Ikarus S-49
The Ikarus S-49 was a Yugoslav single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft built for the Yugoslav Air Force (Serbo-Croatian: Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna obrana – RV i PVO) shortly after World War II. Following the Tito–Stalin Split in 1948, the Yugoslav Air Force was left with an aircraft inventory consisting of mostly Soviet aircraft. Unable to acquire new aircraft or spare parts for its existing fleet, they turned to its domestic aviation industry in order to create an indigenous design to fulfill the need for additional aircraft.
| S-49 | |
|---|---|
| An Ikarus S-49C on display at the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade, Serbia | |
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Ikarus Aircraft Factory |
| Designer | Kosta Sivčev, Svetozar Popović, Slobodan Zrnić |
| First flight | June 1949 |
| Introduction | 1950 |
| Retired | 1961 |
| Primary user | Yugoslav Air Force |
| Number built | 158 |
| Developed from | Rogožarski IK-3 |
The result was the S-49A, designed by Kosta Sivčev, Svetozar Popović and Slobodan Zrnić, on the basis of the pre-war Rogožarski IK-3. The S-49A was surpassed by the improved S-49C, featuring an all-metal construction and a more powerful engine. A total of 45 S-49A and 113 S-49C were produced by the Ikarus Aircraft Factory in Zemun. The last aircraft were retired from service in 1960/61, having been replaced by more modern jet-powered aircraft.