MajorTomski

OK for your weekend guessing pleasure please identify for me a warbird which

1. Was the first to have a fully glazed rear gunner position.
2. Its wing was mofified from a comercial product.
3. A good portion of the production line survived well into the '70 as executive transports. Infact 23% of the fleet is still around!

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

This is a guess, but if that many were turned into executive transports it may be because the military aircraft was developed from a commercial aircraft. Maybe the Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan? It certainly had the fully glazed turret. Thanks; Ernie P.


The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6–11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. This model saw military service during and after World War II in a number of versions including the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) C-45 Expeditor, AT-7 Navigator, AT-11 Kansan; and for the United States Navy (USN), UC-45J Navigator and the SNB-1 Kansan.
The Beech 18 is the most modified U.S.-certified aircraft design, with over 200 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) on record for the aircraft.
In addition to carrying passengers the aircraft's uses have included aerial spraying, sterile insect release, fish seeding, dry ice cloud seeding, aerial firefighting, airborne mail pick up and drop, ambulance service, numerous movie productions, skydiving, freight, gun- and drug-smuggling, engine test bed, skywriting and banner towing. The Model 18 was the first aircraft flown by Philippine Airlines, Asia's first and oldest airline. Many are now in private hands as prized collectibles.

MajorTomski

Good shot Ernie but no not the Beech 18 or any derriviatve of it

OK for your weekend guessing pleasure please identify for me a warbird which

1. Was the first to have a fully glazed rear gunner position.
2. Its wing was mofified from a comercial product.
3. A good portion of the production line survived well into the '70 as executive transports. Infact 23% of the fleet is still around!
4. One of the high speed features of this military aircraft was later put back on the civilian counterpart.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Let's see if this logic works. If a significant percentage survived, the production numbers must have been very low. If it was used as executive transport, it wasn't a very large aircraft. Let's see.... The Douglas B-23 Dragon? Thanks; Ernie P.


The Douglas B-23 Dragon was a development of the B-18A Bolo with a considerably refined fuselage and a tail gun position.

By the late 1930s, it was readily apparent that the performance of the B-18 bomber was rapidly rendering it obsolete. In an attempt to improve the performance of the B-18A, Douglas proposed that a pair of 1600 hp Wright R-2600-1 radials be fitted to a version of the B-18A to be designated XB-22. In spite of the substantial increase in power that was offered by the change in engines, the performance of the XB-22 still fell short of requirements and the project was abandoned before anything could be built.

As an alternative to the failed XB-22, Douglas proposed that the B-18 undergo a major redesign in which it would be fitted with the stronger wings of the DC-3 commercial transport and be equipped with a completely new and better-streamlined fuselage with a substantially larger fin and rudder. A pair of Wright R-2600 radials (that were to have powered the unbuilt XB-22) were to be used as the powerplants.

The USAAC was sufficiently intrigued by the Douglas proposal that they issued a change order in late 1938 in which the last 38 B-18As ordered under Contract AC9977 would be delivered as B-23s. Serials would be 39-27 thru 39-64. It was agreed that the usual prototype and service test phases would be skipped, and that all the aircraft would be delivered as production aircraft designated simply B-23.

The first B-23 (39-27) was completed in July of 1939, powered by a pair of 1600 hp Wright R-2600-3 radials. The fuselage of the B-23 was much less deep than that of the B-18A, and the vertical tail and rudder were much larger in area. This first aircraft had an unglazed nose, whereas later production aircraft were to have a glazed nose housing the bombardier's position plus a flexible 0.30-inch machine gun carried on a ball-and-socket mount. It was assumed that the higher top speed of the B-23 would make frontal attacks less likely, so a frontal turret was thought not to be necessary. Perhaps the most noticeable feature of the B-23 was the presence of a glazed tail gunner's position, the first to be installed on an American bomber.

