Fizir F1V
Encyclopedia
The Fizir F1V (Физир Ф1В in Serbian) was a the basis from which engineer Rudolf Fizir developed a series of single-engined, two-seat, reconnaissance biplanes fitted with different engines. Construction was carried out in the Yugoslav aircraft factories "Zmaj" and "Rogožarski" between 1928 and 1932.
Design and development
Rudolf Fizir designed a biplane reconnaissance aircraft during the first war of the Kingdom of YugoslaviaKingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
(KSHS) during 1925.
It was equipped with a 260 hp Maybach
Maybach
Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH is a German luxury car manufacturer. It was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son. The company was originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH until 1912.Today, the ultra-luxury car brand is owned by...
engine and the prototype was made in the workshop of the Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
Air Aviation Regiment. The prototype was first flown in late November 1925 by test pilot Vladimir Striževski. Further development of basic Fizir design was undertaken with the assistance of Dušan Stankov resulting in the construction of five additional prototypes and the delivery of 32 production machines designated Fizir F1V (commonly referred to as Fizir-Maybach 260 hp) over the next three years. While these had been built at the Rogozarski factory, Zmaj built 15 of the Fizir F1V-Wright version and 5 Jupiter-engined Fizir F1M floatplanes for Naval Aviation
Naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of manned military air power by navies, including ships that embark fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. In contrast, maritime aviation is the operation of aircraft in a maritime role under the command of non-naval forces such as the former RAF Coastal Command or a...
in 1930. Zmaj was also responsible for conversion of several Fizir-Maybach trainers to Lorraine engine in 1932, which extended the service life of these machines under the new name Fizir-Lorraine 400 hp.
Operational history
During factory tests, on 8th October 1926 Pilot V. Striževski flew the aircraft from Novi SadNovi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
to Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
to Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
to Rajlovac (Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
) to Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and returned to Novi Sad (a distance of 1410 km) over a period of 8 hours and 40 minutes.
As a result of this performance, the aircraft was entered in an international competition of the Little Entente
Little Entente
The Little Entente was an alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia with the purpose of common defense against Hungarian revision and the prevention of a Habsburg restoration...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
where pilot Striževski was one of 14 entries. Despite there being aircraft entered with twice the power, he came in first place.
Thanks to this success and satisfactory test results, it was decided to put the Fizir F1V into serial production , but as an intermediate trainer rather than as a reconnaissance aircraft with the result that some changed were made, such as adding dual controls. Difficulties with supplies of the original Maybach engine resulted in a variety of other engines being fitted, from which the individual variants would derive their names.
The Fizir F1V was used at the flying schools to transition pupils to reconnaissance and bomber aircraft, replacing the worn-out Hansa Brandenburg C.1 as production permitted. 20 examples were produced by the end of the 1928 and 12 in 1929. The Fizir F1V aircraft used by the pilot schools were withdrawn from service and replaced with the new Fizir FP-2 in 1936. Some examples of these aircraft had flown by the beginning of April and were still in use when war started in 1941 as a liaison aircraft or training.
Last flight from the family of these types of aircraft Fizir F1M (Fizir first Navy) was a seaplane that was developed at "Zmaj" by Zemun on the request of the Navy Command for a reconnaissance seaplane on floats. Known as Zmaj Fizir-Jupiter or Big Fizir they were used in the Naval Air Force for as a reconnaissance seaplane and for towing targets for antiaircraft training. On one of these aircraft was fitted with an NACA
NACA
- Organizations :* National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the forerunner of the U.S. federal agency NASA* National Association for Campus Activities, an organization for programmers of university and college activities...
ring in 1931 to improve the Jupiter engine's cooling and reduce drag. These aircraft flew during the war and three were captured by the Italians
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
however it is unknown if they made any use of them.
Operators
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- Yugoslav Royal Air ForceYugoslav Royal Air ForceThe Yugoslav Royal Air Force was formed in 1918 in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and existed until Yugoslavia's surrender to the Axis powers in 1941 following the Invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II....
Independent State of Croatia
- Air Force of the Independent State of CroatiaAir Force of the Independent State of CroatiaThe Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia, the Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske was the national air force of the Independent State of Croatia during World War II, founded under German authority in April 1941...
(5 ex-Yugoslav Royal Air ForceYugoslav Royal Air ForceThe Yugoslav Royal Air Force was formed in 1918 in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and existed until Yugoslavia's surrender to the Axis powers in 1941 following the Invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II....
examples)
Variants
- Fizir F1 - Prototype with Maybach MbIVa 260 hp engine (1 example, 1925)
- Fizir F1V-Maybach - Maybach MbIVa 260 hp engine (32 examples, 1928)
- Fizir F1V-Loren - Lorraine Ditrich 12Eb 450 hp engine, (1st prototype converted 1928 + 15 Lorraine conversion Maybach 12dB 400KS in 1933)
- Fizir F1V-Hispano - Hispano-Suiza 12G) 450 hp engine, (1 prototype converted in 1928)
- Fizir F1V-Wright - Wright Whirlwind J-5 220 HP engine, (1 prototype and 15 production examples in 1930)
- Fizir F1M-Jupiter - a naval seaplane (also called "The Great Fizir") with Jupiter IAM 9AD 420 hp engine (5 examples in 1930)
- Fizir F1G-Castor - Walter Castor 240 HP engine, (1 prototype in 1931)
- Fizir F1G-Titan - Walter Titan 230 HP engine, (1 prototype in 1931)