Avia, the Czech aircraft manufacturer, acquired a licence to manufacture a bomber for the Czechoslovakian Air Force.
This decision was made because the Fokker F.VII, which Avia was already producing under licence, was deemed too small for the role.
The resulting aircraft, known as the F.39, entered service in 1932 with a total of 12 units.
Yugoslavia also purchased two F.39 aircraft and obtained a licence to produce them domestically, although this plan was not realised.
The F.39s differed from their civilian counterparts not only in terms of the addition of bomb racks but also the inclusion of a defensive machine gun, which was either fitted to a ventral “step” or a turret.
Additionally, Avia constructed two F.IX D aircraft as airliners for Czechoslovakian Airlines.
One of these aircraft survived into World War II and was later utilized by the Luftwaffe under the designation TF+BO.
Specifications
Crew
Two
Length
19.31 m (63 ft 6.75 in)
Wingspan
27.16 m (89 ft 0.5 in)
Height
4.572 m (15 ft 8.75 in)
Empty weight
5,450 kg (12,015 lb)
Max take-off weight
9,000 kg (19,842 lb)
Powerplant
3 × Gnome-Rhône 9A Jupiter 9-cyl
Air-cooled radial piston engines,
360 kW (480 hp) each
Performance
Maximum speed
210 km/h (130 mph, 110 kn)
Cruise speed
172 km/h (107 mph, 93 kn)
Range
1,150 km (710 mi, 620 nmi)
Sources Czechoslovakian Air Force, 1918-1970, Aircam Aviation Special 05-Richard Ward, Zdenek Titz & Gordon C. Davies. Ceskoslovenské Letectvo, 1918-1924-Jiří Rajlich & Jiří Sehnal.
