List of Bulgarian military equipment of World War II

The following is a list of Bulgarian military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. During World War II Bulgaria was a neutral country until 1 March 1941. Then it allied with the Axis Powers until 9 September 1944 and then it aligned with the Allies for the rest of war.
Melee Weapons.
Sabres.
On 01.12.1939 the Bulgarian army had 18 256 sabres and 1 059 field knives.
The Bulgarian Police gradually eliminated during the 1930s the use of the old sabres by the police officers and by 1940s only the mounted police kept their cavalry sabres (402 by 01.12.1940). 500 more cavalry sabres were produced for the police in a workshop in Sofia in 1942 and then 2000 former French army cavalry sabres were supplied in 1943–1944.
Small arms.
Pistols and Automatic Pistols.
8 444 pistols available on 01.12.1939 with the Bulgarian army
44 851 pistols were available with the Bulgarian army on 01.09.1944. In 1945 the Soviet deliveries included around 6 000 TT pistol, of which 4 921 are available on 01.01.1946.
The Bulgarian Police had its own supply of pistols. On 01.12.1940 it had 8 002 9mm pistols, 1 034 7.65mm pistols and 215 6.35mm pistols, including 800 ČZ vz. 38, 350 Sauer 38H, 650 Sauer Model 1930, 3 000 Beretta M1923, 120 7.65mm Melior Mod. 1920, Mauser Model 1914, Walther Model 4, 3 924 7.65mm and 9mm Parabellum P-08, etc. Deliveries continued during the war including 1 300 ČZ vz. 38, 120 CZ 36, 1 500 ČZ vz. 27, 520 Parabellum P-08, 5 000 Walther P38, 1 400 Walther PP, 500 Walther PPK, 3 000 Star Model B, etc.
The Bulgarian Partisans were using a wide assortment of pistols. It is estimated they had 3 180 pistols by 09.1944.
Submachine guns.
By 01.09.1944 the Bulgarian army has 11 033 sub-machine guns (SMG), 1534 of these are lost in the fighting by the end of the year. 01.1945 - 9320 9mm SMG are still available. In 1945 massive soviet arms deliveries included 10 615 SMG - 7.62mm PPSh-41 and PPS-43
The Bulgarian Gendarmerie formed in 1944 to fight the partisans and supplied from the army stocks also used several hundred SMG, mostly MP 40 and MP 41.
The Bulgarian Police was supplied independently from the army and also had SMG. In fact in 1939 only the police had a modest number of SMGs (20 MP-18/1, 70 MP-28/2), while army had none. The deliveries to the police during the war included 300 MP28/2, 2400 MP 41 (1941-1944), 500 Suomi KP/-31 (1942)
The Bulgarian Partisans also used in 1941-1944 a significant number of SMGs (2040 estimated by 09.1944). Besides the captured police and army ones, they also used Allied and Soviet supplied ones like PPSh-41 and Thompson submachine gun
By 01.01.1946 the Bulgarian army had 3043 ZK-383, 5440 MP 40, 6152 PPS-43 and 4421 PPSh-41.
Rifles and Carbines.
There were also some deliveries of Italian Carcano rifles - 8000 in 1943–1944, former Yugoslav army's Model 24 Mausers - approximately 6–8000. In 1945 the Soviet Union supplied 978 Mosin-Nagant sniper rifles and 5-6000 SVT-40 automatic rifles.
On 01.12.1939 the Bulgarian army had 225 276 rifles Mannlicher and 112 608 carbines Mannlicher and 69 493 rifles Mosin-Nagant.
On 01.09.1944 the Bulgarian army had 219 649 rifles and 227 312 carbines.
On 01.01.1945 the Bulgarian army had 207 800 rifles and 140 000 carbines.
