Aero A.11 Day and Night Reconnaissance / Multi-purpose Aircraft

The Aero A.11 was a multirole biplane airframe that saw several major variants produced for its time in the air.

Updated: 4/17/2017; Authored By Staff Writer; Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com

The Aero A.11 was a successful multirole performer for the Czech Army Air Force during the interwar years separating the two World Wars. Equally respected for its adaptability and capability, the A.11 was designed from the outset as a multi-purpose airframe to replace the aging series of aircraft still in service at the time. In the end, the Aero A.11 would see no fewer than 20 different variant types, owing much to the inherently adaptable design envisioned when the aircraft first flew in 1925.

The A.11 was of traditional biplane arrangement featuring an over and under primary wing element. It maintained World War 1-era fighter traits such as open-air cockpits and fixed undercarriage. The crew numbered two with the pilot and his observer / gunner seated in tandem within the slab-sided fuselage. The upper wing element was fitted just ahead and around the pilot with the single liquid-cooled engine mounted forward of this (driving a two-bladed propeller unit).

A single 7.7mm Vickers Machine Gun in a fixed, forward-firing mounting was fitted for attack and managed by the pilot. The rear gunner had access to a 2 x 7.7mm Lewis Machine Gun pairing atop a flexible mounting. A modest bomb load of 441lb could also be carried for attack sorties.

The engine of choice became the Walter W IV series engine of 240 horsepower. Performance included a maximum speed of 150 miles per hour, a service ceiling of 25,000 feet and a range out to 470 miles. Rate-of-climb was 751 feet -per-minute.

The Aero A.11 was seen in its typical twin-seat reconnaissance platform but was equally adept in the role of day (as the Ab.11) or night (as the A.11N) bombing. Another notable variant was the A.11HS, an export version shipped off to Finland - the only other operator of the series. Eight were used by the Finns up until World War 2 in 1939. By the 1940s the line had all but been discarded.

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Aero A.11 Technical Specifications

Service Year: 1925
Type: Day and Night Reconnaissance / Multi-purpose Aircraft
National Origin: Czechoslovakia
Manufacturer(s): Aero Vodochody - Czechoslovakia
Production Total: 250

Structural (Crew Space, Dimensions and Weights)

Operating Crew (Typical): 2
Overall Length: 26.90 feet (8.2 meters)
Overall Width: 41.99 feet (12.80 meters)
Overall Height: 10.17 feet (3.10 meters)

Weight (Empty): 2,381 lb (1,080 kg)
Weight (MTOW): 3,395 lb (1,540 kg)

Installed Power and Standard Day Performance

Propulsion: 1 x Walter W.IV 8-cylinder liquid-cooled engine developing 240 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller at the nose.

Maximum Speed: 149 mph (240 kph; 130 knots)
Maximum Range: 466 miles (750 km)
Service Ceiling: 24,934 feet (7,600 meters; 4.72 miles)
Rate-of-Climb: 751 feet-per-minute (229 m/min)

Armament / Mission Payload

STANDARD:
1 x 7.7mm Vickers machine gun in fixed, forward-firing mounting.
2 x 7.7mm Lewis machine guns on trainable mounting in rear cockpit.

OPTIONAL:
Up tp 441lb of conventional drop stores.

Global Operators / Customers

Czechoslovakia; Finland

Model Variants (Including Prototypes)

A.11 - Base Designation

Ab.11 - Day Light Bomber

A.11HS - Finnish Export Model Designation

A.11N - Night Bomber