AEKKEA - RAAB The history of AEKKEA ( " Anonymos Etaireia Kataskevis Kai Ekmetallefseos Aeroplanon " - " Societe Anonyme Pour la Fabrication et l ' Exploitation des Avions Raab " ) , an aircraft maker based in Greece , is connected with the history of a talented German aircraft designer , Antonius Raab ( his first name alternatively known as Antonios , in Greek , and Antonio , in Spanish after his involvement in Spain ) . Establishment . In Germany , Raab was the co - founder of Raab - Katzenstein , an aircraft manufacturing company . 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 ( Gen . P . Gazis ) . With this support , he and his Greek partners founded a company called " AEKKEA " ( which stood for " Anonymos Etaireia Kataskevis Kai Ekmetallefseos Aeroplanon " , or , in French , the " international " language employed in Greece at the time " Societe Anonyme Pour la Fabrication et l ' Exploitation des Avions Raab " ) . The company was legally established on October 20 , 1935 , by Antonius Raab , Apostolos Agnidis , Konstantinos Bitzios and Georgios Sarigiannis , with headquarters in Piraeus ( to be moved it in 1937 to nearby Phaleron ) . Construction was undertaken by Pyrkal defence industry until AEKKEA ' s own factory in Moschato started operation in 1937 . Original activities . The company employed Greek staff ( including management and engineers like Greece ' s best known aircraft engineer , Georgios Pangakis ) , but a number of German technicians had also followed Raab to Greece . Its first reported types ( to be produced ) were - or were related to - models from Raab ’ s previous company , including the " Pelikan " trainer and touring plane , the " R - 27 " single - seat fighter , the " Schwalbe ( I / II ) " and the " Tigerschwalbe IV " multi - role military aircraft . The first company " construction " was actually an old Raab - Katzenstein " Schwalbe Kl 1c " upgraded to " Schwalbe II " , and at least one complete " Schwalbe II " was also constructed . 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 " . Development and production of new aircraft types ; sales to Spain . In 1936 , Raab ' s design division in the Greek company designed some new types , such as the " R - 29 " and " Tigerschwalbe R - 26V / 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 complications of supplies to Spain in that period ( non - intervention treaty ) ; 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 Pyrkal , while KEA equipment were also used ) and shipped to Spain . Residents of Moschato described seeing truckloads of aircraft parts leaving the factory , obviously heading to ships destined for Spain , while others complained for the continuous noise made during testing of aircraft engines in the factory . Once in Spain , the local subsidiary undertook assembly and fitting of certain parts , in a former textile factory in Sabadell under Raab ' s supervision ( according to some reports , a number of planes were shipped from Greece almost completely finished , the only remaining step being fitting of engines and machine guns ) . According to Raab , a total of 60 ( i . e . , 30 of each type ) aircraft were almost 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 . Activities immediately before WWII and company dissolution . " AEKKEA " produced dozens of gliders on modified German designs ( " Gruene Post " , " Grunau Baby " and " Zoegling " 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 . A proposal to sell aircraft to the Greek Air Force was rejected , as the " AEKKEA " types were considered " not up to the desired standards " . This rejection , however , was probably more connected to politics than technology . Nonetheless , one aircraft ( probably a " Schwalbe " ) was being built for a Greek customer when the country was invaded by the Germans and the factory ceased operations , and could be seen , unfinished , in the site of the factory for years after the end of the war . During the German invasion , Raab escaped the country and eventually ended up in India , where he set up a short - lived aircraft factory ( it built 2 gliders ) . In 1949 , he returned to Europe , living in Germany and Italy until 1985 . " AEKKEA " was formally dissolved in 1951 .