Avia BH-19

BH-19
Role	Fighter
Manufacturer	Avia
Designer	Pavel Beneš and Miroslav Hajn
First flight	1924
Number built	2

The Avia BH-19 was a fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1924. It was a low-wing braced monoplane derived from the Avia BH-3 and reflected its designers' ongoing belief that the monoplane configuration was the most suitable for a fighter aircraft. Initial trials revealed excellent performance, but also displayed control problems and aileron flutter. Nevertheless, the Czechoslovak Army were sufficiently impressed to tell Avia that it would order the BH-19 if the problems could be rectified.

The first prototype was destroyed in a crash during speed trials, and the second prototype revealed no better handling than its predecessor. At this point, the Czechoslovakian War Ministry stepped in and asked Avia to cease its attempts to develop a monoplane fighter.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: one pilot
• Length: 7.37 m (24 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 10.80 m (35 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 18.3 m² (197 ft²)
• Empty weight: 792 kg (1,746 lb)
• Gross weight: 1,155 kg (2,546 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Skoda-built Hispano-Suiza 8Fb Vee-8, 230 kW (310 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 245 km/h (152 mph)
• Range: 520 km (320 miles)
• Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,200 ft)
• Rate of climb: 5.6 m/s (1,090 ft/min)

Armament

• 2 × fixed, forward-firing .303 Vickers machine guns

See also

Related development

BH-3

References

• Němeček, V. (1968). Československá letadla. Praha: Naše Vojsko.