaired and partially manufactured the Jumo 004 jet engines. The workers at these factories tried to gain as much production knowledge as possible and also obtained plans, drawings, calculations and other valuable material directly from the Germans. After the defeat of Germany, there were none of the finished aircraft left for Czechoslovak industry, so wrecks and parts were scavenged to save them from destruction. A lot of material was gathered from various places in Bohemia, but many of the parts could no longer be used. In a relatively short time it was possible to concentrate all the available material in Avia and the engines and their components, including the test beds, in the Malešice Aircraft Repair Plant. In the end, a total of 18 airframes capable of reconstruction were found, which was encouraging for the whole event. Despite all the difficulties, the first unit with the registration number Me 262.1 (Me 262A) was built before the first free Christmas. However, engines had to be fitted to the finished airframe - an unusual and quite unfamiliar powerplant. These had to be thoroughly studied and tested. The engine was successfully launched on 5 March 1946 at the established test station on the brake. It was soon declared fit for airframe installation by the commission.
But then came the biggest problem. At that time there was no pilot who had ever flown a jet aircraft. Although a German pilot who had flown the Me 262 offered to fly the plane for the Czechoslovak aviation industry. However, he had unreasonable demands. The compilation of the aircraft and the preparations for the flight were helped by expert articles on the Me 262 in the foreign press and also by documents obtained by questioning German specialists. Thus, at least some basic data was gathered and it was possible to consider which of the pilots could be considered for flying. However, they had to meet a few basic conditions (among other less important ones): excellent health, aeronautical maturity and technical sense. Antonín Kraus, the chief pilot of the factory, fulfilled all these requirements. With several thousand hours flown on fighter and twin-engine aircraft, there was no doubt about his pilot's maturity and technical sense. Kraus had prepared himself for his role very responsibly. He went to the brake, where the tests of the power units were carried out, he thoroughly studied the whole structure and equipment of the aircraft, he prepared himself also for the difficulties in flight at high speeds. Theoretically, he was well prepared for all possible unpleasant coincidences and technical failures. This preparation paid off later. After perfect theoretical preparations, finally A. Kraus sat in the plane for the first time, not to take off, but to test its steering and control on the ground and to practically familiarize himself with the necessary details.
The historic day of the first take-off came on August 27, 1946. The flight, lasting 15 minutes, was not flawless because there was no landing gear closure. More followed, and on September 3 the factory was able to demonstrate the aircraft to military and civil aviation officials. Two days later, the Me 262.1 took off for the last time. It was the sixth flight in which it reached an altitude of 4,000 m and a speed of more than 960 km/h, and the first time it was measured for certain values. By then, the left engine had failed and it was clear that the pilot would not only no longer be able to make a normal landing with the landing gear extended, but also to glide the machine all the way to the airport. He made an emergency landing about 16 km from the take-off point in a field in the area of the village of Březno u Chomutova. Since the destruction of the aircraft was inevitable, the pilot put the plane down exactly according to the assumptions that had been reached after countless considerations. When landing, he tilted the aircraft onto the left wing, which hit the ground, then onto the left engine, the front part of the fuselage, the right engine and the tail of the aircraft. The aircraft is believed to have broken up into a mass of debris, but the pilot was not injured, although he was landing at 230 km/h. It is this case that shows that preparation for the first and subsequent flights was not in vain and that its thoroughness paid off perfectly.
Failures continued to occur, particularly with the power units, caused by fuel (solidification of the paraffin component of LRX fuel at lower speeds caused fuel filters to clog), making high altitude flights impossible. In the fall of 1946, Avia completed a single-seat S-92.2 and a two-seat CS-92, ref. no. CS-92.3. During the flyover of the first two-seat Avia CS-92 ev.no. CS-92.3 manned by A. Kraus, Ing. Svoboda, had just dropped one of the engines in a turn 20 km before the airport and before landing the second engine also dropped and the pilot had to extend the landing gear in an emergency only in the last stage of the flight. The landing at the airport was successful.
