Kbely Aviation Museum (''Letecké Muzeum Kbely'') is the largest aviation museum in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and one of the largest of its kind in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It is located to the north-east of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, at the military airport Kbely.

Creation of the museum

During the mid-1960s, the Prague Military Museum commenced a programme to recover, restore and preserve historic aircraft from around the country for eventual display at Kbely. Initially, one

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

was used, and about fifty aircraft were placed on public display. The aircraft collection continued to grow, and one of the original Wagner-type hangars on the airfield was brought into use, and now contains the earliest aircraft types on display. Another Picha-type hangar has also been added to bring the number of hangars housing the large and varied collection to four.

The aircraft collection

The collection at Kbely now includes 275 aircraft, of which approximately 110 are on public display at any given time. The museum contains many Czech designed and Czech built aircraft dating from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and up to 1960's with a collection of supersonic jet fighters. Several unique types are on display, including the early 1920s-built

Avia BH-11 __NOTOC__ The Avia BH-11 was a two-seat sport aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1923, a further development of the Avia BH-9. The main changes in this version involved a redesign of the forward fuselage. 15 examples were ordered by the Cze ...

C L-BONK. The period before World War II is represented with aircraft such as the Avia B-534. World War II models include a Soviet-built

Ilyushin Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 ( Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...

Shturmovik, Avia S-92 (Czech version of Messerschmitt Me-262A Schwalbe in typical Czech colour), Avia CS-92 (Messerschmitt Me-262B Schwalbe in typical German camouflage), Lavochkin La-7. The formerly displayed fully authentic

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...

LF.IX flown by a Czech squadron of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

was transferred to the National Technical Museum in Prague in 2008. The post-World War II period is represented by aircraft such as the Avia S-199 and double seated Avia CS-199 (Messerschmitt Bf-109G with Jumo engine) and the Aero C3A (Siebel Si-204). In addition to the many military aircraft and helicopters on display, there are several Soviet-designed airliners, some of which were built under licence in Czechoslovakia. Airliners on display include the Avia 14M (

Ilyushin Il-14 The Ilyushin Il-14 (NATO reporting name: Crate) was a Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft that first flew in 1950 in aviation, 1950, and entered service in 1954. The Il-14 was also manufactured in Eas ...

), an Avia 14T, an ex-CSA

Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world ...

and a CSA

Tupolev Tu-104 The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a retired twinjet, medium-range, narrow-body turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second to enter regular service, behind the British de Havilland Comet, and was the only jetliner opera ...

. Light aircraft exhibited include the Czech-built

Praga E-114 Air Baby The Praga E.114 was a single-engine sport airplane, designed and manufactured by the Czechoslovakian company ČKD-Praga. Due to its light weight it was also called Air Baby. Design and development The Praga E.114, first flown in 1934 and desi ...

of 1936, a Mraz Sokol, an Aero 45, an Orlican L-40 Meta Sokol and a Zlin 22 Junak. Helicopters on display include a HC-2 Heli-Baby designed by VZLU (Výzkumný a zkušební letecký ústav). After 1 January 1993, when Czechoslovakia was divided, several aircraft were transferred from the collection to the

Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

for inclusion in that country's aviation museums. Also, in recent years, the museum has exchanged several Czech, and Soviet-designed aircraft for aircraft from the US, UK, Sweden, Switzerland and other countries. File:Vladimír Remek - modul.jpg, Soyuz 28 return capsule that

Vladimír Remek Vladimír Remek (born 26 September 1948) is a Czech, formerly Czechoslovak, politician and diplomat, as well as a former cosmonaut and military pilot. He flew aboard Soyuz 28 from 2 to 10 March 1978, becoming the first and only Czechoslovak in ...

returned to Earth in 1978 as the first non-American and non-Soviet cosmonaut in space File:Mil Mi-1M Hare 4003 (8259631014).jpg, Mil Mi-1 File:Mil Mi-24D Czech Republic - Air Force 0220, LKKB Kbely, Czech Republic PP1186488748.jpg,

Mil Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been ...

File:Letecké muzeum Kbely (188).jpg,

Mig-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

File:Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23U Czech Republic - Air Force 7905, LKKB Kbely, Czech Republic PP1186493022.jpg,

Mig-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generati ...

File:MiG-29 (2).JPG,

Mig-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the Mi ...

File:Avia B-534 (Kbely).JPG, Czech Avia B-534 File:Avia S-92.JPG, Czech Avia S-92 File:Yakolev Yak-17 30 white (8237936621).jpg,

Yakovlev Yak-17 The Yakovlev Yak-17 (russian: Яковлев Як-17; USAF/ DOD designation Type 16, NATO reporting name Feather) was an early Soviet jet fighter. It was developed from the Yak-15, the primary difference being tricycle landing gear. The trai ...

File:Il-28U.JPG, Bomber Ilyushin Il-28 Beagle File:Letecké muzeum Kbely (140).jpg,

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

File:Letecké muzeum Kbely (145).jpg,

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

F Mk.8 File:T-33 Shooting Star at Letecké muzeum Kbely (138).jpg,

Lockheed T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

File:Tupolev TU-104A Czech Airlines (CSA), LKKB Kbely, Czech Republic PP1185955612.jpg,

File:Sukhoi Su-25.JPG,

Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: Грач ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Sovi ...

File:Letecké muzeum Kbely (76).jpg, Czech

Let L-200 Morava The Let L-200 Morava is a two-engine touring and light passenger aircraft of the 1960s, designed and produced by Let Kunovice in the Czech Republic. Development The Let L-200 Morava light twin-engine transport was preceded in production a ...

File:Letecké muzeum Kbely (125).jpg, Czech

Aero L-39 Albatros The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced in Czechoslovakia by Aero Vodochody. It is the most widely used jet trainer in the world; in addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flo ...

File:L-159 prototype.jpg, Czech Aero L-159 Alca

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{authority control Aerospace museums in the Czech Republic Aviation in the Czech Republic Museums in Prague

Creation of the museum

The aircraft collection

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography