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Su-7 bomber to stand out at historic military equipment displays
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia and its independent armed forces, this year's NATO Days in Ostrava & Czech Air Force Days will provide a remarkable presentation of equipment connected to event’s participants' and partners' history. As a reminder of the post-war era, the Czech Armed Forces will bring decommissioned equipment of the Czechoslovak People's Army to Mošnov Airport, and the Su-7 tactical bomber will be one of the most impressive pieces.
Rather than being scrapped, decommissioned aircraft are preserved at bases, which operated them, to remind of the history of the base and its units. These aircraft are not, however, capable of flying anymore, therefore due to the need of land transport, they are showed to public on very rare occasions.
“We would like to present a number of historic aircraft, so far we can confirm a static display of the Su-7 bomber which will be brought from the Náměšť nad Oslavou Air Force Base,” specifies Deputy Chief of the General Staff Maj. Gen. Jiří Verner. „It will be a logistically very demanding operation because the bomber needs to be dismantled, transported to Mošnov Airport, then put together, and the same way transported back to the base. Nevertheless, commemoration of the centenary of Czechoslovakia is worth it,” adds Verner.
Despite the fact that Su-7 was designed for air combat, it did not prove itself in this role. On the other hand, the Su-7B modified version was much more successful and became the main fighter-bomber and ground-attack aircraft in the inventory of the Soviet bloc countries. The Czechoslovak Air Force acquired them in 1964 being their first foreign operator.
It was expected that Su-7 will be capable of carrying nuclear weapons. In addition, it was also assumed that the aircraft would have to operate from rough fields and was thus fitted with skids affixed to the sides of the main landing gear. Despite having short combat radius or high landing speed, which required long runways, Su-7 was popular among pilots thanks to its flight characteristics, simple controls, considerable high speed at low altitudes and easy maintenance.
Numerous countries of the Eastern Bloc operated these aircraft. They were also operationally deployed by Egypt in wars against Israel, and India used them extensively in the clashes with Pakistan. To this day, North Korea is the only country that still operates them actively.
Besides Su-7, this year's NATO Days in Ostrava & Czech Air Force Days will present other historic aircraft and ground forces equipment from both the interwar period and post-war era, which will be provided by the Silesian Museum, Military History Institute Prague, and other partners and participants in order to show the development of the Czechoslovak and Czech Armed Forces over the past 100 years.
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