PZL P.11
| PZL P.11 | |
|---|---|
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|
| P.11 as on display in the Polish Aviation Museum | |
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer |
PZL IAR |
| Designer | Zygmunt Pulawski |
| First flight | August 1931 |
| Primary users |
Poland Romania |
| Number built | 325 |
| Developed from | PZL P.7 |
| Variants | PZL P.24 |
The PZL P.11 was a Polish fighter aircraft, designed in the early 1930s by PZL in Warsaw. It was briefly the most advanced fighter aircraft of its kind in the world. The PZL P.11 served as Poland's primary fighter defence in the Polish campaign of 1939, but with the rapid advances in aircraft design in the late 1930s (seen in such fighters as the Messerschmitt Bf 109), it proved outclassed by its rivals at the onset of the war.
The history of the PZL P.11 started in 1929, when Zygmunt Puławski developed an all-metal, metal-covered monoplane fighter. While most of the world's forces were still using biplanes, the new P.1 used a high-mounted gull wing to give the pilot a better field of view. A second prototype, the P.6, was completed the next year. The design generated interest around the world, with the layout becoming known as the "Polish wing" or "Puławski wing". A further improvement, the PZL P.7, was built for the Polish Air Force in a series of 150.
After designing the P.7, Puławski started further variants with larger engines, leading eventually to the P.11. The first P.11/I prototype flew in August 1931, after Puławski's death in an air crash. It was followed by two slightly modified prototypes, the P.11/II and the P.11/III. The first variant ordered by the Polish Air Force was the P.11a, considered an interim model and built in a series of 30. Otherwise similar to the P.7, it mounted the 575 hp (429 kW) Bristol Mercury IV S2 radial engine produced in Poland under licence.
The final variant for the Polish air force, the P.11c had a new, refined fuselage, with the engine lowered in the nose to give the pilot a better view. The central part of the wings was also modified. Production of the P.11c started in 1934 and 175 were produced. The first series of approximately 50 P.11c aircraft were fitted with Mercury V S2 of 600 hp (447 kW), the rest with Mercury VI S2 of 630 hp (470 kW).
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