CASA E3B

Serial Number: E3B-521
Period: Post-WWII
Collection Ref: 1997/0100/A
Location: RAF Museum London, Battle of Britain Hall

The CASA E3B is a licence-built example of the German Bucker Jungmann which shares the honour, with the British de Havilland Moth and Tiger Moth, of being one of the greatest European elementary training biplanes ever built.

Designed in 1933 and first flown a year later the Bu131 Jungmann proved an instant success. It could hardly have appeared at a better time and it soon received large orders for the para military DLV (The German Air-Sports Association). In 1936, the Luftwaffe adopted the Jungmann as one of its primary trainers.

The considerable success of the Bu131 Jungmann as a primary trainer resulted in large orders from, and licence production arrangements with, a number of European nations and Japan. Spain was one of the earliest customers. Over a hundred German-built Jungmanns were delivered to the Spanish Nationalist side in the civil war. A total of 500 Jungmanns were built by the Construcciones Aeronauticas S.A. (CASA) in Spain. The first 200 had German Hirth HM504 engines but the remainder were powered by versions of the Spanish ENMA Tigre G-IV.

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