Tchecoslovaquie

1958 · 47619 — Otrokovice: S. Kucera n.p. Moravan 1958. Oblong atlas folio. 19.5 x 14.25 x 2.25 in. 49 leaves of thick dark gray paper stock each leaf retaining original tissue guards. Title page & colophon in white ink calligraphy. 185 tipped-in real photos 46 leaves with tipped-in printed histories & descriptions matched to the tipped-in photos. Embossed & stitched padded leather post binding brown silk braid at gutter margin elaborate gilt embossed illustration & logo on front cover of Moravian Airplane w/ laurel leaf cluster around 25 LET slight shelfwear a fine copy. This spectacular and exceptionally large Soviet-era photo album offers an invaluable visual record of the 25 year history of the central European Zlin/Moravan Aviation Company. This amazing production is beautifully done and all of the photographs are quite crisp. The first 6 leaves illustrated with photos and text detail the history of the company from its formation in 1933 as the Zlin Aviation Company which was commissioned to build gliders by the Masaryk Air League since the major shareholder the Bata Company was not allowed by the Ministry in charge of aircraft production to produce powered aircraft. These early gliders were designed by the Czech aeronautical engineer Kryspin and included the Kluzak Zlin I Vetron Zlin II the Kluzak Zlin III designed by R. Dohnalek and then several designed by F.O. Mayer including the Kluzak - Zlin V VI the very popular Vetron Zlin VII -- Akela which was used throughout Europe as a racing glider and others. Zlin Aviation began producing powered aircraft finally in late 1934 and 1935 with prototypes of the Zlin Z-XII sport and two-seater trainer monoplane. The Z-XII trainer designed by Jaroslav Lonek became the most popular aircraft of its kind in Czechoslovakia and Germany during the 1930s eventually producing over 200 of them powered by Walter Mikron engines illustrated here in the catalogue and later with Persy I and Persy II engines. One of the images included shows the Z-XII at the 1938 races where the plane finished 29th. After World War II the aircraft were used by the Czech Army and as courier planes and were called the K-72 -- replicas of these are being built to this day. Just before the Nazis took over Czechoslovakia in 1938 the company experimented with producing a racing plane called the Letoun Zlin 13 but only 1 was built. After the Germans took over and renamed the company Zlin Aviation Enterprise they built 1 Letoun Zlin-20 which was to be a small two-engine passenger plane but it was quickly superseded by the need to produce the Bu 181 for the Luftwaffe which was the Z-181 Z-281 -- a two seat primary trainer which continued to be built for air forces around the world after World War II. They also produced a variety of gliders for the Luftwaffe and private individuals during the War. After the war the company was nationalized by the Communist Government and became part of the Automotive Enterprise and later renamed Zlinavion. In 1953 it was again renamed Moravan Company and began producing the very successful trainers and aerobatic planes used in aerobatic competition around the world. The Letoun Z-226 Trainer followed by the Z-326 which in this catalogue is still a prototype resulted in numerous different models and over 800 aircraft eventually built by the company and sold around the world. In addition the final leaf shows the Moravan Vrtulnik HC 2 a small 2-seater helicopter which also proved popular for the company. S. Kucera, n.p. Moravan, hardcover