Aero A.14

A.14s provided by the Czechoslovak Air Force served to survey routes that CSA airliners would soon fly, and at least 17 were put into service as mail planes between Prague and Bratislava.

It was built in large numbers by three manufacturers (Hansa-Brandenburg, Phönix Flugzeug-Werke and Ufag), with 1258 aircraft delivered by 31 October 1918, after which reliable delivery records are not available.

[1] The Hansa-Brandenburg C.I was one of the first aircraft types to be operated by the newly formed Czechoslovak Air Force, with some aircraft being flown to Czechoslovak airfields at the end of World War One and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and others being rebuilt from damaged examples found in factories and warehouses.

By November 1919, the Czechoslovak Air Force had 46 airworthy C.Is, and in 1920 it purchased another 15 surplus machines from Austria, although further deliveries from that source were stopped by the Inter-Allied Commission that monitored the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the peace treaty that ended the state of war between the Allies of World War I and Austria.

[3] The A.15s were delivered from March to August 1923, and were used for several roles within the Czechoslovakian Air Force's frontline units, including reconnaissance, bombing, artillery direction and as an intermediate trainer.

[5] A.15s were also used in trials of spraying against Black arches (also known as Nun moths), an early example of crop dusting.

[5] The Aero A.14 suffered from excessive engine vibration, and served for a relatively short time with the Czechoslovakian Air Force, with aircraft being transferred to the military transport group for evaluation, starting flying airmail trials in March 1923 between Prague and Bratislava in March 1923.

[3] The A.15 had a much longer career in front line service, serving until about 1930, when the deteriorating physical condition of the aircraft led them to be withdrawn from use and sold to civil users such as flying clubs.