1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Avia bh-3: Zdenek Sigmund Tyrlik· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Avia BH-3 was a fighter plane built in Czechoslovakia in 1921. Conceptually a descendant of the BH-1 sports plane, it was a braced, low-wing monoplane of conventional configuration and tailskid undercarriage. Following favourable trials in June 1921, ten examples were ordered by the Czechoslovak Air Force.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · low wing · 10.2 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 105 years ago, in 1921.
- Top speed is 1.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 10.2 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1921
- introduced
- 1923
- retired
- 1927
- status
- retired
- number built
- 14
- role
- fighter
- origin
- First Czechoslovak Republic
- makers
- Avia
- engines
- 1× BMW IIIa inline / BMW IIIa
- length
- 7 m
- wingspan
- 10.2 m
- height
- 2.8 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,025 kg
- top speed
- 225 km/h
- range
- 450 km
- ceiling
- 8,000 m
- wings
- low wing
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q790753, Wikipedia: Avia BH-3 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.