The Bulgarian Police had on 01.12.1940 6 363 Mannlicher Carbines, mostly converted domestically from rifles. In 1940-1944 Mannlicher parts and used rifles and carbines are supplied (4 600 second-hand rifles and carbines and parts for 12 200 more) and the older Carbines in use are slowly discarded. By 31.03.1943 - 8 834 carbines are available with the Police. The number increased to 12 509 carbines and 1000 rifles at the beginning of 1944. In 1941 after the occupation of Yugoslavia and Greece, the Germans supplied to the Bulgarian Police 2 954 former Greek Army Mannlicher–Schönauer mod.1903/14 and 3 530 former Yugoslav army FN Model 24 and Model 30 - Mauser Mod. 1924 and 1929. In 1943 after the Italian units on the Balkans have been disarmed, 28 800 Carcano rifles and carbines have been given to the Bulgarian Police - 18 000 were given to the Municipal Police, 3 300 to the State Police, the others were used as reserve or to arm paramilitary units. In 07.1943 the Bulgarian Police also bought 2600 Mosin–Nagant and supplied these to the Municipal Police. The Municipal Police and the Paramilitary units were also using a wide assortment of older pre-WWI vintage rifles and carbines like Berdan rifle, Mauser, etc.
The Bulgarian Partisans used a wide assortment of older and contemporary rifles and carbines of various origin, estimated to number approximately 7 600 by 09.1944.
Grenades and grenade launchers.
Bulgaria had a long tradition (since the beginning of 20th century) of producing its own hand grenades This was continued in the Interwar period and during World War II in the State Military Factory at Kazanlak
German supplied hand grenades were also used like:
The Bulgarian Police had its own modest supply of grenades - 1 954 available on 01.12.1940. It was supplied both from the Bulgarian State Military Factory and from German deliveries, as well from captured Allied and Soviet airdrop deliveries to the Bulgarian partisans.
The Bulgarian partisans were using the grenades cited above, its own illegally produced grenades and Allied and Soviet supplied grenades like the British No. 36 Mk. 1 Mills bomb
Soviet Union supplied in 1944-1945 some 300 000 grenades, like RGD-33, RPG-6, etc.
There was one rifle grenade launcher used in the period:
Recoilless rifles.
NA
Infantry and dual-purpose machine guns.
The Bulgarian Army had 4 252 light machine Guns and 3 296 heavy machine guns on 01.12.1939. By 01.09.1944 the numbers had risen to 10 328 light machine guns and 5 191 heavy machine guns. After the first phase of the war with Germany a number of these were lost and 01.01.1945 the Bulgarian army had 8 555 light machine guns (5 340 8mm Madsen, Zbrojovka and Steyr MG-30 and 3 215 7.92mm MG-34) and 4 605 heavy machine guns (3 505 8mm Maxims and Schwarzlose and 1 012 7.92mm MG-34). The first Soviet deliveries arrived in 1945 and included 762 DP-28, 562 PM M1910 и 37 DShK 1 362 DP-28, 717 PM M1910 and 2 DShK are shown as available on 01.01.1946
The Bulgarian Police had their own modest number of machine-guns, supplied independently from the Army. Thus on 01.12.1940 it had 27 machine guns, both heavy and light - a curious mixture of Maxim gun, Lewis gun, Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun and Chauchat - mostly leftover trophies from World War I and/or seized during police actions. 42 additional light machine guns ZB vz. 27 are bought in 1941 and then in 1943 50 heavy machine guns Ckm wz. 30 and 100 Browning wz. 1928 were bought from Germany in 1943 from the trophies from the 1939 Polish Army. Then finally on 09.1943 200 MG-34 were supplied to the police. Thus the Police had on 01.07.1944 50 heavy and 342 light machine guns. Of these the 50 heavy machine guns and 100 MG-34 were transferred to the newly formed Gendarmerie.
The Bulgarian Partisans also had machine-guns. It is estimated they had 54 heavy machine guns and 531 light machine guns by 09.1944, including Soviet and Allied deliveries.
Artillery.
Infantry mortars.