The maiden flight of the B-23 took place from Clover Field at Santa Monica on July 27, 1939. After being evaluated by the Materiel Division at Wright Field in Ohio, the B-23 entered service with the 89th Reconnaissance Squadron based at March Field in California. The remaining 37 B-23s were delivered between February and September of 1940, replacing the Northrop A-17As of the 17th Bomb Group based at March Field. In service, the B-23 carried a flexible 0.30-inch gun on a ball-and-socket mount in the extreme nose, plus a 0.30-inch machine gun on a swing mount attached to the aft fuselage bulkhead and firing either through beam hatches or through a swing-down dorsal panel, a 0.30-inch machine gun firing through a ventral hatch, plus a 0.50-inch hand-held machine gun in the glazed tail-gunner's position. The aircraft also had provision for a camera mounted on the left hand side of the fuselage. The bomb bay could accommodate bombs of up to 2000 pounds in weight. The crew was sixpilot, bombardier, navigator, radio operator, camera operator, and tail gunner.

Although the B-23 was 66 mph faster than its B-18A predecessor and had a much better range, it was still clearly inferior to the Boeing B-17E, the first truly combat-capable version of the Fortress. The B-23 was slower than the North American B-25 Mitchell and Martin B-26 Marauder and was less heavily-armed. Consequently, the B-23 was never used in its intended bombardment role and never saw any combat overseas.

After the 17th Bomb Group's B-23s were replaced by B-25s, their B-23s were passed on to the 12th Bomb Group at McCord and to the 13th Bomb Group at Orlando. After Pearl Harbor, a few B-23s were used briefly for patrol along the Pacific Coast before being relegated to training roles.

Many B-23s were later used for various tests and experiments. B-23 serial number 39-028 was used in glider pickup tests in which a glider's tow line would be held off the ground between two poles and caught by a hook extending from underneath the rear fuselage of the B-23 as it flew overhead. 39-28 was also used by Emerson Electric to test various remotely-controlled turret arrangements. B-23 number 39-032 was handed over to Pratt & Whitney on August 20, 1940 to test the 1850 hp R-2800-5 engine in support of the B-26 and XB-28 program. 39-053 was used at Muroc Dry Lake in California as a controller for the Culver PQ-8 radio-controlled drone.

At least eighteen B-23s were modified as transports under the designation UC-67. Known serials are 39-029, 031, 034, 035, 039, 041, 043, 044, 047, 054/059, 061, 063, and 064.

After the end of the war, surviving B-23s and UC-67s were sold off as surplus. Many were refitted as corporate aircraft and were provided with a new and longer metal nose, full washroom facilities, plus accommodations for twelve passengers in two compartments. Several of these civil conversions were still flying in the late 1970s.

I am aware of four B-23s that still survive. B-23 serial number 39-037 is located at the Air Force Museum at Wright- Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. It was parked outside for several years, but has been recently moved inside for restoration. B-23 serial number 39-045 is on display at the Castle Air Museum in California. 39-036 is at the McChord Air Museum in Washington state. 39-051 is at the Pima Air Museum in Tuscon, Arizona.

MajorTomski

Bingo! That's it the B-23 Dragon. Back in the 70's there was one parked on the NW ramp at Lambert Field in St Louis, I often wonder what happened to the airframe.

Ok ErnieP puzzle us

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Thank you, Sir. Puzzle you? Well, maybe this will work for a little while. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.


What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1). Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

I don't know how long this will keep you guys puzzled, but it may prove to be interesting. Thanks; Ernie P.



This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.

What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1). Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

A morning clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.
.
What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

A noon clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.
.
What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

And an early evening clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.
.
What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

(6).Second prototype and production models had twin tails.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

And an early evening clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.
.
What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

(6) Second prototype and production models had twin tails.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

And a night time clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.
.
What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

(6) Second prototype and production models had twin tails.

(7) Engines were of foreign design, though license built.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

And a bonus to end the day. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.
.
What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

(6) Second prototype and production models had twin tails.

