Екінші дүниежүзілік соғыстағы румындық ұшақтар

Romanian WW2 fighter bomber

The IAR 80 was a Romanian World War II low wing monoplane, all metal monocoque fighter and ground attack aircraft. When it first flew, in 1939, it was comparable to contemporary designs being deployed by the airforces of the most advanced military powers such as the Hawker Hurricane and Bf 109E. Production problems and lack of available armament delayed entry of the IAR 80 into service until 1941. It remained in frontline use until May 1945.

In order to ensure that the Royal Romanian Air Force (ARR) could continue to be supplied with aircraft in time of war, the government subsidized the creation of three major aircraft manufacturers in the 1920s and 1930s. The first was Societatea Pentru Exploatări Tehnice (SET) which was formed in Bucharest in 1923. Next came Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR) which set up shop in Brașov in 1925. Finally there was Întreprinderea de Construcții Aeronautice Românești (ICAR), which was founded in Bucharest in 1932. In 1930 the Romanian government issued specifications for a new fighter. Although the government was not anticipating bids from its own aircraft industry, IAR produced several prototypes in response to the tender. The contract was eventually won by the Polish PZL P.11. The ARR purchased 50 of a modified version called the P.11b, all of which were delivered in 1934. A second contest was also fought between the newer IAR 14 and PZL P.24 designs, and once again the PZL design won a contract for another 50 aircraft. Although IAR's own designs had not entered production, they nevertheless won the contracts to build PZLs and Gnome Rhone 14K engines under license. As a result of these and other licence contracts the company had enough money to fund a design studio even if its designs never went into production. Despite losing to PZL, an IAR design team led by Ion Grosu continued work on fighter designs. He was convinced that the low wing design of the IAR 24 represented a better design than the PZL gull wing design, which was often referred to as the "Polish wing". Once again the team studied the new PZL fighter looking to incorporate its best features into a new aircraft, and the result was the IAR 80.

Work began on the IAR 80 prototype in late 1937, originally with an open cockpit and the IAR K14 III C32 engine which was a licensed Gnome Rhône 14K II Mistral Major. The prototype was completed slowly, and first took to the air in April 1939. Test flights of the prototype were impressive; the aircraft could reach at , service ceiling of with the ability to climb to in 6 minutes, which was respectable at the time, though not up to the contemporary Supermarine Spitfire or Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. In comparison the PZL P.24E was almost 450 kg lighter, yet over 80 km/h slower with the same engine. The IAR 80 also proved to be enjoyable to fly and was maneuverable. A number of minor problems turned up during the prototype phase, and were dealt with over the next year. To improve power the design was updated to mount the newer C36 version of the K14 III. However this engine was slightly heavier than the C32, which required the rear fuselage to be stretched to move the center of gravity back into the proper position. The extra space in the fuselage allowed the fuel tanks to be increased in volume to The wing was also enlarged and the tail was revised to eliminate the bracing struts. A side effect of this extreme rearward position was that the pilot had even worse forward visibility while taxiing than most other taildraggers. To address this somewhat, the pilot's seat was raised slightly and a bubble canopy was added. The updated prototype was tested competitively against the Heinkel He 112, which had arrived in Romania as the start of a potentially large order. Although the He 112 was more heavily armed with two machine guns and two 20 mm cannon, the ARR ordered 100 IAR 80s in December 1939 while only 30 He 112s were accepted. The government in Bucharest ordered another 100 IAR 80s in August 1940. Further orders for batches of 50 IAR 80s followed on 5 September 1941 and 11 April 1942, then another 100 on 28 May 1942, to be followed by 35 of the IAR 81C development in February 1943, with a further 15 in January 1944. The first aircraft began production in January 1940, and by 10 July the first IAR 80 took flight, followed by the 2nd on 19 July. The first five aircraft were ready to be delivered in November 1940, with the first batch of 20 being delivered by the middle of February. By April, all 50 initially ordered IAR 80s were delivered.

