1950's AVIA Czech Aviation Aircraft Truck Company Sea Bird Logo Pin Badge

The pin on sale here is a 1950s AVIA logo pin, it is made from gold coloured metal with baked coloured enamel. It has a stick pin fastener and is 1.4cm in diameter.

Avia was founded in 1919 and during the 1930s the factory became the biggest aircraft producer in Czechoslovakia and moved to Letňany. During World War II Avia produced aircraft for the German Luftwaffe. After the war the company was nationalized and became involved in the automotive industry. It manufactured aircraft up to 1963, then continued to make aircraft engines (producing only propellers from 1988) and targeted truck production. The company was split in 1992 into propeller and truck sections, both using the Avia brand.

After the war, Czechoslovakia's aircraft industry was left with a lot of uncompleted Messerschmitt Bf 109 airframes but no Daimler-Benz engines, and a lot of Junkers Jumo engines but no bomber airframes. These parts were combined into the Avia S.199. The bomber engine gave too much torque at high power, as when taking off, and combined with the narrow undercarriage, this meant many accidents. The bigger engine made the S.I99 nose heavy, which was a particularly bad way to be during landing. Due to its awful handling characteristics and mismatched parentage, the S. 199 was nicknamed the Mezek ('Mule'). Desperate for any sort of fighter, Israel bought 25 in 1948. Although a valuable morale booster, the S.199s were as dangerous to IAF pilots as to the enemy, and three-quarters were written off within a year.