The Bulgarian army used German and Austro-Hungarian supplied mortars in World War I. Most of these mortars (380 by the end of World War I) were handed over to the Allied Control Commission after the war with 40 officially remaining as allowed weapons of the much reduced Bulgarian army by the Neuilly treaty. These "Erhardt" mortars were obsolete by mid-30s, so one of the first delivery priorities for the Bulgarian army in the years before World War 2 was to obtain modern mortars.
The Bulgarian army had 367 mortars on 01.12.1939. By 01.09.1944 the availability was increased to 2198 80mm mortars and 800 50mm mortars. On 01.01.1945 the army had 1465 (1595 by other sources) M34 and Rheinmetalls, 380 Brandts and 698 50mm M36. Soviet equipment arrived in 1945 - 278 82mm 82-BM-37 and 90 120mm 120-PM-43 mortar
The Bulgarian partisans also had a few mortars - 9 by 09.1944
Heavy mortars & rocket launchers.
NA
Field and Mountain artillery.
Field Guns.
The Bulgarian divisional artillery in World War 2 still retained quick-firing 75mm field pieces of pre-World War I origin that were coming of diverse sources:
Usually in the Bulgarian Army documents this motley of Schnedier and Krupp 75mm guns is simply listed as 75мм полски оръдия ("75mm field guns") or 75мм возими оръдия ("75mm horse-drawn guns"), which makes it difficult to differentiate between the models listed above. It is known that during the World War I until 09.1918 340 of the above-mentioned guns were put out of action (but most were repaired or replaced) and 40 more captured by the Entente forces. 707 75mm field guns were available in 09.1918 just before the Allied Offensive with the number dropping to 487 at 01.01.1919. 248 were officially listed as captured in September 1918 by the Entente forces. Then a number of guns were destroyed by the Allied Control Commission after the war as per the Neuilly treaty restrictions, but some were retained as officially permitted weapons and quite a lot were hidden and later retaken into service. Thus on 01.12.1939 the Bulgarian army still had 412 of these 75mm guns. At the end of 1942 there were 276 75mm "Schneider" and 215 75mm "Krupp" in the Bulgarian army. In 05.1943 there were 394 75mm field guns, in 08.1944 - 474 75mm field guns and in 01.1945 - 421.
There were a number of modernization efforts in 1930-1940s carried out in Bulgaria of these 75mm field guns which involved:
Each Bulgarian Divisional Artillery Regiment had 1-2 artillery battalions with 12-24 75mm field guns (3-6 batteries) during the World War II.
Mountain Guns and Howitzers.
The Bulgarian army had 189 75mm mountain guns on 01.12.1939, including:
48 of the old Schneider and Krupp quick firing mountain guns were still in service in 08.1944
In 05.1943 there were 200 mountain guns in the Bulgarian army.
Each Bulgarian Divisional Artillery Regiment had 1 artillery battalion with 12 75mm mountain guns (3 batteries) during the World War II. There were also separate artillery battalions (4 batteries with 16 guns in total) on army level (4 in total)
Field Howitzers.
During World War I Germany supplied 172 of the following models of 105mm field howitzers:
Also a similar model was captured from Romania in 1916-1917:
120 of the above-mentioned types of 105mm field howitzers survived the war (incl. 67 L/12 and 45 L/20 and L/22, etc.) 117 were available in 08.1944, 91 in 01.1945. In 1943-1944 these old 105mm howitzers underwent modernization at the State Military Factory similar to the one of the 75mm field guns and including:
Howitzers supplied in the Interwar period and during World War II included:
Each Bulgarian Divisional Artillery Regiment had 1-2 artillery battalions with 12-24 105mm or 120mm field howitzers (3-6 batteries) during the World War II. The Army level (Heavy) Artillery Regiments (4 in total) also had 2 battalions with 24 105mm howitzers, as well as 1 battalion in the Motorized Artillery Regiment that was directly subordinated to the Bulgarian High Command. The Army level regiments and the HQ Arty Regiment were using the most modern howitzers available and capable of motorized traction, as these 5 regiments were fully motorized, unlike the divisional artillery regiments, which were (apart from the one in the Armoured Brigade and the one in the Cavalry Division) entirely horse-drawn.
