Description
During WW2, Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, where many factories built the Me109 and Me262 fighters, as well as components and engines.
At the end of the war, numerous Me262 Schwalbe (“Swallow“) jet fighters were still located in Czechoslovakia. As the aircraft was formally being built in Czechoslovakia, blueprints, technical manuals, production facilities, numerous spare parts, Junkers Jumo 004 axial-flow turbojet engines and a number of usable Me 262 airframes were available to bolster the Czechoslovakian Air Force.
Plans were quickly put into place to complete as many aircraft as possible to bring the Czechoslovakian Air Force into the jet age. The first Czechoslovakian built Me 262A-1a jet fighter was completed by Avia as early as December 1945 and were designated as the Avia S-92 Turbina (“Turbine”).
The first S-92 test flight was conducted on August 27th, 1946 by Antonin Krause, Avia’s chief test pilot.
Only 7 Avia S-92 (Me 262A-1a) single seat fighters were completed (the first prototypes were S-92.1, S-92.2 and one following aircraft was trialed unsuccessfully with BMW 003 turbojet engines but reverted back to the Jumo 004B). Produced using original German wartime parts, they also featured the same standard armament of four Mk 108 30mm cannons. A further 3 Me 262B-1a two-seat trainers, designated as the Avia CS-92 were also produced (the first flew on December 10th, 1946).
The Junkers Jumo 004B axial-flow jet engines were refurbished by Avia and designated M-04. Although the engines suffered a short life span like their wartime German counterparts, in peacetime Czechoslovakian pilots could apparently coax 60 flying hours with careful control management and constant maintenance before a complete overhaul was required (due to a wartime lack of high quality metals, the German engines generally had an operational lifetime of just 30-50 hours!). Speed wise the S-92 performed about the same as the wartime Me 262 with a maximum speed of 870 km/h (540 mph).
The first Avia S-92 fighters were delivered to the air force in 1947 but a full squadron was not formed for a few years. The Czech 5th Fighter Squadron flew the S-92/CS-92 from Kbely Airbase from 1950 to train pilots in the new age of jet flying. Soon enough though the Soviet Union began to provide access to modern turbojet powered combat and training aircraft such as the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15/MiG-15UTI to Czechoslovakia, which far outperformed the World War Two era axial-flow turbojet engines. By 1951 the Avia S-92/CS-92 aircraft were relegated to ground instructional airframes at various schools around the country.
Produced by Avia, and dating between 1944 and 1946, this handbook is an EXCELLENT example! Written in Czech, it covers all the routine operating instructions for the Me262. Though it is not dated, I believe this is a wartime example, given that it states, “Me262” on the cover, as opposed “S-92”. Approx. 25 pages, it features excellent drawings and descriptions (though the information is a bit faded.). A PERFECT addition to any collection or display!
