Romanian Fighter projects of the 1930s and 40s

[NinjaGamer_5]

I found these while browsing the-blueprints.com, which i highly recommend checking out. Although a few of these aircraft had Wikipedia pages, they were very brief and didn't explain much, so i was wondering if any of you knew if they were actually used in combat or if they were armed at all.

p.s. this is my very first post discussion thing so idk very much on how to make it formal :-/

 

[NinjaGamer_5]

let me just add that to me these planes look kind of goofy. The IAR 13 looks like its high, and the IAR 14 looks like an alien.

 

[Apophenia]

All of these built IAR fighters have been covered elsewhere:
-- https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/i-a-r-romanian-aircraft-company.13412/#post-132728

If you go to the link, you will see that all of these designs sprang from the sole, 1931 IAR CV-11. That designation was from the initials of the two designers - Elie Carafoli and Lucien Virmoux. The other five designs were CV-11 evolutions designed by Carafoli alone.

All of these Carafoli designs were intended as fighters but funded more to develop the domestic Romanian design pool. None of the Carafoli fighters saw combat as they were eclipsed by superior Polish designs licensed by IAR - the IAR P.11b/P.11F and the IAR P.24 gull-winged fighters.

The overall purpose of the forum is to create a reference data base. As such - and in the interest of making your posts more formal - its probably better to avoid making superficial aesthetic judgements of historical aircraft designs.

 

[NinjaGamer_5]

All of these built IAR fighters have been covered elsewhere:
-- https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/i-a-r-romanian-aircraft-company.13412/#post-132728

If you go to the link, you will see that all of these designs sprang from the sole, 1931 IAR CV-11. That designation was from the initials of the two designers - Elie Carafoli and Lucien Virmoux. The other five designs were CV-11 evolutions designed by Carafoli alone.

All of these Carafoli designs were intended as fighters but funded more to develop the domestic Romanian design pool. None of the Carafoli fighters saw combat as they were eclipsed by superior Polish designs licensed by IAR - the IAR P.11b/P.11F and the IAR P.24 gull-winged fighters.

The overall purpose of the forum is to create a reference data base. As such - and in the interest of making your posts more formal - its probably better to avoid making superficial aesthetic judgements of historical aircraft designs.

thank you i will try to be a bit more formal

 

[hesham]

The IAR-81B was a little known variant,

Latest version of BoPi. Produced in 10 pieces from numbers 291 to 300. Armament as in the "81A" version. It uses the improvements that characterize I.A.R. 80C. Other data as in version "81A".

 

[Apophenia]

The IAR-81B was a little known variant,

Latest version of BoPi. Produced in 10 pieces from numbers 291 to 300. Armament as in the "81A" version. It uses the improvements that characterize I.A.R. 80C. Other data as in version "81A".

The problem with this 'IAR 81B' notion is that all IAR 80/81 serial numbers are accounted for (see below). This includes the quoted Numerele 291 to 300 - that Serie of BoPi all being designated as IAR 80Bs.

Numerous publications have also associated this 'IAR 81B' with the 241-250 Serie IAR 80C. The source of that confusion seems to spring from this serie originally being intended as BoPi but being built as fighters. But those 241-250 Serie airframes were never designated anything other than IAR 80C.

Regia Autonomă I.A.R. (Brașov) IAR 80/81 Serial Numbers

1-20 Serie IAR 80 : 1,000 hp IAR K-14 III C-36;* 4 x Browning FN 7.92 mm guns
- * The IAR 14K IIC-32 (IIc32) was the specified engine in the 18 Dec 1939 contract

21-50 Serie IAR 80 : 1,000 hp IAR K-14 IV C-32; 4 x Browning FN 7.92 mm guns
- Reinforcing band riveted to the fuselage exterior at station V; Goerz gunsight
-- IAR 80 nr. 50 tested with twin underwing bomb racks

51-75 Serie IAR 80 : Lengthened fuselage; standardised on IAR 80 no. 50 mods
- IAR 80 nr. 75 modified on production line as prototype BoPi variant

76-90 Serie IAR 80A: 1,000 hp IAR K-14 IV C-32; 6 x Browning FN 7.92 mm guns
- First 6-gunned variant; fitted with IAR 80 nr. 75's modified flaps as standard

91-105 Serie IAR 81 : Production BoPi variant;* 1 x 225-250 kg bomb cradle
- * BoPi airframes incorporated automatic flap-retraction following bomb drop
-- From IAR 81 nr. 96, fuselage reinforcing plate was relocated to the interior

106-130 Serie IAR 80A: Distinguished from earlier IAR 80A by lateral reinforcement belt
-- IAR 80A nr. 111 became IAR 80M testbed; trialled with 1,200 hp Junkers Jumo 211D

131-150 Serie IAR 80A: Further fuselage reinforcement; layered armour-glass windscreen

151-175 Serie IAR 81 : BoPi; added 91-105 Serie features to 131-150 Serie base
- 151-175 Serie also featured steel-reinforced flap mechanisms for dive-bombing

176-180 Serie IAR 80A: Armament of 4 x 7.92 mm FN + 2 x 13.2 mm FN machine guns
- IAR 80A nr. 176 swapped 2 x 7.92 mm guns for 2 x 13.2 mm FN guns (see IAR 80B)

181-200 Serie IAR 80B: As per no. 111 except 4 x 7.92 mm FN + 2 x 13.2 mm FN guns

201-211 Serie IAR 80B: As previous except mod. exhaust; 2 x underwing 100L drop tanks

212-230 Serie IAR 80A: BoPi version of 201-211 Serie; greater fuselage reinforcement
- Increased ammunition capacity for twin 13.2 mm FN Browning guns (from 300 to 350 rounds)

231-240 Serie IAR 81 : BoPi; as per 151-175 Serie IAR 81 except 2 x more bomb racks*
- Support struts for horizontal tailplane reintroduced; dive flaps modified for 75° extension
-- * Added underwing racks could accommodate 2 x 50 kg bombs or 2 x 100L drop tanks

241-250 Serie IAR 80C: Planned as a BoPi variant but completed as fighter-interceptors
- IAR K 14-1000 A; fixed armament of 4 x 7.92 mm FNs + 2 x 20 mm Ikaria (Oerlikon) guns

251-290 Serie IAR 80C: As 241-250 Serie IAR 80C but with self-sealing fuel tanks
- 251-290 Serie also distinguished by second oil cooler & modified pilot's head rest

291-300 Serie IAR 80B: BoPi variant; as per 181-200 Serie but with IAR 80C mods
- 291-300 Serie IAR 80B differentiated by addition under-fuselage 225 kg bomb rack
-- Note: Some sources list the 291-300 Serie as being IAR 80A models

301-450 Serie IAR 81C: Begun as BoPi series fighter-bombers; last delivered as fighters
- IAR K 14-1000 A; fixed armament of 4 x 7.92 mm FNs + 2 x 20 mm Mauser MG151/20 guns
-- Note: Some sources list this as the 301-461 Serie, perhaps for incomplered IAR 80Cs

NB: The IAR 80M and postwar IAR 80DC were purely conversions of existing airframes.