HA-200 "Arrow of Seville"
The HA-200 "Saeta" (arrow) is a twin jet engine advanced fighter trainer and attack aircraft designed under the supervision of the famed Willy MesserschmittThe aircraft was built for the Spanish air force by Hispano Aviacion (HASA) in Seville, Spain. The HA-200A & B models are powered by the French built Turbomeca Marbore II engines generating approximately 880 lbs. of thrust each. The C & D models had more powerful Turbomeca engines and the HA-220 Super Saeta fighter was built exclusively for combat. The aircraft was characterized by the unique arrangement of the two engines mounted in the nose of the aircraft with their exhaust duct thrust pipes running inside the wing box (center section), with the exhaust flow streaming beneath the wing trailing edge. The Spanish air force designation was the E-14.
The prototype (HA-200 R-1 or XE14-1) first flew in August of 1955. Production started in 1959 with the first of these to fly in 1962. Production came to an end in 1972 when HASA was taken over by its competitor CASA which needed to make room in the factory for its line of transports. The HA-200 is often referred to in the United States as the "CASA jet" which is certainly a misnomer.
The HA-200 was originally intended for wide scale use in the Federal Republic of Germany. Messerschmitt had great hopes that the trainer would become a part of the German air forces and eventually be produced in his Augsburg factory. The aircraft was always known and promoted in Germany as the ME-200. This never came to pass as the Federal Republic of Germany decided to go with the French built Fouga Magister instead. The United Arab Republic built a total of 95 HA-200B models under license at the Helwan Aircraft Factory outside of Cairo.
During their service life with the Spanish air force the Saeta were know for their operational reliability and high safety record. They were eventually decommissioned in 1982. Many were scraped, but many found their way to museums in Europe. A number of them made it to the United States and are still flying today. Genesee Warbirds currently has three flying examples including two A models and one B model, all on loan from private collectors.