Praga Early Projects

Hi,
study of the three-seat unorthodox aircraft Praga B-45 from April 1933. Power was provided by two Praga engines (no further specification) with 2*75 hp. Wingspan: 12,0 m, Length: 9,0 m, Height: 2,6 m, Empty weight: 550 kg, Total weight: 965 kg, Maximum speed: 180 km/h

Source: Bittner Collection of the NTM Prague
Praga B-45.png
 
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Hi,
study of the Praga BH-48 fighter aircraft from April 1933. The engine was to be a Praga CRK with 650 hp. Wingspan: 12,3 m, Length: 8,0 m, Maximum speed: 405 km/h. Other technical details have not been preserved...

Source: Aeronautical archive NTM Prague
Praga BH-48.png
 
Hi,
project of Praga E-47-I fighter trainer from May 1935. Power was provided by a 300 hp Praga ARK engine. Wingspan: 7,5 m, Length: 6,2 m, Maximum speed: 400 km/h. Other technical details have not been preserved...

Source: Aeronautical archive NTM Prague
Praga E-47-I.png
 
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Hi,
project of Praga E-47-II training fighter aircraft from November 1937. Power was provided (as with the Praga E-47-I version) by a 300 hp Praga ARK engine. Span: 8.4 m, length: 7.0 m, maximum speed: 410 km/h. Other technical data were not preserved...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-47-II_.png
 
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Hi,
Praga BH-40 bomber project from August 1930. Engines: 2* Praga "Asso" (Isotta-Fraschini Asso RV 800 hp engine license).
wingspan: 27 m, length: 16,7 m maximum speed: 210 km/h. Other technical data were not preserved...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga BH-40.png
 
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Hi,
the study of the Praga B-50 aircraft from October 1933 became one of the types that became the basis for the later famous Beta Be-50 aircraft produced in Chocni (the designer Beneš left the company ČKD Praga at the end of 1933 and founded with the entrepreneur Mráz the company Beneš and Mráz, aircraft factory in Chocni).
Engine: Pobjoy 75 hp, wingspan: 11.5 m, length: 7,65 m, empty weight: 337 kg, total weight: 540 kg, maximum speed: 180 km/h.

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga B-50.png
 
Hi,
the Praga E-46 sport aircraft project of April 1934 crystallized during 1935 into the Praga E-114 type.
Engine: Aeronca 36 hp, wingspan: 9.4 m, length: 6.6 m, empty weight: 250 kg, total weight: 410 kg, maximum speed: 130/h km
(from 1935 onwards, Praga sport aircraft types were designated from number 111, so the E-46 designation was relaxed and reused for the fighter project).
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/praga-early-projects.31893/post-579443

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-46-II.png
 
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Hi,
variants of the reconnaissance aircraft with the type designation Praga E-51 had several forms, which differed mainly in the area of the fuselage nacelle. The first variants date from late 1936...
Engines: Avia Rk-17 2*360 hp or Walter Sagitta 2*550/600 hp, wingspan: 11,75 m, length: 12,4 m, empty weight: 3 100 kg, total weight: 4 120 kg, payload: 1 000 kg, maximum speed: 300 km/h, service ceiling 6 000 m

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague, photo is from magazine L+K 25/1982
Praga E-51-I.png Praga E-51-I_.png Praga E-51-I.jpg
 
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Hi,
...the Praga E-51 project continued in 1937. This variant dates from May of that year. This variant differs from the built E-51 prototype by the differently shaped fuselage nose and the assumed Armstrong defensive turret at the rear of the fuselage... Engines: Walter Sagitta I MR 2*550/600 hp, wingspan: 15,95 m, length: 11,75 m,
Praga E-51-II.png
Praga E-51-II.jpg

...other variants of the Praga E-51 project from the turn of 1937/38 were already close in shape to the E-51 prototype, which was flown on 28 May 1938. The first variant was also to have an Armstrong gun turret in the rear fuselage, licensed from Tatra in Czechoslovakia. The second variant had a different fuselage nacelle glazing compared to the E-51 prototype...
The dimensions and performance of the three variants were identical.
Engines: Walter Sagitta I MR 2*550/600 hp, wingspan: 16.7 m, length: 11,6 m, empty weight: 3 100 kg, total weight: 4 120 kg, payload: 1 020 kg, maximum speed: 330 km/h, service ceiling 6 000 m

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague. The first photo is from the publication Czechoslovak Prototypes Volume 2, Jakab publishing house, the others I took in NTM Prague.
Praga E-51-III.png Praga E-51_2.jpg Praga E-51_3.jpg Praga E-51-III_.png
 