When Operation Barbarossa started, the IAR 80 equipped Esc. 41, 59 and 60 of Grupul 8 Vânătoare (8th Fighter Group), part of the Gruparea Aerienă de Luptă (GAL), that were tasked to support the Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies deployed at the southern flank of the Eastern Front. 8th Group was the only unit assigned a pure fighter role, while 5th and 7th Groups, equipped with German aircraft (Heinkel He 112s and Messerschmitt Bf 109s) were employed primarily as fighter bombers and bomber escorts. On 22 June 1941, during the first day of the offensive, the IAR 80 patrols had their baptism of fire, achieving a single aerial victory (claimed by Sublocotenent aviator Ioan Mihăilescu of Esc 60 Vânătoare, a future ace) during four separate air combats. However, at least four IARs force landed with battle damage, while another two suffered engine trouble. By the end of 1941, 20 IAR 80/81s had been lost in combat or accidents. During 1942 the Romanian aviation industry reached its highest output so that the Royal Romanian Air Force could be re equipped as follows: Esc. 47, 48 and 52 (Grupul 9 Vânătoare), Esc. 43, 44 and 50 (Grupul 3 Vânătoare) and Esc. 41, 42 and 60 (Grupul 8 Vânătoare) received the new IAR 80A. Esc. 53 also replaced its Hurricanes with the IAR 80A, while Grupul 6 Bopi (Bombardament în Picaj Dive Bombing) re equipped with the IAR 81. In June 1942, the operational IAR fighter forces on the eastern front, combined into the Flotilla 2 Vânătoare consisted of Grupul 8 Vânătoare, commanded by Cdr. Lt Col E. Pîrvulescu, and included Escadrila 41, Escadrila 42 and Escadrila 60 with 12 IAR 80As each. During the Battle of Stalingrad, on 12 September, the 8th Fighter Group's IAR 80Bs (along with the 7th Fighter Group's Bf 109s) claimed to have shot down seven Yaks but they lost two IARs. Grupul 8 moved at the end of September, to Karpovka, joining Grupul 7, equipped with Bf 109s. On 12 and 13 December, Grupul 6 used its IAR 81s to support the German counterattack by the Panzergruppe Hoth of the Heeresgruppe Don, from Kotelnikovo towards Stalingrad. In the summer of 1943 the ARR's IAR 80s were transferred to Romania for air defense duties, where they were used in combat against the United States Air Force. USAAF attacks were directed at the oil refineries installation around Ploiești, in particular. On 1 August 1943 the IAR 80 faced the Consolidated B 24 Liberator heavy bomber for the first time. There were 178 B 24s from 9th USAAF, part of Operation Tidal Wave. The IAR 80Bs of Escadrila 61 and 62 of Grupul 6 Vânătoare, as well as IAR 80Cs from the newly formed Escadrila 45 of Grupul 4 Vânătoare, together with the Bf 109Gs from Esc. 53 and Bf 110s from the Romanian night fighter squadron, dived on the low flying, four engined bombers, belonging to five USAAF bomber groups (the 44th, 93rd, 98th, 376th and 389th). The Americans lost – in combat or on the way back – 51 bombers. Only 89 reached their bases, of which only 31 were serviceable for a mission the next day. The Romanian pilots claimed 25 certain and probable victories for just two losses,

On 21 April 1944, IAR 81Cs of the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Fighter Groups took off to intercept B 17 and B 24 bombers which were targeting the Bucharest marshalling yard. While attacking the bombers, the Romanian fighters were engaged at high altitude by the escorting P 51 Mustangs of the 31st Fighter Group. In the aftermath of the air battle, the ARR lost 14 IARs and 11 pilots were killed, while the Americans reported 10 aircraft lost. On 10 June 1944, IAR 80s took part in a major air battle when the USAAF attacked Ploiești with 38 P 38 Lightnings of the 82nd Fighter Group carrying one bomb each, escorted by 39 Lightnings of the 1st and 82 FGs. The IAR 81Cs from Grupul 6, as well as the German fighters from I./JG 53 and 2./JG 77, intercepted the large American formation. Romanian pilot Dan Vizanty, commander of Grupul 6, recalled later:

The USAAF lost 22 P 38s on that day, The Romanians claimed 24 victories, suffering three losses. The Americans claimed 11 victories. Hatch saw two IAR 81Cs hit the ground after taking fire from his guns, and his fellow pilots confirmed three more kills from his guns. Three of his victories were confirmed by gun camera, while the other two by his wingman, making Hatch an ace in a day. However, the outnumbered 71st Fighter Squadron lost nine aircraft. The Americans never again repeated the P 38 dive bombing mission profile over Romania. But during 1944 USAAF aircraft appeared over Romania in more significant numbers. Many air combats occurred and by the time of their last encounter with the USAAF on 3 July 1944, pilots of Grupul 6 vânătoare had submitted 87 confirmed and ten unconfirmed claims. Casualties among the Romanian fighter pilots quickly mounted too. The three IAR 80/81 groups (the 1st, 2nd and 6th) in a period of less than four months – known as the "American Campaign" – had at least 32 IAR pilots killed in action, including 11 aces. These losses exceeded the number of casualties suffered in the previous two and a half years of fighting against the Soviets. Because of heavy losses, all IAR 80/81 units were withdrawn from combat against Americans in July 1944 and IAR pilots started to convert to the more modern Bf 109G 6s. Another IAR 80 static replica can be found at the National Aviation Museum at the defunct Pipera Airport in Bucharest, which was rebuilt from IAR 80DC two seat trainer parts. As of 2017 few attempts have been initiated to produce an airworthy accurate replica of the IAR 80 based on existing factory documentation and recovered components. A flying IAR80 is still to be seen. Since 2020, the Fly Again volunteer association is currently developing an airworthy replica of the IAR 80 which will be named IAR 80FA (Fly Again) and will carry the board number 451, where the original production left off.

The IAR 80 appears in the historical fiction book Eighty Flights of a Not So Much Of A Fighter Pilot by Cătălin Pogaci.