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Bulgarian Museum of Aviation
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The
Bulgarian Museum of Aviation was established near the Plovdiv Airport on
September 21, 1991. It is unique in Bulgaria and presents the history of
Bulgaria's aviation, military and civilian. In its possession are over 60
aircraft, engines and a variety of smaller items regarding the aviation
history of Bulgaria.
The museum is located 15km south of Plovdiv, near the airport of Krumovo.
Adjacent to the museum is Krumovo air base hosting the helicopter element of
the Bulgarian Air Force.
Documents, uniforms, and photographs reflecting past and present history are
presented in the first hall of the museum. Here you will see the oldest
Bulgarian aircraft, patented in 1912 by Georgi Bojinov. The models of
airplanes and helicopters that are part of the military equipment of the
Bulgarian
Air Force are displayed in the second hall. In Here is also the space
capsule of Soyuz 33, the space vehicle in which the first Bulgarian
astronaut rode into space in April 1979. As it happened, the astronaut got
the ride of a lifetime when the propulsion system developed a leak and shut
down. The Soviet commander flew Soyuz 33 back to Earth. The capsule landed
safely but the astronauts experienced an 8-10 'g' force rather than the norm
of 3-4 g's.
The exposition in the open presents more then 60 military and sport
airplanes and helicopters plus agricultural and transport aviation.
Included are some interesting veterans of the second World War; the Yak-9,
Tu-2 and the German hydroplane - Arado 196. Aircraft from after the second
World War include the first jet fighter's in the Bulgarian Air Force. The
Mig, Yak and Sukoi jets are on show in groups so that variants of the same
model can be compared. The still expanding collection is resaving models
from the air force and navy as they are retired. One exception is a former
Turkey's Air Force Starfighter. |
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The Arado-196
This two-seat low-wing floatplane served as a maritime patrol aircraft and
was manufactured in Germany in 1937 and is one of the three surviving
examples in the world. Primary duties consisted of reconnaissance and
shadowing of service vessels, including submarine-hunting. The flight deck
is mostly glass and the crew has a perfect view. There are two 20 mm guns
installed under the wings, protected under coverings to preserving them from
seawater. They open only in case of gunfire. These planes served Bulgaria
mostly in the Black Sea and this craft is one of twelve AR-196's which the
Bulgarian Navy operated during World War II from an airbase at Varna from
1941 - 1944.
The engine is a BMW-made 132K nine-cylinder radial with a rating of 960 hp.
The wingspan is 12.4 meters, and the plane has a length of 11 meters with a
height of 4.4 meters. It achieved a speed of 310km/h. This was the last
combat floatplane built in Europe.
Group-captain George Kolbe was commander of the naval reconnaissance section
125 (SAGr. 125) in the Black Sea region, stationed in Varna, Konstanza and
other ports in the period from 1941 to 1944. The twelve aircraft arrived in
Bulgaria in the summer of 1943, after they had been overhauled in the
“Bahman” factory in Ribnitz and outfitted according to Kolbe's
specifications. Bulgaria is the only country that was officially supplied
with these craft. After their arrival, the aircraft Arado AR-196 were given
the code-name ”Shark”. Towards September 9, 1944 no more than 8 of the
original twelve “Sharks” remained in use. After the second world war the
aircraft had been on display at the navel museum in Varna until it
demolition was ordered as it was of nazi origin. The aircraft only survived
because of the reluctance to follow the order for it demolition and is
successively hide away.
The museum has an excellent collection of aircraft and memorabilia and is well worth a visit |
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