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21-476: The aircraft was a final development of a series: PWS-12 , PWS-14 and PWS-16 , designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement for an advanced trainer. The chief designer was Augustyn Zdaniewski . The PWS-26 was a direct development of the PWS-16bis, sharing the same silhouette, being a more militarized variant - with strengthened construction, which allowed dive-bomber training. Contrary to its predecessors,

42-528: A PWS-26, he made a chasing Bf 109 crash near Lublin , by performing low-level manoeuvres, but there was no confirmation from the Germans. A single PWS-26 and two RWD-8s of the Independent Operational Group Polesie , were the last Polish aircraft in the sky during the campaign. They were grounded by General Franciszek Kleeberg on October 2, 1939. Some Czech pilots flew these aircraft during

63-410: A similar modification of the series being in production. It caused some financial problems for the factory, since a production of PWS-12s had already started. As a result, the factory delivered in 1932 a series of 20 PWS-14, marked officially as PWS-12 (military numbers 57.1 - 57.20). A further development of PWS-14 was PWS-16 , and then PWS-26 . The PWS-14s, officially marked as PWS-12s, were used by

84-567: Is currently preserved in the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków. Data from General characteristics Performance Armament 1 x 7.92 mm machinegun, 2 x 12 kg bombs (optional) Related development PWS-12 The PWS-12 was a biplane trainer designed and developed by Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów (PWS) . It entered production as the PWS-14 . The PWS-12

105-655: The PWS-14 trainer and the PWS-24 passenger aircraft were also made. The PWS-10 and PWS-24 were the first fighter and the first passenger plane of the Polish construction built in series, respectively. In 1929 the factory built a wind tunnel , the first in Poland. All PWS-designed aircraft had wooden or mixed construction. In 1932 the PWS was nationalized to prevent its bankruptcy. It then produced 500 RWD-8 trainers (designed by RWD ) and 50 of

126-500: The PWS-35 sports biplane were ordered into production but no aircraft were delivered before the outbreak of war. Lwowskie Warsztaty Lotnicze (LWL, Lwów Aviation Workshops ) was formed in October 1937 as a division of PWS. It built gliders, among others designated with letters PWS. Some 160 gliders were built before the war. After the outbreak of World War II, the PWS factory was bombed by

147-801: The Wright J-5 Whirlwind radial engine. Two prototypes and an airframe for static tests were ordered by the Aviation Department of the War Ministry in February 1928 (along with the PWS-11 prototypes). The first prototype was flown by Franciszek Rutkowski in November 1929. It was later improved - among others, a Townend ring replaced NACA cowling , and it was fitted with N-shaped struts between wings instead of perpendicular struts. The second improved prototype

168-675: The 1950s. Two were tested in Germany. A dozen or so were captured by the Soviets in Poland and also used by them for testing. Only one PWS-26 (Nr. 81-123) has survived. Captured by the Germans in September 1939, it was part of the German aviation museum, displayed with the Luftwaffe markings VG+AS. The aircraft was found in Poland after the war and used until 1953 by civilian operators with the markings SP-AJB. It

189-620: The British Avro Tutor under licence as the PWS-18 trainers. The factory then designed its own successful PWS-16 and PWS-26 advanced trainers, 320 of the latter built from 1936 to 1939. In 1936 the factory was subordinated to the Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL). It developed a series of projects for military planes, but they were not built due to outbreak of World War II . The PWS-33 Wyżeł twin-engine advanced trainer and

210-581: The Czech Avia BH-33 built under licence. It also produced 50 Bartel BM-4 trainers in 1931, designed by Samolot . In 1925, a design office was established which included, among others, Stefan Cywiński, Zbysław Ciołkosz , August Bobek-Zdaniewski. Despite a large number of prototypes, few were produced in series. The first aircraft of their own design to be mass-produced was the PWS-10 fighter of 1930 of which 80 examples were built. Smaller production runs of