Heavy Artillery.
The above guns were used also in World War II, with 22 available in 12.1939, 24 in 08.1944 and 23 in 01.1945. In 1935-1937 these were modernized by creating a special towed carriage for motor traction - in 1936 a group of artillery technicians led by Marin Aleksandrov developed special towed carriages from second hand rear axis of discarded trucks "Benz" and "Renault" from WWI for towing by Pavesi tractors. Projects for replacing the worn barrels, modernizing the springs and the recoil mechanisms, etc. were also developed, but there is no data that these have been actually carried out.
The Bulgarian army had 5 regiments of heavy artillery - 4 were army ones (each army was supposed to have one, but 5th was never formed) and 1 (formed in 1942 and containing the heaviest calibres available 105mm to 220mm) was directly subordinated to the Bulgarian army High Command. All were motorized, with the army ones having 4 battalions (usually 2 of 105mm and 2 of 150mm) and a ATG battery and the High Command one 5 battalions.
Coastal Artillery.
In 12.1939 Bulgaria had 2 battalions of coastal artillery (defending the Black sea ports of Varna and Burgas respectively) with 28 old guns, including:
In 09.1940 Bulgaria acquired from Germany 5 more guns (former naval ones, received in 1942):
After the occupation of Aegean Thrace, in 05.1941 a new coastal artillery battalion was formed there. Initially Bulgaria have been loaned from the German Heeres-Küsten-Artillerie-Abteilung 829:
By 1944 the coastal artillery has expanded to 4 artillery regiments - 2 on the Black sea (Varna and Burgas) and 2 on the Aegean sea (Kavala and Dedeagach/Alexandroupolis). In 1943-1944 under the Barbara programme the following guns were supplied from Germany as coastal artillery:
In 05.1944 six Pz. Kpfw.38(t) turrets were supplied from Germany and installed in the Aegean coast defenses.
In 09–11.1944 the coastal artillery units along the Aegean retired along with their guns into Bulgaria along the Bulgarian troops. Their guns were distributed to the existing defenses alongside the gulfs of Varna and Burgas on the Black sea.
The coastal artillery was also using searchlights - it is known that 2 110mm searchlights were delivered along with the 17 cm SK L/40 guns and 3 150mm searchlights were used on the Black sea coast as well
Anti-tank guns.
The Bulgarian army did not have any Anti-tank guns by 1939, only the 20mm Solothurn anti-tank rifles.
Thus the available Ant-tank guns in 08.1944 were 220 75mm PaK 40, 100 75mm Pak 97/38, 404 50mm Pak 38, 450 37mm Skoda and 100 37mm PaK 36.
On 01.01.1945 the respective availability was 203 75mm PaK 40, 100 75mm Pak 97/38, 362 50mm Pak 38, 279 37mm Skoda and 90 37mm PaK 36.
The Soviet Union delivered in mid-1945 90 45 mm anti-tank gun M1942 (M-42)
Anti-tank weapons (besides anti-tank guns).
On 01.12.1939 the Bulgarian army had 308 anti-tank rifles (all Solothurns). That number increased to 263 PzB 39 and 302 Solothurns on 01.01.1944, 308 PzB 39 and 276 Solothurns in 08.1944. 260 and 240 respectively were available on 01.01.1945. 203 and 293 on 01.01.1946. In 1945 Soviet deliveries included 300 PTRS-41 and PTRD-41 during the war and further deliveries increased the Soviet ATR in the Bulgarian army to 424 by 01.01.1946
Anti-aircraft weapons.
By 1935 Bulgaria had only 5 anti-air guns, leftovers from the World War I - 3 8.8 cm Flak 16 and 2 7,5 cm Räder B.A.K. These were retained and used during the war for additional air defense of the military factories at Sopot and Kazanlak equipped with an additional optical rangefinder (kommandohilfsgeraet Zeiß).
