Aero A.32

The Aero A.32 was a biplane built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s for army co-operation duties including reconnaissance and tactical bombing. While the design took the Aero A.11 as its starting point (and was originally designated A.11J), the aircraft incorporated significant changes to make it suited for its new low-level role.

Aero A.32
Incomplete A.32 in the Finnish museum
Role Reconnaissance – bomber
Manufacturer Aero
First flight 1927
Introduction 1928
Retired 1944
Primary user Czechoslovak Air Force
Finnish Air Force
Number built 116

Like the A.11 before it, the A.32 provided Aero with an export customer in the Finnish Air Force, which purchased 16 aircraft in 1929 as the A.32IF and A.32GR (which spent most of their service lives as trainers). They were assigned numbers AEj-49 – AEj-64 and were used until 1944. At least one aircraft has survived, AEj-59 is on the show of the Päijänne-Tavastia Aviation Museum.

A total of 116 of all variants were built.

Aero Ap.32.42 used by the Czechoslovakian National Security Guard in 1938

Variants

Operators
 Czechoslovakia
 Finland
 Slovakia

Specifications (A.32)

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2 – pilot and observer
  • Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.4 m (40 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
  • Wing area: 36.5 m2 (393 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,046 kg (2,306 lb)
  • Gross weight: 1,917 kg (4,226 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Gnome-Rhône built Bristol Jupiter 9-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, 313 kW (420 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 226 km/h (140 mph, 122 kn)
  • Range: 420 km (260 mi, 230 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,000 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 2.85 m/s (561 ft/min)
  • Wing loading: 53 kg/m2 (11 lb/sq ft)
  • Thrust/weight: 0.160 kW/kg (0.10 hp/lb)

Armament

  • Airplane Aero A.32 in Kbely aviation museum in Prague, Czech Republic.
    Airplane Aero A.32 in Kbely aviation museum in Prague, Czech Republic.

See also

Related development

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