Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

PZL P.11

1932 GOLDEN AGE WORLD WAR 2

PZL Page 11 History

The PZL P.11 is a high-wing fighter that emerged from the Polish aviation industry during the interwar period. PZL ("Panstwowe Zaklady Lotnicze") managed almost all of the country's major aviation developments in the years leading up to World War II and served as its largest aircraft manufacturer. A total of 325 P.11s were eventually produced until Germany invaded Poland.

When Germany and the Soviet Union claimed victory, the aircraft was used in the country's ultimately failed defense. Nonetheless, the P. 11 sometimes proved to be a minority of German pilots, claiming at least 100 enemy planes in the raid.

Like other aircraft of the early 1930s, the P. 11 was a bit of a throwback to the early days of flying - its cockpit was open and the landing gear was fixed. The aerodynamically refined profile and metal-coated monoplane make it more modern than the cloth-wrapped wood biplanes of the First World War. However, by the end of the century, all world powers will eventually evolve into modern all-metal fighter jets with enclosed cockpits and retractable landing gear leaving designs like the P.11 in aviation history. In any case, the P. 11 was a solid product for its time and a necessary addition to the Polish defense.

It handles well, has comparable weapons to its class, and is a nimble firing platform. Its armament starts with 2 x 7.92mm machine guns with 500 rounds each.

The original prototype was the P.11/I, the first flight was recorded in August 1931. The aircraft is powered by a 515 hp French Gnome-Rhone Jupiter IX ASb engine. Then there was the P. 11/II prototype, which had a 530-horsepower British Bistrol Mercury IV A under a modified hood.

Subsequent work resulted in the production prototype P. 11/III, which installed Bristol as standard and whose overall design was modified to facilitate mass production of the PZL. The third iteration was the basis for the P. 11b ordered from the Romanian government. The aircraft was powered by a 525 hp Gnome-Rhone 9K Mistral engine (or the local Romanian I.A.R.

9K Mistral), and the brand's total production reached 50.

The P. 11/III ordered by the Polish Air Force were P. 11a, these only arrived after the Romanian order was completed. These presented the Polish Skoda Works Mercury IV S2 engine and a total of thirty aircraft.

The Polish Air Force was followed by an improved P.11c model with a more flexible weapons suite including 2 or 4 x 7.92mm machine guns.

Local Romanian production added P.11f under the I.A.R. branding label, these were done with a 9K Mistral engine (595 hp) and 2 x 7.92mm FN Browning machine guns. The P. 11g "Kobuz" is another Polish variant designed to fill the gap between the existing P. 11 fighter and the upcoming P. 50 Jastrzab ("Eagle") fighter.

Hunter carries 4 x 7.92mm KM wz. The 36-series machine gun was standard, powered by an 840-horsepower PZL Mercury VIII engine and housed in a modified airframe, but it only existed in prototype form until promising plans for the end of the German invasion progressed.

When the Germans invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 to officially begin World War II, the Polish Air Force had 152 P.11 fighter jets, 109 of which were in combat status. All but a few "quad guns" were armed with twin machine guns, and many were still waiting for their radios. The P. 11 did not perform well against a determined and experienced enemy, and did not perform well compared to the more modern German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter.

The P. 11 was the first plane to be shot down in World War II.

Although P. 11s are largely obsolete, they are inherently mobile against attackers and can deal a lot of damage when they have the advantage. Rough field combat is also one of the aircraft's advantages on the battlefield, demonstrating the rugged quality of the Polish design.

However, their legacy in the early 1930s eventually betrayed them, as they proved to be disastrous to German enemies, despite the considerable lethality achieved by Polish pilots in the P. 11.

Combat attrition reduced the number of P.11 service available by the end of the invasion. Poland was eventually divided into two by the Germans and the Soviets. A portion of the remaining Polish P. 11 stockpile was given to the Romanians for further service.

After their best fighting years, the aircraft line was only more or less in service than the trainers, and more modern mounts took their place.