Heavy anti-aircraft guns.
Three sources and claim that 76 mm air defense gun M1931 were used from 1946 in the Bulgarian army, but no data for supply of such guns can be found, as after the war Soviet Union was supplying 37mm and 85mm guns. One theory is that these are 12 captured guns, used during the war by the German forces to defend its facilities in Varna on the Black Sea Coast, which were then abandoned during the retreat from Bulgaria.
Vehicles.
Tanks.
In 1945 the following tanks were delivered from the Soviet Union to Bulgaria as trophies: 14 Panzer V, 51 Panzer IV, 3 Panzer III, 1 Turan I. 6 more Panzer V were delivered in 1946. All except Panzer IV and Panzer III were scrapped by 1948
Self-propelled guns.
In 03.1945 the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian front delivered to the 1st Bulgarian army directly the following trophies: 3 Sturmgeschütz III, 2 Sturmgeschütz IV, 4 Hetzer, 2 40M Nimrod, 2 Semovente 47/32. These formed a separate assault guns battery (the 9 StuGs and Hetzers) and a recon platoon (the Italian and Hungarian vehicles) to the 1st army tank battalion. In addition the Bulgarians captured 1 abandoned Jagdpanzer IV in April 1945.
In 1945 in total Bulgaria received from the Soviet union the following self-propelled guns: 9 Sturmgeschütz III, 1 StuH, 2 Sturmgeschütz IV, 3 Jagdpanzer IV, 6 Panzer IV/70, 5 Hetzer, 3 Hummel, 2 40M Nimrod, 2 Semovente 47/32. 1 Wespe arrived in 1946. All were scrapped in 1946–1948, except for the Sturmgeschütz IV, Panzer IV/70 and Jagdpanzer IV, which were scrapped in 1958
The first Soviet Su-76 arrived in 1946 - by 1950 156 were supplied.
Armored cars.
In 1945 a limited number of armoured cars is received from the Soviet Union trophies - 1 Sd. Kfz. 260/261, 1 Sd.Kfz. 251 and 1 AB-41. In the first post WW2 years a total of 21 BA 64B were supplied.
Command and reconnaissance.
In 06.1940 there were 134 two-axle command and reconnaissance cars. In 10.1941 there were 32 three-axle and 151 two-axle command and reconnaissance cars in the Bulgarian army and 4 three-axle and 1 two-axle command and reconnaissance cars in the Bulgarian Navy. In 10.1943 there were 10 three-axle reconnaissance cars and 2 rescue three-axle cars Tatra in the Bulgarian Air Force. In 05.1944 there were 40 three-axle and 600 two-axle reconnaissance cars in the Bulgarian army
21 command and reconnaissance cars were lost in 09.1944 during the retreat from Macedonia and Serbia 1395 cars (incl. passenger, training, etc.) were available in 10.1944 - 1041 participated in the war against Germany., 64 two-axle command and reconnaissance cars were lost. 439 light and reconnaissance cars were available in 03.1945 with the 1st Bulgarian army fighting within the 3rd Ukrainian front 6 were lost in 1945 236 two-axle command and reconnaissance cars have been captured as trophies by the Bulgarian army by 15 September 1945.
Trucks.
