Darzhavna Aeroplanna Rabotilnitsa Explained

State Aircraft Workshops
Native Name:Darzhavna Aeroplanna Rabotilnitsa
Native Name Lang:bg
Industry:Aerospace
Predecessors:-->
Founders:-->
Successors:-->
Hq Location City:Bozhurishte, Sofia
Hq Location Country:Bulgaria
Areas Served:-->
Owners:-->

Darzhavna aeroplanna rabotilnitsa (Bulgarian: Държавна аеропланна работилница - State Aircraft Workshops), abbreviated DAR (Bulgarian: 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 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. 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

Model nameFirst flightNumber builtType
DAR Uzunov-11925[2] 7License built single engine biplane reconnaissance airplane
DAR 1 Peperuda192620Single engine biplane trainer
DAR 212License built single engine biplane reconnaissance airplane
DAR 3 Garvan192626Single engine biplane reconnaissance airplane
DAR 419301Three engine biplane airliner
DAR 5 Brambar19301[3]
DAR 619326Single engine biplane trainer
DAR 71
12Single engine biplane trainer
DAR 9 Siniger6Single engine biplane trainer
DAR 10 Bekas19412Single engine monoplane light bomber
DAR 11 LyastovitsaN/A0Unbuilt license built single engine monoplane fighter

See also

References

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Company History . Aeroplanes DAR . 9 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200217121916/http://aeroplanesdar.com/company-history . 17 February 2020.
  2. Web site: Hayles . John . Bulgaria Air Force: Aircraft Types . Aeroflight . 9 April 2022 . 29 July 2005.
  3. 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.