Škoda-Kauba
An Austrian inventor with a friend in Göring got his own firm inside the Škoda empire and filled three war years with flying-bomb testbeds, a ramjet fighter and one short-lived trainer.
Škoda-Kauba: the company and the aircraft that made its name
A friend of Göring
Škoda-Kauba existed because of one man’s connections. Otto Kauba, an Austrian engineer, had an idea for a flying bomb, and his personal friendship with Hermann Göring led to a joint venture with the giant Škoda Works in occupied Czechoslovakia. The Škoda-Kauba Flugzeugbau opened in Prague in 1942, and Kauba’s fertile, unconventional mind went to work.
Strange little testbeds
Its first products were piloted testbeds for the flying bomb’s control system: the tailless V1A with elevons on trailing booms, which crashed on its first flight, the V1, which flew after a fashion, and the swept-wing V2. When the flying bomb was dropped, parts were cannibalised into ever stranger prototypes, among them a twin-boom pusher later modified to test controls for a Blohm & Voss fighter. Kauba also designed the P14, an interceptor built around a huge Lorin ramjet, cancelled in 1944.
The SK 257 and the end
The one conventional success was the V4 fighter trainer, very fast for its 240 hp. The RLM ordered an enlarged SK 257 with an Argus As 410, and four prototypes performed well, but production was given to the nearby Avia factory, quality failed Luftwaffe inspections and the order was cancelled after five production aircraft. The company ended with the liberation of Prague in 1945. Kauba went home to Austria and designed its first post-war type to fly, the OK-15.
Škoda-Kauba in numbers
Het bedrijf
- Kortom
- Opgericht in 1942
- Joint venture of Otto Kauba and the Škoda Works
- Based in Prague
- Closed with the liberation of Prague, 1945
Productie
- Het meest bekend om
- SK 257
- SK 257: 9 built (4 prototypes, 5 production)
- Experimental V1–V7 testbeds
- P14 ramjet fighter design, unbuilt
Vandaag
- Nu
- Opgeheven
- Kauba later designed Austria’s first post-war aircraft to fly, the OK-15
Most of its designs never left the prototype stage.
De cijfers
- SK 257 built
- 91943–1944
Every notable Škoda-Kauba aircraft
| Vliegtuig | Rol | Eerste vlucht | Gebouwd | Status | Opmerking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Škoda-Kauba V1 / V1A / V2 | Flying-bomb control testbeds | Gepensioneerd | V1A crashed on its first flight | ||
| Škoda-Kauba V4 | Fighter-trainer prototype | 3 | Gepensioneerd | Argus As 10C engine | |
| Škoda-Kauba SK 257 | Fighter trainer | 1943 | 9 | Gepensioneerd | Production by Avia cancelled over quality |
| Škoda-Kauba SL6 | Control-system testbed | Gepensioneerd | Tested controls for the Blohm & Voss P208 | ||
| Škoda-Kauba P14 | Ramjet interceptor project | Gepensioneerd | Cancelled 1944 |
Where Škoda-Kauba built, who led it, what it achieved
Fabrieken
- Prague works · Prague — Opened 1942
Mensen
- Otto Kauba · founder, designer — Later designed the Austrian OK-15
- Eugen Sänger · engineer — Developed the ramjet unit behind the P14
Škoda-Kauba, year by year
Škoda-Kauba Flugzeugbau opens in Prague
SK 257 prototypes fly
Ramjet project and P14 cancelled
SK 257 order cancelled after five production aircraft
Company ends with the liberation of Prague
Everything people ask about Škoda-Kauba
What was Škoda-Kauba?
Did Škoda-Kauba aircraft enter production?
What happened to Otto Kauba?
Was Škoda-Kauba related to Avia?
Around Škoda-Kauba
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Geverifieerd op 3 oktober 2026.