(7) Engines were of foreign design, though license built.

(8) Early in its life, several aircraft were lost due to technical problems; most of which seemed to involve the rudders.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

And a way early in the morning question. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.

What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

(6) Second prototype and production models had twin tails.

(7) Engines were of foreign design, though license built.

(8) Early in its life, several aircraft were lost due to technical problems; most of which seemed to involve the rudders.

(9) Noted for being able to operate from improvised airfields.

Herbs_007

The Dornier Arrow?

a65l

My Feedback: (17)

Do-17

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

No correct answers thus far. This next clue may not be unique to this aircraft, but there couldn't have been more than a couple. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.

What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

(6) Second prototype and production models had twin tails.

(7) Engines were of foreign design, though license built.

(8) Early in its life, several aircraft were lost due to technical problems; most of which seemed to involve the rudders.

(9) Noted for being able to operate from improvised airfields.

(10) First introduced in a salon.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

And a final clue for the day. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.

What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

(6) Second prototype and production models had twin tails.

(7) Engines were of foreign design, though license built.

(8) Early in its life, several aircraft were lost due to technical problems; most of which seemed to involve the rudders.

(9) Noted for being able to operate from improvised airfields.

(10) First introduced in a salon.

(11) There was considerable interest in the plane by other countries. Several ordered aircraft or received licenses and/or parts to build copies.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Another morning clue. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.

What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

(6) Second prototype and production models had twin tails.

(7) Engines were of foreign design, though license built.

(8) Early in its life, several aircraft were lost due to technical problems; most of which seemed to involve the rudders.

(9) Noted for being able to operate from improvised airfields.

(10) First introduced in a salon.

(11) There was considerable interest in the plane by other countries. Several ordered aircraft or received licenses and/or parts to build copies.

(12) Defensive armament, although typical for the day, proved to be weak.

SimonCraig1

The PZL.37B Łoś?

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

You got it, SimonCraig1; and you're up. The PZL.37 was arguably the best bomber in the world in 1938. Take it away, Sir. Thanks; Ernie P.


This was rather an interesting warbird. At one time, it was arguably the best of its type in the world. And, that time was a rather contentious time. Yet it is somehow rather an unknown.

What warbird do I describe?


Clues:

(1) Arguably the best in the world in its day.

(2) Yet almost an unknown.

(3) Very fast; very modern.

(4) Rather small for its range and payload.

(5) First prototype had a single vertical stabalizer.

(6) Second prototype and production models had twin tails; although the first ten aircraft in the production series had the single vertical stabilizer.

(7) Engines were of foreign design, though license built.

(8) Early in its life, several aircraft were lost due to technical problems; most of which seemed to involve the rudders.

(9) Noted for being able to operate from improvised airfields.

(10) First introduced in a salon.

(11) There was considerable interest in the plane by other countries. Several ordered aircraft or received licenses and/or parts to build copies.

(12) Defensive armament, although typical for the day, proved to be weak.

(13) The aircraft was a great success; but it had rather a short service life.

(14) It carried a heavier bomb load than most of its contemporaries.

(15) Double wheeled landing gear allowed it to operate from rough or unimproved airfields.

(16) Although it carried a heavy bombload, the actual size of the individual bombs was limited.

(17) Some of the bomb load was carried inside the wings.

(18) Low drag gave it faster speed than anticipated; and an airfoil shaped fuselage gave it longer range.

(19) A crew of four.

(20) Captured aircraft were tested by two different enemy nations.


Answer: The PZL.37 Los (Elk)


The PZL.37 Łoś (English: elk) was a Polish twin-engine medium bomber, used in the defense of Poland against the Nazi German Invasion in 1939. It is sometimes known as "PZL P-37" or "PZL P.37", but the letter "P" was generally reserved for fighters of Zygmunt Pulawski's design (such as the PZL P.11). The correct designation should be PZL.37.

The PZL.37 was designed in the mid-1930s at the PZL factory in Warsaw by Jerzy Dąbrowski.