In 06.1938 the Bulgarian army had 405 three-axle (Steyr, Morris, Tatra) and 547 two-axle trucks. In 06.1940 the Bulgarian army had 807 three-axle and 532 two-axle trucks, 8 fuel tankers, 18 radio vehicles, 3 mobile workshops. In 10.1941 the Bulgarian army had 784 three-axle trucks, 1653 two-axle trucks, 15 fuel tankers, 3 bakery trucks, 34 radio trucks, 1 sanitary bus, 19 mobile workshops, 13 special purpose vehicles and 12 passenger buses. At the same trime the Bulgarian air force had 36 three-axle trucks, 164 two-axle trucks, 40 fuel tankers, 8 photo laboratory trucks, 8 radio trucks, 61 mobile workshops, 4 special purpose vehicles. In 10.1943 the Bulgarian Air Force had 154 two-axle trucks, 24 three axle trucks, 19 buses, 6 workshop trucks, 40 petrol cisterns, 2 photo laboratory cars, 4 fire cars. In 05.1944 there were 800 three axle trucks, 3500 military trucks, 1200 mobilized civil trucks, 60 petrol cisterns, 5 fire trucks, 47 workshops, 50 military buses, 343 mobilized civil passenger buses in the Bulgarian army
In 09.1944 158 trucks were lost during the retreat from Serbia and Macedonia. Another 345 were captured as trophies from the Soviet army in Bulgaria when Soviet forces moved into Bulgaria and were not returned. In 10.1944 there were 2669 trucks available with the Bulgarian army. 2061 participated in the war against Germany in 1944, 395 were lost. 1433 trucks were available in 03.1945 with the 1st Bulgarian army fighting within the 3rd Ukrainian front, 14 were lost 368 trucks have been captured as trophies by the Bulgarian army by 15 September 1945
Passenger cars.
In 06.1938 there were 253 passenger cars in the Bulgarian army In 06.1940 there were 245 passenger cars in the Bulgarian army In 10.1941 there were 266 passenger cars in the Bulgarian Army and 25 in the Bulgarian Air Force In 10.1943 there were 24 passenger cards in the Bulgarian Air Force. In 05.1944 there were 500 military and 500 mobilized civil cars in the Bulgarian army
19 training and passenger cars were lost in 09.1944 during the retreat from Macedonia and Serbia Another 107 were captured as trophies by the Soviet army in early September during its occupation of Bulgaria and never returned A total of 1395 cars(incl. command and reconnaissance) were available in 10.1944 - 1041 participated in the war against Germany. 63 light passenger cars were lost in October to December 1944. By 15 September 1945 441 light passenger cars were captured as trophies by the Bulgarian army.
Ambulances.
In 06.1938 there were 160 ambulances in the Bulgarian army In 06.1940 there were 258 ambulances in the Bulgarian army In 10.1941 there were 263 ambulances in the Bulgarian army and 27 in the Bulgarian Air Force In 05.1944 there were 331 military ambulances and 41 mobilized civil ambulances in the Bulgarian army, as well as 1 surgical bus and 4 X-ray buses
8 ambulances were lost in 09.1944 during the retreat from Macedonia and Serbia Another 62 were captured as trophies by the Soviet army during its occupation of Bulgaria and were never returned. There were 491 ambulances available in 10.1944 with the Bulgarian army - 420 participated in the war against Germany, 52 were lost 275 ambulances were available in 03.1945 with the 1st Bulgarian army fighting within the 3rd Ukrainian front, 1 was lost 40 ambulances have been captured as trophies by the Bulgarian army by 15.09.1945
Motorcycles.
In 06.1938 there were 156 motorcycles in the Bulgarian army. In 06.1940 there were 135 motorcycles in the Bulgarian army In 10.1941 there were 97 motorcycles without sidecar and 152 motorcycles with a sidecar in the Bulgarian army and 7 motorcycles without sidecar and 44 with sidecar in the Bulgarian Air Force 
172 motorcycles were lost in 09.1944 during the retreat from Serbia and Macedonia. Another 243 were captured as trophies by the Soviet army during its occupation of Bulgaria in 09.1944 and were never returned. There were 1758 motorcycles available in 11.1944 with the Bulgarian army - 1485 participated in the war against Germany, 292 were lost 673 motorcycles were available in 03.1945 with the 1st Bulgarian army fighting within the 3rd Ukrainian front, 21 were lost 350 motorcycles have been captured as trophies by the Bulgarian army by 15.09.1945
Tractors & prime movers.
