Engineering:Aero A.304

A.304
Role	Bomber
Manufacturer	Aero Vodochody
First flight	1937
Primary users	Czechoslovak Air Force Germany , Bulgaria
Number built	19
Developed into	Aero A.300

The Aero A.304 was a Czechoslovakian bomber aircraft that first flew in 1937. It had originally been developed as an airliner, the A.204, but when Aero could not find buyers for the design, it was militarised and successfully marketed to the Czechoslovak Air Force . It was also exported to Bulgarian Air Force , where it was known as the "Pelikan".

Operators

Bulgaria

• Bulgarian Air Force – (One unit in service)

Czechoslovakia

• Czechoslovakian Air Force

Germany

• Luftwaffe – (War plunder from Czechoslovak Air Force)

Slovakia

• Slovak Air Force (1939–45)

Specifications (A.304)

Aero A.304 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile February 1939

Data from War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Seven

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Length: 13.21 m (43 ft 4 in)
• Wingspan: 19.2 m (63 ft 0 in)
• Height: 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in)
• Wing area: 45.3 m² (488 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 3,006 kg (6,627 lb)
• Gross weight: 4,364 kg (9,621 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Walter Super Castor IMR 9-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, 343 kW (460 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 322 km/h (200 mph, 174 kn) at 1,750 m (5,741 ft)
• Cruise speed: 290 km/h (180 mph, 160 kn)
• Range: 1,199 km (745 mi, 647 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 5,800 m (19,000 ft)
• Rate of climb: 6.75 m/s (1,329 ft/min)

Armament

• Guns:
  
• 1 × fixed forward-firing 7.92 mm ZB-30 machine gun
• 1 × 7.92 mm ZB-30 machine gun in dorsal turret
• 1 × 7.92 mm ZB-30 machine gun in rearward firing ventral position
• Bombs: Up to 300 kg (660 lb) of bombs

See also

Related development

• Aero A.204
• Aero A.300

Related lists

• List of aircraft of World War II

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Seven Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft. London:Macdonald, 1967.