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Hi,
project of the Praga E-52 reconnaissance and observation aircraft from February 1937. Engines: Major 6 2*205 hp, wingspan: 11,0 m, length: 8,4 m. Other technical data were not preserved...
In 1951, Václav Němeček, then still a young aviation publicist, began publishing articles in the magazine Letectví entitled „Czechoslovak Aircraft". In these articles he wrote about the Praga E-52 type: „Praga's design department was also working on a lighter version of the observation aircraft, which was to have Walter "Major" engines and was to be a two-seater. A mock-up was built. The prototype was not built. The type designation was E-52".
I quote from his articles because several publications dealing with the history of Czechoslovak aviation state that the Praga E-52 was supposed to be a light fighter aircraft with Renault engines. The photos of the mock-up show that the nose of the aircraft was supposed to be glass, so it is obvious that Mr. Němeček is right about the original purpose of this aircraft...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague, photo is from magazine L+K 25/1982 Praga E-52.png Praga E-52.jpg Praga_6_01.png
 
Hi,
the February 1939 study of the Praga E-53-I conformed to the MNO (Ministry of National Defence) specification issued in 1936 for the Type IV (multi-place day/night light bomber). The first of two variants of this aircraft...
Engines: 2* Hispano Suiza-12Y-25 910 hp, wingspan: 17,5 m, length: 12,25 m. Other technical data were not preserved...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-53-I.png
 
Hi,
the Praga E-250 project underwent an interesting evolution in 1937-39. This is the first version of the project from March 1937, when it was supposed to be a four-seat aircraft. Engines: 2*Praga DR 75 hp, wingspan: 12,8 m, length: 8,7 m. Other technical data were not preserved...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-250-I.png
 
Hi,
the second variant of the Praga E-250 project from October 1937. This version was a six-seater and a variant with a nose gear was also developed. Engines: 2*Praga DR 80 hp, wingspan: 12,8 m, length: 8,7 m. Other technical data were not preserved...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-250-II.png Praga E-250-II-I.png
 
Hi,
the Praga E-215 project of October 1937 was to be a four-seat variant of the Praga E-115 (one prototype was built).https://www.valka.cz/Praga-E-115-t8829
The fuselage was to be welded from Cr-Mo steel tubes, the rest of the structure was all-wood. Engines: Praga D 75 hp, wingspan: 11,0 m, length: 7,75 m, height: 2,65 m. Other technical data were not preserved...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-215.png
 
Hi,
The original design of the four-seat Praga E-210 from November 1935 envisaged the use of two Praga D engines of 80 hp and retractable landing gear. Later calculations showed that the aerodynamic drag would not be reduced much, but the empty weight of the aircraft would increase, so this solution was abandoned...
The wing one-piece rectangular mid-section and trapezoidal outer section it had an all-wood structure. The ailerons of chromium-molybdenum-steel tube construction were covered with fabric. The fuselage had a truss structure welded from Cr-Mo tubes. Part of the fuselage around the cockpit was covered with plywood, the rest of the fuselage with fabric...
Wingspan 12.0 m, length 8.4 m, empty weight 670 kg, standard gross weight 1 150 kg, max. speed 230 km/h, cruising speed 200 km/h, service ceiling 4 000 m, climbing time to 550 m 3min., range 600 km, take-off distance 160 m, landing distance 200 m...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague Praga E-210.png
 
Hi,
during a recent visit to the NTM in Prague I discovered fragments of drawings that belonged to the original version of the Praga E-48 project. The overall dimensions and performance are not given, so I assume that they did not differ from the final version of the Praga E-48. https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/praga-early-projects.31893/#post-585540
Praga E-48-III-I.png Praga E-48-III-I_.png The overall three-view drawing is missing, this is my speculative version...
Praga E-48-III-II.png Praga E-48-III-II_.png Source: photos are from the book Czechoslovak Prototypes Vol.2, Jakab Jakab Publishing, drawing from the Bittner Collection of the NTM Prague
Praga E-48_4.jpg
 
Hi,
Praga E-51, fourth variant from March 1938. Only a fragment of the fuselage drawing is preserved in the NTM archive.
Praga E-51-IV.png
The second drawing is speculative... wingspan: 16.7 m, length 10,9 m. Other technical data were not preserved...
Praga E-51-IV_.png
Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
 
Hi,
the Praga E-451 fighter aircraft project of September 1938 was a thorough modernization of the Praga E-45 type. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praga_E-45#CITEREFGrey1972
The main parts of the fuselage were taken from the E-45 type and modified for a larger wing. Compared to the original E-45, the firepower of the weapons was doubled, as four machine guns (Type 30, 7.92 mm calibre) were used. Engines: Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI 710 hp, wingspan: 10 m, length: 7,75 m. Other technical data were not preserved...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-451.png
 
