Design and Development
The DAR 10 was designed by Zvetan Lazarov in 1938 in the DAR (Darzhavna Aeroplanna Rabotilnica, meaning literally 'State Airplane Workshop') factory in Bozhurishte, near the capital Sofia.
The DAR 10 was a single-engine two-seat (pilot and gunner) low-wing cantilever monoplane aircraft of conventional layout. Its two seats were in tandem under enclosed glazing. Its tailwheel undercarriage was fixed, and the main gears were spatted. the wings had wooden structure, covered with plywood. Flaps were not used.
The fuselage was comparatively wide and deep, to accommodate the nose-mounted radial engine. It was constructed of steel-tube framework and wood formers, covered with fabric.
Three-bladed steel propellers were used.
Two prototypes were built, powered by different engines:
- DAR 10A Bekas (Bulgarian: "snipe"), powered by an Alfa Romeo 128 R.C.21 9-cylinder radial engine rated at 950 hp (709 kW). This was the first DAR 10 to fly, on 2 July 1941. It was designed to carry four machine guns (2 fixed forward-firing and 2 in rear gunner position). It could carry five 100-kg bombs, mounted under the wings. There was also the possibility of a fixed 20 mm forward-firing cannon installation in the forward fuselage.
This aircraft crashed in October 1942. In spite of good flight reviews, the type was not chosen for production. The high-wing KB-11 Fazan was selected for production instead.
- DAR 10F (the "F" to indicate its Fiat engine), powered by a Fiat A 74 R.C.38 14-cylinder radial engine rated at 870 hp (649 kW). This aircraft first flew in March 1945. It was slightly heavier and longer than the DAR-10A. Its top speed was 454 km/h (282 mph). Thanks to a stronger construction and dive flaps, it could serve also as a dive bomber. It could be equipped with two fixed fuselage-mounted 20 mm cannons firing forward, two fixed wing-mounted machine guns, and two machine guns for the gunner. It could carry one 500 kg (1,100 lb) bomb or 1 x 250 kg (551 lb) and 4 x 100 kg (110 lb). The bombs would be mounted under the fuselage and wings.
The DAR-10 was not selected for production. Some sources suggest that it was passed over in favor of the German Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber, while the improved DAR-10F was not selected as World War II had ended and Bulgaria had access to ample supplies of modern Soviet aircraft such as the Ilyushin Il-2 and Il-10.
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