Balonka and the Boží Dar airfield
1922 – 1939

Soldiers of the artillery balloon company in Milovice with a balloon of the brand Semperit

Based on experience from World War I, the Czechoslovak army created its own balloon units. Their task was to observe the battlefield from the sky, report enemy movements, and direct artillery fire at their positions. The observation balloon itself was filled with hydrogen and had a cigar shape for greater stability. For faster retrieval, it was tied to the spool of a motorized winch. The balloon crew consisted of two to three balloonists who reported their observations to the commander by telephone from the gondola.

The balloon company hangar, built in 1925–1926, became a dominant feature of Milovice for a long time. It was demolished in the 1960s.

Balloon over the Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Milovice.

Balloon Company No. 1 was formed in Milovice in 1922. The place where its barracks and hangar stood is still to this day called Balonka. In addition to their own training, the aeronauts from Milovice participated in various competitions. Major Ježíšek and Captain Mikoláš broke the Czechoslovak altitude record in 1933 when they climbed above 2,600 meters in an unattached balloon. The last military balloons were moved from Milovice to Příbram in September 1936.

Originally Austro-Hungarian Brandenburg C.I aircraft, which were produced in Czechoslovakia as the Aero A-15.

The Milovice military airport was built near the Boží Dar farm in 1923–1924. The landing strip was grassy and allowed the landing of almost all types of military aircraft. Tents were used instead of hangars until the 1930s. Drop zones were established in the surrounding area of the airport for bomb-dropping and live-round training. Air units in Milovice often rotated, most of them subordinated to the 1st „T. G. Masaryk“ Air Regiment.

A glider for pilot training, that got nicknamed “The Milovice seagull”.

A number of outstanding Czechoslovak pilots served on the Boží Dar airport. One of these was the air king František Novák, who was winning international acrobatic competitions. Noteworthy are also later RAF aces František Peřina and Miroslav Mansfeld. During the Munich crisis, scouter planes Aero A-100 and Avia B-71 operated from Milovice. After the nazi occupation, the Boží Dar airfield was taken over by the German military in March of 1939.

Š-16 aircraft of the 72^nd squadron.

Did you know that…? The Czechoslovakian airspace was violated by spy balloons coming from the nazi Germany. In September of 1934, 2 German balloons appeared in close proximity to the Milovice training camp. Czechoslovak aircraft forced them to land near the village Křečkov na Nymbursku. Because it was known, that the German army confiscated all of the sport balloons, the intruders were arrested by the gendarmeries and their later fate is unknown.