The Bulgarian Museum of Aviation was established near the Plovdiv Airport on September 21, 1991. It is unique in Bulgaria and presents the history of Bulgaria's aviation, military and civilian. In its possession are 60 aircraft, 12 airplane engines and over 2 799 other museum units.
The museum is located 15km south of Plovdiv, near the airport (see map below) and is open from 08.00 to 16.00 every day Monday through Friday and the exposition in the open is open every day. Admission is 50 Stotinki.
Tel. 27 3171
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As early as 1892, Bulgarians were watching the flight of the balloon "La France" over the town of Plovdiv and they saw how useful the balloon could be for the military. Army Lieutenant Vasil Zlatarov became the first Bulgarian aviator. Appointed as commander of the newly formed Aviation detachment, there was no balloon, and Zlatarov finally bought materials from Russia. Commander Zlatarov and his subordinates made the first Bulgarian balloon - "Sofia-1" and trained the first aviators.
In 1910 Bulgaria invited the Russian aircraft builder and pilot, Boris Maslenikov. He brought a replica of the French Farman IV and from the hippodrome in Sofia he made demonstrations, with Zlatarov also in the plane. It was decided to purchase planes for the Aviation detachment from France, Germany, Russia and others. Bulgarians were sent in some foreign schools to be trained as pilots and mechanics.
In 1912, Vasil Zlatarov, by now a Bulgarian Aviation Corps Major, was flying as observer on reconnaissance and leaflet-dropping missions in a craft from French manufacturer Louis Blériot, the XI-2 Artillerie. The plane's pilot was Italian Giovanni Sabelli.
Beginning in the 1914 Balkan Wars, Bulgaria was one of the world's first air forces to wear identification markings. These consisted of the Bulgarian national colours (from top) of White, Green and Red on the tail surfaces, with the outer portions of wing undersurfaces painted Red one side, Green the other, in a similar fashion to WWI Italian aircraft.
With the entry of Bulgaria into World War One on 6 October 1915, markings similar to the other Central Powers of Austria-Hungary and Germany were adopted. A narrow Green recognition stripe running along the trailing edge of the aircraft's wing was all that distinguished it as a Bulgarian machine. |
Documents, uniforms, combat prizes and photographs reflecting past and present in our aviation are presented in the first hall of the museum. Here you will see the oldest Bulgarian aircraft, patented in 1912 by Georgi Bojinov. The models of airplanes and helicopters that are part of the military equipment of the Bulgarian Air Force are displayed in the second hall. Here is the memorable space capsule of Soyuz 33, the space vehicle in which the first Bulgarian astronaut rode into space in April 1979. As it happened, the astronaut got the ride of a lifetime when the propulsion system developed a leak and shut down. The Soviet commander flew Soyuz 33 back to Earth. The capsule landed safely but the astronauts experienced an 8-10 'g' force rather than the norm of 3-4 g's.
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With military aviation forbidden under the terms of the Treaty of Neuilly, an Air Gendarmerie was formed, providing a clandestine base for the establishment of the Vozdushni Voiski, the Army's aviation component in 1925. Initially, the aircraft of this secret air force wore civilian registrations. Clashes on the Bulgarian- Greek border in 1925, though temporarily settled by the League of Nations, strengthened Bulgarian desire to expand air power. Up until 1927/28, the Bulgarian civil registration prefix was B-B. National colours were also carried on the rudders of these aircraft, in the order of (from front) White, Green and Red.
In the period running up to World War Two, the Vozdushni Voiski came out into the open, though it still carried civilian registrations (now with the prefix LZ-) up until 1938. National colours of (from top) White, Green and Red were placed on aircraft rudders.
1938 saw the introduction of Bulgaria's new national insignia, a Yellow crowned lion on a Red and Yellow roundel, centered on a Red and Yellow eight-pointed cross on top of crossed Yellow swords, all on a White circle. Occasionally this was edged in Red/Orange. Tail colours remained as per the 1928-38 scheme, though the division between the White and Green fields was sometimes angled.
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Adjacent to the joined halls is a Radio operations center. The exposition in the open presents 70 military and sport airplanes and helicopters plus agricultural and transport aviation.
The most interesting of them are the veterans of WW-II; the Yak-9, Tu-2 and the German hydroplane - Arado 196, the first jet fighter in the Bulgarian ari force.
