The I.A.R.80 Story

History

The I.A.R. 80 was Romania's best indigenously produced fighter of World War Two. First test flown in late 1938 or early 1939 by pilot Dimitru "Pufi" Popescu, it entered service in 1942 and remained in front-line use until 1944.

The manufacturer was Industria Aeronautica Romana {I.A.R.}, based in Brasov in central Romania. Formed in 1925 under state control, the firm drew upon the experience of licence-building many aircraft and engines including the Potez 25, Moraine-Saulnier 35, Fleet 10-G, and a pair of Polish PZL fighters, the PZL P.11 and P.24. The I.A.R. 80 shared the PZL P.24e's tail, rear fuselage and engine design, the rest was all-new. Work began on the I.A.R. 80 in late 1937, the open cockpit prototype was fitted with the 940 hp. I.A.R. K14-III C36 engine which was similar to the Gnome-Rhone 14K Mistral Major. After the initial flight trials the more powerful I.A.R. K14-1000a powerplant was installed and the wing span, area and length were slightly increased.

The I.A.R. 80's flying characteristics were reported to be excellent, highly maneuverable with heavy firepower. A pressurized cockpit was provided and there were several variants, the I.A.R. 81 was a dive-bomber and long-range fighter. Production ceased in January 1943. The I.A.R. factory in Brasov was heavily damaged by Allied bombers in April-May 1944. In 1950 the Aircraft Repairing Shops {ARMV} in Bucharest remanufactured a number of I.A.R. 80's into a two-seat trainer version, the I.A.R. 80 D.C., in the Pipera Industrial Complex. The trainer retained the original's excellent aerodynamic qualities.

The fighter was deployed on home defence in the Bucharest and Ploesti areas as well as in the attack role on the Eastern front during 1942-3. It was sometimes mistaken by Allied pilots for the Focke-Wulf Fw-190.
A number of I.A.R. 80's were scrambled against the well-publicized USAAF mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania on 1 August 1943. The B-24s of Ninth Bomber Command took very heavy losses from flak, fighters {Bf-109s and I.A.R. 80s} and navigational errors. The Ploesti raids of July 9 and 15, 1944 were met by about 25 I.A.R.80 sorties.
After World War Tzwo, the Russians shipped home the entire I.A.R. factory and all aircraft from Brasov, as "war reparations". There was even a joke around, at that time: Do you know the Principle of Lavoisiev? Nothing is lost, everything is transported.

Sometime in the mid-eighties, a group of enthusiasts in Brasov dug up every original part they could find, built what they couldn't find, and now an I.A.R. 80 is proudly on display at the National Military Museum in Bucharest, see the picture below.