The first PZL.37/I prototype, fitted with a single vertical stabilizer, flew on 13 December 1936. The second prototype PZL.37/II, with twin vertical stabilizers and other improvements, was accepted for production. The first 10 serial aircraft were produced in 1938 as the PZL.37A variant with a single vertical stabilizer, however. The next 19 interim aircraft were built as PZL.37A bis, with a twin tail. They all were powered by Bristol Pegasus XII B radial engines produced in Poland under licence.



PZL.37 Łoś - the second prototype

The main production variant, the PZL.37B (or: Łoś II), was fitted with the twin tail and newer Pegasus XX engines. Production of PZL.37B for the Polish Air Force started in autumn 1938. During the initial period of PZL.37 service, 2 prototypes and 6 serial planes, were lost in crashes caused by technical problems, mostly with rudders. After some structural changes, the PZL.37B became a fully reliable aircraft. By the outbreak of World War II, about 92 PZL.37s had been produced and given to the Air Force, and a further 31 were in different phases of production.

Before the war, the PZL.37B Łoś was one of the world's most modern bombers. It was able to carry a heavier bombload than similar aircraft, for example the Vickers Wellington, though the size of the bombs was limited. Smaller than most contemporary medium bombers, it was relatively fast and easy to handle. Thanks to a landing gear with double wheels it could operate from rough fields or meadows. Typically for the late 1930s, its defensive armament consisted of only 3 machine guns, which proved too weak against enemy fighters.

Starting with a presentation at a salon in Belgrade in June 1938 and in Paris in November, the PZL.37 met with a huge interest. For export purposes, new variants were developed: the PZL.37C with Gnome-Rhone 14N-0/1 engines of 985 cv (971 BHP, 724 kW), maximum speed 445 km/h and the PZL.37D with 14N-20/21 of 1,065 cv (1,050 BHP, 783 kW), maximum speed 460 km/h. In 1939, 20 PZL.37Cs were ordered by Yugoslavia, 12 by Bulgaria, 30 PZL.37Ds and license by Romania and 10, raw materials and parts for next 25 and license by Turkey and, finally, 12 aircraft for Greece. Belgian company Renard received permission for license production 20-50 aircraft for Republican Spain but resigned in 1939. Also Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Iran were negotiating. The Polish military weren't allowed a deal with Iran due to "lack of production abilities". The outbreak of the war prevented the production of these aircraft. At that time, PZL developed the next variant for the Polish airforce, the PZL.49 Miś, but this was not completed before the war. Having slightly bigger dimensions, Miś ("Bear") was to be fitted with Bristol Hercules II engines of 1,350 BHP (1,370 cv, 1,007 kW), maximum speed 520 km/h and an upper turret.

The aircraft was conventional in layout, all metal, metal-covered, with low-set wings and a twin tail. Originally a popular profile designed by Ryszard Bartel (also used in many other successful Polish airframes incl. PZL P.11) was planned for the aircraft; the need to store bombs inside wings forced modifications. Some publications claim the resulting profile displayed laminar-flow properties (one of the first in the world), but this is disputed - its shape which resembled laminar flow wings developed in later years, but this was largely fortuitous, and at any rate achieving the laminar flow regime would have required additional construction features (most importantly extremely smooth wings shaped with extreme precision) which the aircraft simply lacked. However, the profile did display lower drag than expected and the first A version had maximal speed 10% higher than the originally planned 360 km/h. The modified profile was viewed as highly successful and was later re-used for other projects (sometimes in further modified form; e.g. PZL.46 Sum, PZL.49 Miś, PZL.50).

