State Aircraft Workshops
Native name
Darzhavna Aeroplanna Rabotilnitsa
IndustryAerospace
Founded1924 (1924)
Headquarters
Bozhurishte, Sofia
,
Bulgaria
Key people
  • Tsvetan Lazarov [bg]
  • Kiril Petkov [bg]

Darzhavna aeroplanna rabotilnitsa (Държавна аеропланна работилница - State Aircraft Workshops), abbreviated DAR (ДАР), was the first Bulgarian aircraft manufacturer, established in 1924 at Bojourishte.

History

Initially involved in repairing German aircraft then in use in Bulgaria, DAR soon began producing copies of some of these (DAR Uzunov-1, DAR 2), before moving on to licensed production of the Focke-Wulf Fw 44. The workshops produced a number of original designs, some of these were produced (DAR 1, DAR 3, DAR 4, DAR 6, DAR 8 [bg], DAR 9, DAR 11), while others never proceeded past prototype stage (DAR 5, DAR 7, DAR 10).

Although aircraft manufacture was moved to the Darzhavna Samoletna Fabrika (Държавна самолетна фабрика - State Airplane Factory, abbr. ДСФ - DSF) in Lovech in 1940, designers remained in DAR. Tsvetan Lazarov [bg] was DAR's head designer towards the end of the organisation's lifespan. Amongst others, he was responsible for its final design, the DAR 11 fighter of 1941 that never left the drawing board. DAR was closed after 1945 and the personnel and facilities were moved to the DSF in Lovech.

Although not direct legal successor, in 1995 a newly established private company called Aeroplani DAR based its name and heritage on DAR.[1]

Products

DAR-3 Garvan III
DAR-10
Model name First flight Number built Type
DAR Uzunov-1 1925[2] 7 License built single engine biplane reconnaissance airplane
DAR 1 Peperuda 1926 20 Single engine biplane trainer
DAR 2 12 License built single engine biplane reconnaissance airplane
DAR 3 Garvan 1926 26 Single engine biplane reconnaissance airplane
DAR 4 1930 1 Three engine biplane airliner
DAR 5 Brambar 1930[2] 1[3]
DAR 6 1932[2] 6[a] Single engine biplane trainer
DAR 7 1[3]
DAR 8 Slavei [bg] 12 Single engine biplane trainer
DAR 9 Siniger 6[3][b] Single engine biplane trainer
DAR 10 Bekas 1941 2 Single engine monoplane light bomber
DAR 11 Lyastovitsa N/A 0 Unbuilt license built single engine monoplane fighter

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ An additional 36 airframes were built by DSF.
  2. ^ An additional 54 airframes were built by DSF.

Notes

  1. ^ "Company History". Aeroplanes DAR. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Hayles, John (29 July 2005). "Bulgaria Air Force: Aircraft Types". Aeroflight. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Bernád, Dénes (2001). "Balkan Birds: Thirty-Five Years of Bulgarian Aircraft Production". Air Enthusiast. A table excerpted from the article can be found on the Romanian Military History Forum. The article was split into two parts and it is not clear which one the relevant table was taken from.

Bibliography

  • Gunston, Bill (1993). World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. p. 89.
  • World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 891 Sheet 56.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to DAR aircraft.


Darzhavna Aeroplanna Rabotilnitsa (DAR) and Aeroplanes DAR aircraft
Categories