PZL Ł.2

PZL Ł.2
PZL Ł.2 "Afrykanka" sports aircraft
Role	Liaison aircraft
Manufacturer	PZL
First flight	1930
Retired	1935
Primary user	Polish Air Force
Produced	1930-1931
Number built	31

The PZL Ł.2 was the Polish Army cooperation and liaison aircraft, built in 1929 in the Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL) in Warsaw. Only a small series of 31 aircraft, including prototype, were made, and used by the Polish Air Force in the 1930s. The aircraft was known in Poland for accomplishing of a long-distance tour around Africa in 1931.

In 1927, the Polish War Ministry opened a contest for a military liaison and observation aircraft. It was meant to operate from casual airfields, used by Army land units. Jerzy Dąbrowski and Franciszek Kott from the PZL works proposed an aircraft, designated initially PZL.2. It was one of the first PZL designs, what was indicated by its low number. The first prototype was flown in early 1930 by Bolesław Orliński (later it received civilian registration SP-ADN).

In 1930 the aircraft was tested and evaluated by the Polish Air Force. Thanks to wing mechanization (flats and slats), it had short take-off and landing. It was very advanced combination of high-lift devices in world's aviation those days. A competing designs Lublin R-X and PWS-5t2, evaluated yet in 1929, were not satisfactory, so the Polish Air Force ordered 60 PZL.2. The aircraft took part in the second contest for an army co-operation aircraft in July 1931. In spite of advanced high-lift devices and all-duralumin construction of the PZL.2, the air force decided to choose a simpler, cheaper and quite satisfactory Lublin R-XIII plane.

An initial order for 60 PZL.2 was finally lowered to 30, which were built between April 1930 and August 1931. The designation changed then to PZL Ł.2 (Ł for "łącznikowy", liaison) or Ł.2a (following an early manner of PZL works to mark the aircraft purpose in designation, after a pursuit PZL P.1). Including the prototype, they carried factory numbers 55.1 - 55.31.

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