The aircraft was quite small for its bomb load and range; it was allowed in part by a lift-generating, airfoil-shaped fuselage, which was another then-unusual feature (previously used e.g. on PZL.26 sports plane). It was much shorter and had smaller wings than many German and French counterparts; it was slightly larger than the Lockheed Model 10 Electra Amelia Earhart used. The crew consisted of four: pilot, commander-bombardier, radio operator and a rear gunner. The bombardier was accommodated in the glazed nose, with a forward machine gun. The radio operator sat inside the fuselage, above the bomb bay, and he also operated an underbelly rear machine gun. The main undercarriage retracted into the engine nacelles. The undercarriage was double-wheeled, with an independent suspension for each wheel. The plane was powered by two Bristol Pegasus radial engines. The PZL.37A had Pegasus XII B engines (normal power: 860 BHP (873 cv, 642 kW), maximum: 940 BHP (953 cv, 701 kW)), the PZL.37B had Pegasus XX engines (normal power: 905 HP (918 cv, 675 kW), maximum: 970 BHP (984 cv, 723 kW)).

The bombs were carried in two-section bomb bay in the fuselage (with space for 4 bombs) and 8 bomb bays in the central section of the wings (with space for 16 bombs). This arrangement of bomb bays imposed considerable restrictions on the types of bombs that could be carried, especially in the wing bays which were quite small as they had to fit between the ribs of the wing. The maximum load was (5,676 Lb) 2,580 kg (2 × 300 kg and 18 × 110 kg). Apart from two 300 kg bombs in one of the fuselage bomb bays, it could not carry bombs larger than 110 kg. With maximum loadout, most of the weight of the bombs was carried inside the wings. There were no provisions for mounting bombs on the outside of the aircraft. During the Invasion of Poland in 1939, 110 kg was the maximum weight used, since the 300 kg bombs were only available in small quantities, and difficult to load at improvised airfields with little infrastructure. 50 kg bombs were also used. Maximal bomb load taken from soft surface runways was reduced to about 800–1200 kg.

The Polish Air Force started to receive the Łos A in early 1938, with deliveries of the PZL.37B to operational units , slowed by delays in supply of the Pegasus XX engines and other equipment, in the autumn of 1938. On 1 September 1939, it had about 86 PZL.37s in total, but less than a half of those were used in combat. 36 PZL.37Bs were in four bomber escadres of a Bomber Brigade: the 11th, 12th, 16th and 17th escadres (two escadres with nine aircraft each, constituted a group, in Polish: dywizjon; the PZL.37 were in groups X and XV). The rest of the Bomber Brigade aircraft were PZL.23 Karaś. About 50 remaining PZL.37s were in the reserve XX group, training units or in repairs. Since only a few months were available to train the crews and complete the equipping of the bombers, the planes were not fully ready when the war broke out. For example, the extra internal fuel tanks were not in service, thus the maximum range of the bomber quoted in specifications was in practice not achievable.

Only the PZL.37s of the Bomber Brigade took part in combat. By 1 September, they had been deployed to rural improvised airfields, so they were not destroyed on the ground by the Germans in their initial attack on the main Polish airbases. However, because of this move away from developed airfields to short fields with poor surfaces, during the campaign the planes could take off with only a fraction of their maximum bomb load (typically 800 kg or 8 x 100 kg bombs), which limited their effectiveness. During the Invasion of Poland, from 4 September onward the planes of the Bomber Brigade were attacking German armoured columns in day attacks, forced by the desperate situation to perform this mission for which they were not designed (the original plans to bomb targets inside Germany were quickly abandoned). Most notably, they hampered the advance of the 16th Armoured Corps near Częstochowa and Radomsko. They suffered heavy losses due to lack of fighter protection, especially because they usually operated in units of no more than three aircraft at a time. The last combat flights took place on 16 September. During the campaign, the combat units were reinforced with several other aircraft, and about 46 PZL.37s were used in combat. Of Bomber Brigade, ten PZL.37s were shot down by fighters, five shot down by enemy anti-aircraft artillery, two bombed on the ground and a further ten lost in other ways. A number of not fully completed, training or reserve PZL.37s were also destroyed on airfields and in factories (18 PZL.37s were bombed in a reserve base in Małaszewicze and in a factory in Warsaw – Okęcie).

