Avia S-199

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The Avia S-199 was a fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia after World War II using parts and plans left over from Luftwaffe aircraft production that had taken place in the country during the war. While a very problematic aircraft, unpopular with its pilots, it achieved fame as the first fighter obtained by the Israeli Air Force for use during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Czechoslovakian pilots nicknamed it Mezek ("Mule"), while in Israel it was officially known as the Sakeen ("knife" in Hebrew). In practice, the aircraft was more often called Messerschmitt or Messer (which also means "knife", in German and Yiddish).

Avia had started building Messerschmitt Me 109Gs straight after the war as the Avia S-99, but soon ran out of the 109's Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine; a warehouse fire destroyed the remaining stock. The S-199 continued to use the Me 109G airframe but with none of the original engines available; the engine (Junkers Jumo 211) and propeller from the Heinkel He 111 bomber were used instead. The result of this compromise was an aircraft with extremely poor handling qualities. The substitute engine lacked the responsiveness of the Daimler-Benz unit, was heavier, and the torque created by the massive paddle-bladed propeller made control very difficult. Combined with the 109's narrow-track undercarriage, this made landings and take-offs extremely hazardous. A final hidden danger lay in the synchronization gear which did not seem to work properly, leading a few Israeli aircraft to shoot off their own propellers.

Some 550 S-199s were built, including a number of conversion trainers designated CS-199 (armed) and C-210 (unarmed). The first flight took place in March 1947, and production ended in 1949. The last examples were withdrawn from Czechoslovakian service (with their National Security Guard) in 1957.

Contents

1 Israeli Service
2 Operators
3 Specifications (S-199)
4 External links
5 Related content

Israeli Service

Israeli agents negotiated the purchase of Avia S-199s from the Czechoslovakian government in defiance of an arms embargo that Israel faced at the time. Twenty-five aircraft were obtained, and all but two were eventually delivered. The first examples arrived on May 20 1948, six days after Israel's declaration of independence, and five days after the commencement of hostilities by Egypt. They were assembled and sent into combat for the first time on May 29, attacking the Egyptian army between Isdud and the current Ad Halom bridge, south of Tel Aviv. In combat, the type proved unreliable and performed poorly. One Avia pilot remarked "she tried to kill us on every take off and landing" #redirect . Furthermore, maintenance problems meant that no more than five were typically airworthy at any one time. However, the type scored victories over its opponents, including the Spitfire #redirect . The Avias were mostly withheld from service by the end of October, at which time, only six remained operational. The S-199 continued making sporadic sorties through mid-December; American pilot Wayne Peake flipped one on its back on December 15. An example is preserved at the Israeli Air Force Museum at Hatzerim.

Avia S-199

Israeli Service

Operators

Specifications (S-199)

External links

Related content