YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT FACTORIES

The Yugoslav aircraft industry consists essentially of a central national research, design and prototype manufacturing and testing establishment, and a number of purely production factories. Before the war the Yugoslav aircraft industry was made up of three main firms, Ikarus A.D. with factories at Novi Sad and Zemun ; Prva Srpska Fabrika Aeroplana Zivojin Rogojarsky with a factory at Belgrade ; and Fabrika Aeroplana i Hidroplana "Zmaj" with a factory at Zemun. All these factories, in addition to building aircraft of various types under licence, including the Potez 25, Hawker Fury, Bristol Blenheim, Dewoitine D.27, Gourdou-Leseurre B.3 and Hanriot training aircraft, produced a variety of types of original design, most of which were illustrated and described in the inter-war editions of "All the World's Aircraft." During the German occupation all these factories were destroyed and it was not until 1945 that the Ikarus plant at Zemun was sufficiently rebuilt and re-equipped to be able to resume aircraft work. As a nationalised plant it began with the repair and overhaul of YaK-3, YaK-9 and IL-2 Stormovik aircraft belonging to the Sovietised Yugoslav Air Force. In August, 1946, the remnants of tho former Ikarus, Rogojarsky and "Zmaj" companies and their surviving technical staffs were incorporated in the national concern and the design and manufacture of aircraft was resumed. The first post-war aeroplane of original design was the Aero-2 designed by Engineers Cijan and Petkovic, a two-seat trainer, the prototype of which first flew in October, 1946. This aircraft, which was produced in quantity for the Yugoslav Air Force, was developed through various versions with differing power-plants. At about the same time the C-3, designed by Cijan and Petkovic, won a competition for a light trainer suitable for use by national flying clubs and schools and was also put into production. Before the break with the Cominform the only military aircraft built in Yugoslavia were of Russian design. The Ilyushin IL-2 was built in series, and trainer versions of the IL-2 and YaK-3 were also developed and built. Since the break, however, Yugoslavia has undertaken the design and construction of its own military aircraft. The first example was the S-49, a redesign of the YaK-9 by Sivcev, Zrnic and Popovic. This aircraft has been developed through the S-49A fitted with the Russian VK-105 copy of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine, to the S-49C which is powered by the French-built HispanoSuiza 12Z of greater power. Two other types produced in 1951 were the Type 214 designed by Eng. Prof. Milutinovic and the Type 215, designed by Eng. Stankov, both twin-engined aircraft intended for training and general purpose duties. The former was selected for production for the Air Force as an aircrew trainer. A 1949 prototype, the Type 213 two-seat advanced trainer, has been modified and fitted with a 600 h.p. Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, and as the Type 522 has been put into production. Interesting prototypes built at Zemun, near Belgrade, include the Pionir, a small research monoplane for experiments with a prone pilot position ; the Type 451, a larger development of the Pionir ; the Type 451-M, which was Yugoslavia's first jet-propelled aircraft ; the Type S-451M trainer development ; and the Type 452-2 experimental jet aircraft of novel configuration.