On the basis of this failure, they made a modification: they fitted a hydraulic pump to operate both the landing gear and the right engine. The German Me 262 had only one mounted on the left engine, and when this missed, the landing gear could not be retracted, which inevitably led to an emergency landing. The fourth example of the S-92.4 was armed with two bottom guns.cz/topic/view/10848/DEU-MK-108-30mm-cannon" style="color:var(--fakt-80);" data-has-template="1" data-topic-id="10848" class="popview" style="color:var(--fakt-80);" data-has-template="1" data-topic-id="10848" class="popview" style="color:var(--fakt-80);" data-has-template="1" data-topic-id="10848" class="popview" style="color:var(--fakt-80);" data-has-template="1" data-topic-id="10848" class="popview" target="_blank">MK 108 (according to other sources, the armament was also carried by the first one produced with ref. no. Me 262.1), flown on June 18, 1947.
In 1947, Mjr. Jiří Maňák, who was the first military pilot to fly a jet in the Czechoslovak Air Force. It was he who made the first public display with the fourth example of the Avia S-92 at the Air Day in Prague on 7 September 1947. In 1948, the CS-92.5, S-92.6, S-92.8, S-92.9 and S-92.10 were completed and flown. The two-seat CS-92.7 was not flown until 1949.
As the aircraft improved, the powerplants of the M-04 (Jumo 004) and also the M-03 (BMW 003). The delivered machines flew at the Aeronautical Research Institute until the establishment of Fighter Squadron 5. The latter was established in 1950 to train jet pilots. Its commander was Ludovít Solár.
In 1951, a larger number of Czechoslovak Air Force jets were officially demonstrated to the Prague citizens at the May 1951 parade. Six S-92s and nine Jak-23s took part. This show was probably also the last public appearance of the first S-92 jets in the Czech Republic, as they were then distributed as teaching demonstration material throughout the republic for training mechanics and were still used in the retraining of pilots for the Yak-23. However, by that time a new state-of-the-art jet technology had already begun to arrive in Czechoslovakia from the USSR - the Mig-15. Of the seven S-92s and three CS-92s built, one example each survives, a single-seater S-92.4 and a two-seater CS-92.3(CS-92.5?). They are located in the Vojensky leteckm muzeu Praha-Kbely.
The armament of the single-seat machines consisted of a pair of 30 mm Rheimetall MK-108 guns, instead of the original four. These machines had a specified top speed of 840 km/h.
The Czechoslovakian Avie S-92 and CS-92 were sprayed with grey-green paint after the surface had been hardened. The emblems were placed in the usual places and lined with a thin blue line. The aircraft markings were black. The cabin interior was grey-green, the dashboard was matte black, the instruments were black, the descriptions on them and the hands were pale yellow. The seat back and headrest were blackish brown. The lettering on the plates was the colour of aluminium. The seat belts were grey, the buckles were duralumin. The sight was not fitted.
- 4x 30 mm Rheinmetall cannon MK 108 (2x MK 108 u S-92)
Me 262A-1a/U1: - 2x 30 mm Rheinmetall cannon MK 103 - 2x 30 mm Rheinmetall MK 108 - 2x 20 mm Mauser MG 151/20
Me 262A-1a/U4: - 1x 50 mm Rheinmetall cannon BK 5 or MK 214
Me 262A-2a: - single-seat fast bomber - 2x 30 mm Rheinmetall cannon MK 108 - 2x 250 kg bombs
Me 262A-2a/U2: - two-seat fast bomber with bomb sight in front - one 500 kg bomb under the fuselage, or two 250 kg bombs under the wing
Me 262A-5a: - reconnaissance version equipped with camera and additional 2x 300 l tanks - 2x 30 mm Rheinmetall cannon MK 108
Me 262B-1a (CS-92): - two-seat trainer version
Articles: 1) Václav Němeček Vojenská letadla III., Naše vojsko, 3rd edition, Prague 1992 2) Jiří Valenta S vrtulí na srdci, Zlínek, Zlín 1999 3) Internet culak.blog.sme.sk
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Avia-S-92-t8926#526231
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