Avia B-534 1/72 Scale Model

Slovakian B-534 - This is a model of a biplane fighter that flew against the Hungarian incursions into Slovakia in March 1939. At the time, Slovakian planes still carried the markings of Czechoslovakia, as that nation had just been dismembered by Hitler. The Slovaks also flew a version that was armed with cannons instead of machine guns, called the Bk-534. After the Germans occupied western Czechoslovakia, many of the B-534's they captured were sold to Bulgaria. These B-534's first saw combat against American B-24 bombers passing over Bulgaria during their August 1, 1943, raid on the Ploesti oil fields in neighboring Romania. The planes were too lightly armed to inflict much damage to large bombers, but after Bulgaria switched sides and joined the Allies in September, 1944, its remaining B-534's flew ground support missions to assist Bulgarian troops attacking German forces in Yugoslavia.

More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Front Angle Right, Front Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Above Right, Above Left

Black Cross/Red Star: The Air War Over the Eastern Front, Volume 1, Operation Barbarossa, Christer Bergstrom

Fortress Ploesti: The Campaign to Destroy Hitler's Oil, Jay Stout

In the Skies of Europe: Air Forces Allied to the Luftwaffe 1939-1945, John Cochrane

Slovakian and Bulgarian Aces of WWII, Jiri Rajlich