Rogožarski IK3

The Rogožarski IK-3 was a 1930s Yugoslav monoplane single-seat fighter, designed as a successor to the Ikarus IK-2 fighter. Its armament consisted of a hub-firing 20 mm (0.79 in) autocannon and two fuselage-mounted synchronised machine guns. It was considered comparable to foreign aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109E and came into service in 1940. The prototype crashed during testing; twelve production aircraft had been delivered by July 1940.

Six IK-3s were serviceable when the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941. All six were in service with the 51st Independent Fighter Group at Zemun near Belgrade. Pilots flying the IK-3 claimed 11 Axis aircraft had been shot down during the 11-day war. According to one account, to prevent them from falling into German hands, the surviving aircraft and incomplete airframes were destroyed by their crews and factory staff. Another account suggests that one aircraft survived the invasion and was later destroyed by sabotage. The IK-3 design was the basis for the post-war Yugoslav-built Ikarus S-49 fighter.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in)
• Height: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
• Wing area: 16.5 m² (178 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 2,048 kg (4,515 lb)
• Gross weight: 2,630 kg (5,798 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 330 l (73 imp gal; 87 US gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Avia-built Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs liquid-cooled V-12 piston engine (980 hp (730 kW) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft))
• Propellers: 3-bladed adjustable pitch

Performance

• Maximum speed: 527 km/h (327 mph, 285 kn)
• Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn)
• Range: 785 km (488 mi, 424 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 9,400 m (30,800 ft)
• Time to altitude: 7 minutes to 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
• Wing loading: 159.4 kg/m² (32.6 lb/sq ft)

Armament

• 1 × Oerlikon FF 20 mm cannon
• 2 × 7.92 mm Browning/FN machine guns with 500 rounds per gun

Photographs of scale models of the Rogožarski IK3 can be found here