Aero A.32
Incomplete A.32 in the Finnish museum
Role	Reconnaissance - bomber
Manufacturer	Aero
First flight	1927
Introduced	1928
Retired	1944
Primary user	Czechoslovak Air Force Finnish Air Force
Number built	116

The Aero A.32 was a biplane built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s for army co-operation duties including reconnaissance and tactical bombing. While the design took the Aero A.11 as its starting point (and was originally designated A.11J), the aircraft incorporated significant changes to make it suited for its new low-level role.

Like the A.11 before it, the A.32 provided Aero with an export customer in the Finnish Air Force, which purchased 16 aircraft in 1929 as the A.321F and A.32GR (which spent most of their service lives as trainers). They were assigned numbers AEj-49 - AEj-64 and were used until 1944. At least one fuselage has survived, preserved at the Finnish Air Force Museum (in storage as of 2003^[update]).

A total of 116 of all variants were built.

Contents 1 Variants 2 Operators 3 Specifications (A.32) 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Variants

• A.321F : Attack version for Finland, powered by a 450-hp (336-kW) Isotta Fraschini Asso Cassia piston engine.
• A.32GR : Attack version for Finland, powered by a 450-hp (336-kW) Gnome-Rhone built Bristol Jupiter radial piston engine.
• Ap.32 : Improved version for the Czech Air Force. Also known as the Apb.32.

[edit] Operators

•  Czechoslovakia
•  Finland

[edit] Specifications (A.32)

This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.

General characteristics

• Crew: two, pilot and observer
• Length: 8.20 m (26 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 12.40 m (40 ft 8 in)
• Height: 3.10 m (10 ft 2 in)
• Wing area: 36.5 m² (393 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1,046 kg (2,301 lb)
• Loaded weight: 1,917 kg (4,217 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Gnome-Rhone built Bristol Jupiter radial engines, 313 kW (420 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 226 km/h (141 mph)
• Range: 420 km (262 miles)
• Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,040 ft)
• Rate of climb: 171 m/min (561 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 53 kg/m² (10.7 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 160 W/kg (0.10 hp/lb)

Armament

• 2 × forward-firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns
• 2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis machine guns in flexible mount for observer
• Up to 12 × 10 kg (22 lb) bombs

[edit] See also

Related development Aero A.11

v • d • e Aircraft produced by Aero Vodochody Ae 01 • Ae 02 • Ae 03 • Ae 04 • Ae 10 • A.11 • A.12 • A.14 • A.15 • A.17 • A.18 • A.19 • A.20 • A.21 • A.22 • A.23 • A.24 • A.25/A.125 • A.26 • A.27 • A.29 • A.30/A.130/A.230/A.330/A.430 • A.32 • A.34/A.134 • A.35 • A.38 • A.42 • A.46 A.100 • A.101 • A.102 • A.104 A.200 • A.204 A.300 • A.304 Ae 45/145 • Ae 50 • Ae 270 L-29 • L-39 • L-59/L-159 • L-60 Under licence: C-3/C-103  • MB.200

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[edit] External links

• Photos at Ugolok Neba site