Twenty-six or twenty-seven PZL.37s (17 from the Bomber Brigade and ten training ones) were withdrawn in 1939 to Romania. In October 1940, they were seized by the Romanian government and 23 were next used by the Romanian air force in the 4th Group, consisting of the 76th and 77th bomber escadres. Some were uparmed with four machine guns (the Polish PWU machineguns were still used). About one third were lost in crashes due to lack of experience of Romanian pilots with the PZL.37's handling and its high wing loading, and due to engine faults. About 15 were used against the USSR from 22 June 1941. Among others, they first operated in Bessarabia, then they were bombing Kiev and Odessa. Some were lost, mostly due to anti-aircraft fire. Due to a lack of spare parts, the remaining planes were withdrawn from the front in October 1941 and used for training. In April 1944, the 76th escadrille returned to combat, with nine aircraft, but it was withdrawn from the front on 3 May 1944. After Romania joined the Allies, on 1 September 1944, German aircraft destroyed five PZL.37s on a ground.

Captured planes were also tested in Germany and the USSR. Not many PZL.37s fell into German hands (probably only two), because Polish workers scrapped about 30 PZL.37s remaining in factories in Okęcie and Mielec in October 1939, under the pretext of cleaning up the area, before the German authorities were able to reconnoiter.

General characteristics
Crew: 4
Length: 12.92 m (42 ft 5 in)
Wingspan: 17.93 m (58 ft 10 in)
Height: 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 53.5 m² (576 ft²)
Empty weight: 4,280 kg (9,436 lb)
Loaded weight: 8,865 kg with basic combat loading (19,526 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 9,105 kg (20,070 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Pegasus XX radial engines, 723 kW (970 hp) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 412 km/h at 2,800 m with 1,995 kg bomb load (256 mph at 9200 ft with 4,397 lb bomb load)
Range: 2,600 km (1,615 mi) with 1,760 kg bomb load and extra fuel tanks
Combat radius: 1,000 km (620 mi)
Service ceiling: 7,000 m (23,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 4.7 m/s (925 ft/min)
Wing loading: 166 kg/m² (34 lb/ft²)

Armament
3 x 7.92 mm karabin maszynowy obserwatora wz.37: 1 in the nose, 1 in the rear upper station, 1 in underbelly station
Up to 2,580 kg (5,690 lb) of bombs (18 x 110 kg + 2 x 300 kg). Basic load 20 x 110 kg = 2,200 kg (4850 lb). Bomb load while operating from unprepared fields 880–1320 kg (1,940–2,910 lb) (8, 10 or 12 x 110 kg)

As far as bombers are concerned, the Potez 25 and Breguet 19 were replaced by an all-metal monoplane, the PZL.23 Karaś, with 250 built from 1936 onwards, but by 1939 the Karas was outdated. In 1938 the Polish factory PZL designed a modern twin-engine medium bomber, the PZL.37 Łoś (Elk), arguably the best bomber in the world when it entered service that year. The Łoś had a bomb payload of 2580 kg and a top speed of 439 km/h. Unfortunately, only about 30 Łoś A bombers (single tailfin) and 70 Łoś B (twin tailfin) bombers had been delivered before the Nazi invasion.
PZL 37 Los (Elk)

SimonCraig1

Sorry for the delay, Hawaii time zones and all that... I'll post a question soon.

SimonCraig1

I'm looking for an airplane...

1. It had two engines counter rotating to reduce engine torque effects.

SimonCraig1

I'm looking for an airplane...

1. It had two engines counter rotating to reduce engine torque effects.
2. It was involved in 1949 incident with the People's Republic of China.

SimonCraig1

I'm looking for an airplane...

1. It had two engines counter rotating to reduce engine torque effects.
2. It was involved in 1949 incident with the People's Republic of China.
3. It used a specially modified version of a very famous engine to reduce drag.