April 3
The Navy announced that, budget permitting, they would locally-build two submarines in 1940, using the design of the French Daphne-class submarines. The boats will be named Akula (Shark) and Zmiorka (Eel).
April 14
The Bulgarian Navy has announced that inspectors have declared the torpedo boats Bulgarophygon and Ovche Pole, damaged on March 16th, as constructive total losses and recommended that they be scrapped.
May 6
As is recent custom, the Bulgarian Army made it's customary ceremonial march through Sofia and other major towns in celebration of St. George's Day. 1939's parade in Sofia was the largest in twenty years, with honorary contingents from nations around Europe invited to trail the Life Guards in the vanguard. For the first time, a Yugoslavian Army unit made an appearance. [1] Trailing the Life Guards and the foreign troops marched nearly ten thousand of the Fatherland's [2] finest soldiers, demonstrating for the first time in public much of the newly-received equipment that has been purchased for the Army. Most notable to spectators was the entire strength of the newly-formed Fourth Armoured Battalion, with sixty Atlantean-built AT-36 tanks and supporting equipment, and the even more impressive 13th Independent Armoured Squadron, with twenty AT-37 heavy tanks. Trailing the armoured formations came the artillery, with token complements of the Kanone 1935 L42, 76.2mm divisional guns, and ML-20 152mm Howitzer-Guns; then the infantry, with their Danish-made halftracks. The contingent from the Naval Rifle Regiment, notable for their black and white telnyashkas, took up the tail of the parade.
As the troops passed the palace - where Tsar Boris, Tsaritsa Ioanna, and Prince Kyril of Preslav (the tsar's brother) observed - the VNVV made an appearance with their customary intent to overshadow [3] the Army [4]. The VNVV pulled out all the stops to arrange an impressive display of aerial might, with over two hundred and fifty single-engine and fifty twin-engine machines passing overhead.
In Varna, the Navy also opened the battleship Varna to guided tours.
According to Bulgarian Army spokesmen, a total of approximately forty thousand troops, eight hundred planes, and one battleship participated in St. George's Day events around the country.
May 7
Dimitar Peshev, Deputy Speaker of the Sobranje, has been sent as a temporary special ambassador to Geneva to meet with Yugoslavian minister-without-portfolio Boris Furlan. The government has declined to comment at present about the outcome of the meeting, but political commentators have noted recent conciliatory comments to Yugoslavia from Deputy Prime Minister Marco Goleminov, apparently acting as a stalking horse for Tsar Boris and Prime Minister Georgi Kyoseivanov.
May 20
A visiting Canadian team once again proved victorious in the Second Annual Zamboni-Jousting Spring Tourney, held this year in Kazanlak. The Canadians defeated a German team 4-0.
After the tourney was over, the contestants lined their zambonis up outside, got their last set of lances, and chased a trolleybus filled with Bulgarian Association of People Against People Having Fun members. "It looked like the Charge of the Light Brigade," a visiting British journalist said.
In other sports-related news, a young American entrepreneur is running a thriving new business in Varna importing American-made surfboards.
May 26
The Bulgarian Air Force has announced an aerobatic contest and airshow to be held in Sofia on September 22nd of this year. This event, the Den na Nezavisimostta Otvoreno (Independence Day Open), is open to any country that wishes to send an aerobatic team. The Bulgarian Air Force will field a six-plane aerobatic team, Cheren Orel Eskadrila (Black Eagle Squadron), using Avia B534 biplanes [5], and also have a demonstration flight composed of the latest Bulgarian Spitfires.
Teams must announce their intent to participate by July 1st.
June 12
The Bulgarian Navy announced the capture of a trawler carrying ten tons of the dangerous hallucinogenic drug "borandis". The trawler was seen drifting for hours outside the three-mile limit, and the Bulgarian destroyer Pazardzhik inquired if the ship had suffered mechanical failure. When initial inquiries were not answered and the trawler attempted to steam further out into the Black Sea, the Bulgarian captain suspected a rat and ordered the trawler to heave to for inspection. Though the vessel flew an Italian flag, naval authorities have quickly concluded that the ship is not registered in Italy.
NB:
Further June news may potentially be added later.
[Note 1]: Yugoslavian contingent formed from the No.1 Coy, 1st Guards Infantry, No.3 Coy, 2nd Guards Infantry, one platoon, No.13 (AT) Coy 3rd Guards Infantry, one platoon, No.14 (IG) Coy 3rd Guards Infantry, one troop, 7th Armoured Cavalry Regiment.
[Note 2]: Unlike their fellow Slavs in Russia and elsewhere, Bulgarians use "Fatherland" instead of "Motherland".
[Note 3]: Pun totally intended.
[Note 4]: There's no rivalry as unrivaled as inter-service rivalry.
[Note 5]: Low-hours planes acquired unarmed from Czechoslovakia specifically for this purpose.