Bulgarian Air Force Marks 111th Anniversary

UPDATED Bulgarian Air Force Marks 111th Anniversary

Konstantin Karagyozov

BTA Photo

Sofia,

16.10.2023 05:30 | UPDATED 16.10.2023 11:22

(BTA)

On October 16, Bulgaria celebrates its Aviation and Air Force Day. Monday marks the 111th anniversary of the first combat flight in this country’s history.

President Rumen Radev received the honour guard. Wreaths and flowers were laid at the Monument to the Airman, located next to the National Assembly in Sofia, on behalf of the President, the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Defence Committee, the Commander of the Joint Forces Command, the Commander of the Ground Forces, the Air Force Command, the Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, the Chief of the National Security Service, the General Directorate for Fire Safety and Population Protection, the US Embassy, the British Embassy, military attachés, organisations and citizens.

The solemn ritual was also attended by Minister of Defence Todor Tagarev, Deputy Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Mikhail Popov, Air Force Commander Major General Dimitar Petrov, military officers, MPs and citizens.

On October 16, 1912, lieutenants Radul Milkov and Prodan Tarakchiev made the first combat flight in Bulgarian history, throwing two hand grenades over the Karaagach railway station in Adrianople [later known as Edirne] in Turkiye. This was also one of the first combat flights in world history of aviation.

The first recorded event to have a direct relation to the creation of the Bulgarian Air Force was the tech expo in Plovdiv in 1892. The event was attended by the notable French aeronaut Eugene Godard who made a flight with a hot air balloon. On August 19, 1892, Bulgarian lieutenant colonel Vasil Zlatarov flew with Godard. On April 20, 1906, by the decree of Bulgarian King Ferdinand, an official Aeronautical Department was established with Zlatarov, then a captain, as its first commander.

In 1912, Bulgarian Simeon Petrov became the first aviator in the world to land a plane with an engine failure without crashing. Thanks to Petrov, a methodology for landing with an engine failure was developed. The Bulgarian pilot also carried out the world's first night bombing during the Balkan War (1912-1913).

Lieutenant colonel Stoyan Petkov, the first Bulgarian to make a solo flight on F-16, told BTA that Petrov also made the world’s first reconnaissance and bombardment over an enemy capital, Constantinople.

Bulgarian Rayna Kasabova was the first woman in the world to perform a combat flight. That flight was over Adrianople during the Balkan War, Petkov added.

In 1913, Bulgarian Milcho Mitev and Italian Giovanni Sabelli were the first to make a flight from one continent to another (from Europe to Asia).

/KK/