Also to be seen is the interesting Li-2, the licensed CD-3 Dakota version.
Another craft on exhibit, and frequently seen at shows outside the museum, is the LAZ-7M, the only Bulgarian plane produced from 1948 to to 1954.
This page has been established as "birthday" gift to the museum and its staff on its 11th anniversary. During the weeks ahead we will add a complete photo gallery of each craft on display at the museum.
Sections:
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With Bulgaria's uneasy neutrality and eventual entry into the war in December 1941 as an ally of Germany, the national insignia took the form of a Black cross on a White background. Tail colours remained as previously, sometimes with an angled colour division, sometimes just in Green and Red. From 1942, Bulgarian craft also carried Yellow identification stripes in common with other air forces allied to Germany.
Bulgaria declared war on Germany on 8 September 1944, and again instituted a new national insignia. This consisted of a White roundel with Green center, with a Red horizontal bar superimposed upon this. At least two variants of this marking existed. When applied to the wings, the horizontal bar of the insignia became vertical, following the direction of flight. Tail colours remained as horizontal stripes of White, Green and Red, though now spanning the entire width of the fin and rudder. Aircraft carrying this insignia took an active part in the liberation of Southern Serbia and Macedonia. This new national insignia remained until at least 1948, when it began to be replaced by a more standard type of Soviet satellite marking.
In WW II, 40 Bulgarian pilots died, 19 of them in the battles against USA and British planes. Another 21 died in the battles against the Germans after September 9, 1944. The USA and Britain lost 147 planes, 200 pilots and crew members died and 329 were captured.
With the establishment of a communist Bulgaria from 1945, the national insignia of the Vozdushni Voiski changed to reflect this. An interim roundel consisting of (from outside) Red, White, Green, White with a Red star superimposed was the first overtly communist symbol used. (Additional information is needed to completely document this marking - dates of introduction and replacement are unknown, and pictures are rare.) The replacement for this roundel was a White edged Red star, with a (from outside) White, Green and Red roundel superimposed. This marking was most commonly applied using stencils, accounting for the white bands visible in the central roundel.
With the introduction of parliamentary government to Bulgaria in 1989, and the discrediting of Soviet-style communism, the present air force insignia consists of a roundel in national colours of (from outside) Red, Green and White. |
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| We found this little "Hawk" in the final stages of restoration at the museum. These miniatures were manufactured in Plovdiv to be used in target practice. |
I would be remiss if I failed to honor
the name of Assen Jordanoff, a great Bulgarian, on these pages.
Jordanoff made significant contributions to the advancement of U.S. aviation. This world-wide known
aviation pioneer and constructor was born on September 2nd, 1896, on Denkoglu St . in Sofia, Bulgaria. There is a brief biography of Assen Jordanoff at this link with a number of original photos.
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On June 24, 1981 Bulgaria issued a series of postage stamps commemorating the early Bulgarian-made military aircraft. "DAR" is the abbreviation for "Dargeavna Aeroplanna Rabotilnitsa" (Country Airplane Factory)
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DAR/Uzunov-1
Six of these two seat biplane Bulgarian craft were manufactured beginning in 1926 year. |
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| Laz-7, N12 - An airplane designed by engineer Tsvetan Lazarov in 1947 for participation in competition in Yugoslavia. It was built in Lovetch in two versions - a trainer and a light night bomber. |
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| Laz-8, LZ-BKP - An airplane designed by prof. eng. Tsvetan Lazarov in 1948/1949 as a four seat limousine. It was built in the aircraft factory in Lovetch and given as a gift to the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party. |
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| DAR-1A, LZ-IKR (old designation B-BIKR) - An airplane designed by prof. Winter in the late 1920's and produced in series in DAR (Government Aircraft Factory) in Bojurishte. With a craft of this type the famous bulgarian pilot Petko Popgantchev flew under the arc of a bridge in 1932. |
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| TDAR-3 "Raven II", N3 - Serially produced version of the airplane designed and build in the Government Aircraft Factory (DAR) in Bojurishte under supervision of prof. Winter, with participation of eng. Tsvetan Lazarov . |
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| DAR-9, LZ-BTN - This airplane was designed in the end of the 1930's by engineer Tsvetan Lazarov as a further development of his own DAR-6 and DAR-6A. Some elements from Fw-44 and He-72 were used. It was built in the aircraft factory in Lovetch. |
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