The history of AEKKEA, an aircraft maker based in Greece is connected with the fascinating history of a talented German aircraft designer, Antonius Raab (or Antonio Raab, as he was often called after his involvement in Spain). In Germany Raab was the co-founder of Raab-Katzenstein, an aircraft maker. A devoted anti-nazi, Raab was forced out of his homeland, and after attempts to establish his company in Estonia and Latvia, ended up in 1935 in Greece where he had the support of a high-ranking Air Force Officer. He founded his company called AEKKEA (from the Greek terms "Anonymos Etaireia Kataskevis Kai Ekmetalleuseos Aeroplanon", or, in French - the "international" language employed in Greece at the time - "Societe Anonyme Pour la Fabrication et l'Exploitation des Avions Raab") in Phaleron, near Piraeus, later moving it to nearby Moschato.
The company employed Greek staff (including management), but a number of German technicians had also followed Raab in Greece. Its first reported types were (or were related to) models from Raab's previous company, including the Pelikan trainer and touring plane, the R-26V trainer and light fighter, the R-27 single-seat fighter, the Schwalbe (I/II) and the Tigerschwalbe IV multi-role military aircraft. Except for the Schwalbe, and, possibly, a Pelikan, no production is verified for any other of the particular types; the company nonetheless possessed the designs and production rights. The first "job" of the new company was an order from Austria for two Schwalbe and two Tigerschwalbe, which were built under licence by Pintsch in Vienna. No further Austrian orders were made, under German pressure. At least one Schwalbe II was active with the Austrian Air Force when that country was annexed by Germany. The Turkish government had also at some point expressed interest in the Schwalbe. AEKKEA also produced dozens of gliders on modified German designs (Gruene Post, Grunau Baby and Zoeglin types, sold and used locally), as well as a large number of spare parts for other aircraft and a variety of specialized equipment for the Greek armed forces, some exports also being made.
In 1936 Raab's design division in the Greek company designed some new types. These were the R-29 and Tigerschwalbe 33 military aircraft and the R-52 bomber and transport plane. Of those, the first two were to be produced for the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War - which Raab supported - while the third probably remained a design. Raab had to deal with the legal complications of supplies to Spain in that period; a commercial office of the Greek company was set up in Paris, while a subsidiary was created in Spain. The main and more complex parts and equipment of the aircraft were built in Athens (parts of the construction were undertaken by at least another Greek company, a constituent of Pyrkal defense industry) and shipped to Spain. There, the Spanish subsidiary undertook assembly and completion, including fitting of engines, in an ex-textile factory in Sabadell under Raab's supervision. According to Raab, a total of 60 (i.e., 30 of each type) aircraft were half-finished, when they were shipped along with the construction plans to the USSR. Raab was arrested as a "German spy", but managed to escape and returned to Greece in 1938. During the German attack Raab escaped the country and eventually ended up in India where he set up an aircraft factory producing gliders. In 1949 he returned to Europe, living in Germany and Italy until 1985.
References
* L.S. Skartsis and G.A. Avramidis, "Made in Greece", Typorama, Patras, Greece (2003).
* Jane's "All the World's Aircraft" (1936-1937 ed.)
* Antonius Raab, "Raab Fliegt (Erinnerungen eines Flugpioniers)", Reihe Konkret, Hamburg (1984).