In 06.1938 there were 59 artillery tractors in the Bulgarian army
Later additions included:
In 10.1941 there were 381 artillery tractors in the Bulgarian army and 35 in the Bulgarian air force. In 10.1943 there were 12 tractors in the Bulgarian Air Force In 05.1944 there were 830 tractors in the Bulgarian army
59 tractors were lost in 09.1944 during the retreat from Macedonia and Serbia Another 20 were captured in 09.1944 by the Soviet army during its occupation of Bulgaria. In 10.1944 there were 612 tractors with the Bulgarian army - 532 participated in the war against Germany in 1944, 78 were lost. 272 tractors were available in 03.1945 with the 1st Bulgarian army fighting within the 3rd Ukrainian front, 7 were lost 4 tractors have been captured as trophies by the Bulgarian army by 15.09.1945 - 1 Sd.Kfz. 9, 1 Sd.Kfz. 8, 1 Renault UE etc.
Navy ships and war vessels.
The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine of 1919 restricted the already insignificant Bulgarian Navy to 4 torpedo boats (without torpedoes) and 6 patrol boats for police and protection of fisheries needs. The ships could not be over 100t, and should be only lightly armed. Submarines and naval aviation were prohibited.
Thus in 1920 the Navy was transformed into a Sea Trade Police Service and River Trade Police Service, both under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Labour. The Sea Police Service was based in Varna and had:
In 1921 the Bulgarian government bought from France the following ships:
The Navy in the interwar period also had some auxiliary ships, like:
In 1938 with the official lifting of the Neuilly treaty restrictions, Bulgaria begun to slowly modernize its navy. It acquired:
In 1939 Bulgaria also ordered three small U-boat from Germany (413tons, 16/8.5 knots, 5 533mm torpedo tubes) and even paid them in advance in 1942, but never received these.
Bulgaria was also capable of building small boats and the Navy received in 1940s:
In 1942-1944 Bulgaria also produced for the Germany the following ships:
Also as auxiliary ships, the Bulgarian Navy used:
Aircraft.
The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine forbade Bulgaria to have a military aviation and what military aviation equipment existed in Bulgaria was almost totally destroyed by the Allies in 1920. Some aircraft and equipment were hidden by the Bulgarian authorities and later reused, and successive Bulgarian governments managed to keep and expand the existing cadre of pilots and technicians by creating a civil aviation and a nascent aviation industry in the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s, but it is safe to say that by the mid-1930s, Bulgaria had in practice no military aviation. The existing mixture of planes had very little military value and almost no armament (leftover machine guns and bombs from World War I) was present even to arm those.
Bulgaria started to rearm openly in the field of aviation in 1936, although the Neuilly treaty military restrictions were only officially lifted in 1938. Of the countries approached to supply planes, only two actually agreed - Germany and Poland. Thus the Bulgarian aviation in World War II was a mixture of German (and later ex-Czech or ex-French) and Polish planes, supplemented by the local aviation industry, which managed to produce trainers and army cooperation planes.
Fighters.
The first Soviet supplied fighters - 120 Yakovlev Yak-9s arrived in summer of 1945.
Bombers.
In 1939 Bulgaria also ordered from Poland 12 (or 15) PZL.37 Łoś and 12 PZL.46 Sum, but the start of the World War II prevented the delivery.
The first Soviet supplied bombers - 120 IL-2M3 and 98 Petlyakov Pe-2 arrived in summer 1945.
Reconnaissance.
In 1938-1939 Bulgaria also ordered from Poland 60 LWS-3 Mewa with an option to license-build these, but the start of the World War II prevented the delivery.
As mentioned above in the bomber section, the Bulgarian Air Force Long Range Reconnaissance Unit was using several Dornier Do-17Ps in 1943-1945.
Missiles & bombs.
From 1936 until 04.1943 Bulgaria imported 94 000 airplane bombs of German, Polish and Czech origin. The Polish imported bombs consisted of 1000 12.5kg and 340 50kg bombs imported in 1938-1939.
On 01.12.1939 the Bulgarian Air Force had only 9 50kg bombs, 137 12.5kg bombs and 5414 "pear-shaped" bombs