Bulgaria marks first military aircraft flight over Sofia

On August 13, 1912, Bulgaria marked a milestone in aviation history with the first flight of a Bulgarian military aircraft over Sofia. Lieutenant Simeon Petrov piloted the Blériot XI, the first aircraft purchased for the Bulgarian army, flying from an improvised airfield near the Sofia railway station.

Petrov had previously trained at Louis Blériot’s flight school in Étamp, France, alongside Hristo Toprakchiev and Nikifor Bogdanov. During his training, Petrov famously developed a landing methodology for aircraft with failed engines after experiencing an engine failure at an altitude of 1,400 meters. The three Bulgarian pilots completed their course in just 35 days, earning pilot licenses that ranked them among the first 1,000 pilots in the world.

The Blériot XI used in the flight was a monoplane modified to meet military reconnaissance needs. Following the successful flight, Petrov later conducted what is noted as the first reconnaissance flight over an enemy capital, Constantinople, during the Balkan War.