KEA Chelidon
Encyclopedia
The Chelidon (Χελιδών, meaning 'Swallow' in Greek, also spelled in English as Helithon) was the first airplane developed by the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
EAF (KEA)
KEA (aircraft)
The State Aircraft Factory of Greece, usually known through the acronym KEA is the most historic Greek aircraft manufacturer, originally known as the EAF .- History :...
aircraft factory with management provided by Blackburn Aircraft Limited at the time. According to one source, it was designed by Charles H Lowe-Wylde, although in the contemporary Jane's edition it is mentioned that "it was designed largely by Greeks" (under the supervision of Mr. Wylde), according to Greek Navy specifications. Its development was completed in a virtually record time of 8 weeks, and first flight was made on February 11, 1927. It was a two-seater military biplane designed for advanced training and other roles including reconnaissance. It could also be transformed into a hydroplane. It used a Salmson 120 hp engine (future variants were to use Armstrong Siddeley
Armstrong Siddeley
Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury motor cars and aircraft engines.-Siddeley Autocars:...
Lynx engine) and had a maximum speed of 150 km/h. An order was originally placed (December 1926) by the Greek Navy for 18 aircraft but no further production followed, as, after the three month test flight period, it was considered inferior to alternative proposed models. The example built was used for technical personnel training at KEA and was most probably scrapped in 1938.