AERO A-304 "CZECHOSLOVAK & BULGARIAN MARKING"

The Aero A-304 was a Czechoslovakian light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft from the interwar period. It was a mixed construction machine, in a low wing configuration, with a landing gear retracted in flight. The drive in the basic version was provided by two engines Walter Super Castor, 430 HP each . The prototype flight took place in 1937. The production of these aircraft lasted in the years 1937-1939 and led to the creation of about 20 such machines. The armament was 3 7.92 mm wz. 30 machine guns and a load of up to 300 kg of bombs. The Aero A-304 was created in connection with the requirements developed by the Czechoslovak aviation in 1936 for a new, light bomber and reconnaissance machine. These requirements were met by three airline companies: Letov, CKD-Praga and Aero Vodochody. The design presented by the latter plants turned out to be the most successful. It was, in fact, a modified version of the A-204 airliner, which was, however, adapted to carry bombs and had shooting positions. The first A-304 aircraft entered the line in 1938, but due to the collapse of Czechoslovakia and the occupation of a large part of its territory by the Third Reich, the production of this aircraft did not exceed 20. After 1939, the A-304 was used for training purposes in the Luftwaffe and for transport and patrol purposes in Bulgaria.