During 1932, work had commenced on the development of a new single engined biplane fighter aircraft, the Avia B-34, which had been designed by aeronautical engineer František Novotný.
During its development, various alternative engines were considered and trialled before eventually settling upon the license built Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine.
Other improvements during the prototype stage included the adoption of an enclosed cockpit along with a revised tail and undercarriage arrangement.
On 14 April 1934, the second prototype, while flown by test pilot Václav Kočí, successfully attained a Czechoslovak national speed record of 365.7 kilometres per hour (227.2 mph).
Deliveries of production aircraft to the Czechoslovak Air Force commenced in October 1935.
Partially as a result of its impressive manoeuvrability, as well as some operators continuing to maintain a preference for the established biplane configuration over the incoming generation of monoplane fighters that would soon prove to outperform them, the B-534 stayed in production for considerable time (1933-1939).
During the late 1930s, Czechoslovakia sought to expand production of the type in response to German claims over the Sudetenland (the western border area of Czechoslovakia).
Large numbers of the type saw combat with multiple nations during the course of the Second World War.
