Rogozarski SIM-XIV-H
Encyclopedia
The Rogozarski SIM-XIV-H was a 1930s Yugoslav coastal reconnaissance floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
and light bomber, twin-engined, with three crew members. It was designed and built at the Rogožarski factory in Belgrade.
Design and development
In January 1937, the Yugoslav Navy Air Service issued a specification for a twin-engined coastal reconnaissance aircraft, to replace the Ikarus IO flying boatFlying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
.
To meet this requirement, Rogozarski proposed the SIM-XIV-H, a twin-engined floatplane designed by Sima Milutinovic, and this type was selected by the Yugoslav navy, with the first prototype making its maiden flight on 8 February 1938.
The SIM-XIV-H was a low winged monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
of mixed wood and metal construction, with an oval section monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
fuselage. The wing was braced to the fuselage by steel-tube struts, with the tail also braced. It had a glazed nose, with a gun turret armed with a single machine gun mounted above the nose. The pilot and radio operator/gunner sat in tandem under a long canopy, with the observer also armed with a single machine gun. The rear fuselage was fabric covered, while the moving tail surfaces were metal clad.The elleptical wing was of wooden construction,and was clad in plywood. It was powered by two 240 hp (179 kW) Argus As 10
Argus As 10
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9*Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0-517-67964-7...
C air-cooled V-8 engines driving fixed two-bladed propellers, also designed by engineer. S. Milutinovic. Two Alclad
Alclad
Alclad is a trademark of Alcoa used as a generic term to describe corrosion resistant aluminium sheet formed from high-purity aluminium surface layers metallurgically bonded to high strength aluminium alloy core material. These sheets are commonly used by the aircraft industry...
floats made by the EDO Corporation
EDO Corporation
EDO Corporation was an American company, which was acquired by ITT Corporation in 2007. EDO designed and manufactured products for defense, intelligence, and commercial markets, and provided related engineering and professional services. It employed 4,000 people worldwide and had revenues of $715...
were attached to the engine nacelles and fuselage.
Testing of the prototype was successful, with the aircraft demonstrating good handling, and the type was ordered into production. The first batch of six SIM-XIV-H, known as the Series O, differed from the prototype in having the turret removed from the nose and the tail modified. The second batch of six aircraft, the Series 1, had a cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
wing, eliminating the bracing between the wing and the fuselage, and had 270 hp (201 kW) Argus As-10 engines driving metal two-pitch propellers
Controllable pitch propeller
A controllable pitch propeller or variable pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change their pitch...
.
A third batch of 12 aircraft was ordered in 1940, with 450 hp (336 kW) Argus As 410
Argus As 410
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9* Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London. Studio Editions Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0-517-67964-7...
, but construction was interuppted by the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941. Plans for a landplane trainer adaptation of the SIM-XIV-H were also abandoned.
Operational history
All the SIM-XIV-H and SIM XIVB-Hs were deployed to the naval bases at Divulje (near Split) and Kumbor (KotorKotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
). Before Yugoslavia entered the war, they were used to carry out the duties for which they were designed, with intense training activity due to the approaching threat of war. In that period, three aircraft were destroyed, with 16 aircraft remaining in Service when the Germans invaded Yugoslavia
These aircraft were used in the April war in operations against the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
s and Italians along the Adriatic coast, carrying out reconnaissance and aiding mining operations. Five aircraft were destroyed in the fight against the attacking forces. Four aircraft attempted to escape to Greece, of which two were destroyed and two reached British bases in Egypt via Crete. These two aircraft were used for reconnaissance missions over the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
until one was lost and the other scrapped because of lack of spares. Italy seized a total of eight aircraft, a SIM-XIV-H and 7 SIM-XIVB-Hs. One specimen was immediately transferred to the Test Center at Vigna di Valle, where it showed better results than found in testing in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
while the others were transferred to the aeronautical school at Orbetello
Orbetello
Orbetello is a town and comune in the province of Grosseto , Italy. It is located c. 35 km south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve.-History:...
, continuing in use for training and communications purposes until the end of 1942.
Operators
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- Royal Yugoslav Air Force 19 aircrafts
Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
- Regia AeronauticaRegia AeronauticaThe Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...
8 aircraft
United Kingdom
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
1 aircraft.
Variants
Rogozarski SIM-XIV-H- First variant with two Argus As-10c engines 240 hp, six built in 1939
Rogozarski SIM-XIVB-H
- Second variant with two Argus As-10e engines 270 hp, 12 built in 1940.
Specifications
- guns: 2x7,9 mm
- bombs: 1 х 100 kg; or 2 x 50 kg; or 12 x 12 kg
The basic aircraft weapons were against submarine bombs, the plane could carry a 100 kg bomb or two of the 50 kg. For the personnel action against the plane could carry 12 bombs, fragmentation of mass 12 kg. Typically, the aircraft was armed with two machine guns on board an observer placed in the nose and the other aircraft in the rear gunner's cockpit. Bombsight was made in Yugoslavia and the bombing of Viro in low flight also Brilet local sights.