Hi,
In 1930, the Czechoslovak Ministry of National Defence (MNO) had a large number of licensed Škoda HS 8Fb (Hispano-Suiza 8Fb) engines of 300 hp at its disposal and therefore required a trainer aircraft for continued training that would carry this engine. The winning design was the Praga, designed by engineers Benes and Hajn, and designated BH-41 (E-41). The original military designation E-1 reflected the fact that the aircraft was accepted into the Air Force's armament as the first Praga design, later adopting a number identical to the manufacturer's E-41 type designation. The aircraft was flown on 15 September 1931.
The E-41 type had good flight characteristics (43 units of this aircraft were built), so the MNO showed interest in further deliveries of these aircraft. The stock of Škoda HS 8Fb engines (Hispano-Suiza 8Fb licence) from the 1920s was exhausted, so a prototype version of the E-141 with the ZOD-260 engine was produced. Persistent technical problems with the ZOD-260 engine eventually led to only one prototype of this version of the aircraft being built.
Ing. Jaroslav Šlechta (then chief designer) therefore chose the Walter Pollux II engine (340 hp) for the E-41 modernization and the modernized version was designated as Praga E-241.
Type E-241 was produced in 1936-37 and 95 units of this aircraft were built.
The last attempt to modernize the original E-41 design was the Praga E-341 project of 1937 with the Avia Rk-17 engine (360 hp), which was eventually not realized. Wingspan: 11,15 m, length: 8,35 m. Other technical data were not preserved...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-341_.png
 
Hi,
the design of the Praga E-200 was a response of the ČKD-Praga company to a competition announced by the Czechoslovak Ministry of Transport for a new transport aircraft in 1934. The construction of the E-200 did not deviate from the way Praga aircraft were built at that time, the novelty was the use of duralumin for the wing structure.
The wing was all-metal with one continuous box girder with dimensions 1.2 m*1.4 m, the wing ribs were made of duralumin. The rest of the wing was covered with fabric. The fuselage and engine nacelles were welded from Cr-Mo steel tubes. The front part of the motor nacelles was covered with duralumin, the rest with fabric. The fuselage covering was covered with fabric.
Engines: 2*Amstrong-Siddeley Tiger IV 720 hp, wingspan: 26,6 m, length: 23,8 m, height: 5,1 m, wing area: 110 m2, standard gross weight: 8 632 kg, max. speed at 0 m altitude: 285 km/h, max. speed at an altitude of 2 000 m: 320 km/h, service ceiling: 6 300 m.

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-200.png
 
Sarastro said:
Hi,
the design of the Praga E-200 was a response of the ČKD-Praga company to a competition announced by the Czechoslovak Ministry of Transport for a new transport aircraft in 1934. The construction of the E-200 did not deviate from the way Praga aircraft were built at that time, the novelty was the use of duralumin for the wing structure.
The wing was all-metal with one continuous box girder with dimensions 1.2 m*1.4 m, the wing ribs were made of duralumin. The rest of the wing was covered with fabric. The fuselage and engine nacelles were welded from Cr-Mo steel tubes. The front part of the motor nacelles was covered with duralumin, the rest with fabric. The fuselage covering was covered with fabric.
Engines: 2*Amstrong-Siddeley Tiger IV 720 hp, wingspan: 26,6 m, length: 23,8 m, height: 5,1 m, wing area: 110 m2, standard gross weight: 8 632 kg, max. speed at 0 m altitude: 285 km/h, max. speed at an altitude of 2 000 m: 320 km/h, service ceiling: 6 300 m.

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
View attachment 734898
Click to expand...
Many thanks to you my dear,and who is the other tenders ?.
 
Dear Hesham,
the pre-war Praga projects are closing with this type. There are no more in the NTM archives. Post-war ČKD-Praga projects will follow, but as this company was only briefly involved in aircraft production after 1945, there will not be many...

Praga E-200 in detail :)...

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
Praga E-200_.png
 
Sarastro said:
Hi,
the design of the Praga E-200 was a response of the ČKD-Praga company to a competition announced by the Czechoslovak Ministry of Transport for a new transport aircraft in 1934. The construction of the E-200 did not deviate from the way Praga aircraft were built at that time, the novelty was the use of duralumin for the wing structure.
The wing was all-metal with one continuous box girder with dimensions 1.2 m*1.4 m, the wing ribs were made of duralumin. The rest of the wing was covered with fabric. The fuselage and engine nacelles were welded from Cr-Mo steel tubes. The front part of the motor nacelles was covered with duralumin, the rest with fabric. The fuselage covering was covered with fabric.
Engines: 2*Amstrong-Siddeley Tiger IV 720 hp, wingspan: 26,6 m, length: 23,8 m, height: 5,1 m, wing area: 110 m2, standard gross weight: 8 632 kg, max. speed at 0 m altitude: 285 km/h, max. speed at an altitude of 2 000 m: 320 km/h, service ceiling: 6 300 m.

Source: Aviation archive NTM Prague
View attachment 734898
Click to expand...

I can make a speculations to the contenders;

Letov S-41a,Avia 56,Benez-Mraz Be.70 ? and Aero A.51 ?

 

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