231-585: The Germans, at least one was shot down by the Soviets on September 19. A large number of PWS-26s were destroyed on the ground by the Germans or burned by the withdrawing Poles. At least two were evacuated to Romania and 20 or so Latvia . This latter group were captured by the Germans - in 1941. After repairing, 50 or so were sold to Romania, and in 1943 Romanian Air Force had 56 of them. In 1944 some of them, fitted with bomblets, were used for night attacks. Some were used in civilian aviation, and were used in Romania until

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252-450: The PWS-26 could be armed with a forward-shooting machine gun and practice bombs. It also had other improvements and was capable of aerobatics . A visual difference from the PWS-16bis were the canvas-covered struts of the landing gear . The prototype was flown in 1935 . After trials, its production started in 1936 . By the outbreak of World War II in 1939 , 310 had been built. The PWS-26

273-703: The Polish Air Force from 1933 in the Officer Training Centre in Dęblin and a Flying School in Grudziądz . Most were next replaced by the PWS-16 and PWS-26 , some remained in use until World War II in 1939. The second prototype PWS-12bis (factory no. 358) was modified in 1931 to a role of an aerobatics aircraft. Among others, fuselage sides were made flat and a rudder shape was changed. It received markings SP-AKE and

294-424: The campaign on the Polish side. Account of Jan Falkowski of the above kill. "I was only 200 feet from the ground when I tried a trick. I put my plane into a dive, all the time watching one of the Germans who was trying to get on my tail. I did little twists and turns, not allowing the enemy to get me squarely in his sights. All the time we were getting closer and closer to the ground. I brought him to about 50 feet off

315-465: The ground and in the last second, dived again, then immediately pulled into a left turn. I missed the ground by a scat 10 feet, I figured. The German wasn't so lucky." (account of Jan Falkowski causing the Bf 109 to crash, taken from his auto biography "With The Wind In My Face"). According however to Marius Emmerling , this victory can not be attributed to particular German losses. Some PWS-26s were shot down by

336-562: Was a Polish aerospace manufacturer between 1923 and 1939, located in Biała Podlaska . Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów SA was created in 1923. The first aircraft produced were 35 Potez XV bombers for the Polish Air Force , under the French licence, built from 1925. By 1929 the company had produced 150 Potez XXV and 155 Potez 27 , under French licence, and 50 PWS-A fighters, which was

357-412: Was a single-engined two-seat training biplane, fit also for aerobatics, designed in 1928 by A. Grzędzielewski and August Bobek-Zdaniewski at the PWS factory. The design shared similar parts, including fuselage and engine, as a high-wing trainer fighter plane PWS-11 , developed at the same time. The main difference was the addition of a lower wing. It was powered by a nose-mounted Skoda-built version of

378-724: Was flown mainly by Lt. J. Orłowski. In March 1931 it was used in a trip to Estonia, and in April 1933 - to Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Then, both prototypes were used for several years as utility aircraft in Aviation Technical Research Institute (ITBL). They were later stored in Dęblin. Data from Glass, A. (1977) General characteristics Performance Related development Podlaska Wytw%C3%B3rnia Samolot%C3%B3w Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów (PWS; Podlachian Aircraft Factory )

399-410: Was flown on 18 November 1930, and designated PWS-12bis. Testing was successful and a production order for 20 aircraft was placed by the Polish Air Force. In a meantime, the factory developed improved model PWS-14, featuring a change from wooden to a steel-tube fuselage, strengthened wings and other improvements, like a door in first cockpit's side. The War Ministry ordered a production of one PWS-14 and

420-504: Was not a high number. After the German invasion of Poland , some PWS-26s were used in liaison flights , three aircraft in each, assigned to Armies (basic equipment of liaison flights was the RWD-8 ). They were also used in improvised liaison units. At least 45 were used in combat units during the campaign in total. The PWS-26 was mostly used as a replacement aircraft. According to a report by Jan Falkowski , on September 3, 1939, while flying

441-419: Was used in Polish military aviation from early 1937, becoming a standard type of advanced trainer for fighter pilots . It replaced most of the older PWS-14s, PWS-16s, PWS-18s (a licence-built Avro Tutor ) and Bartel BM-5d 's. They carried numbers starting with "81-". The PWS-26 was regarded as a successful aircraft, with good flight characteristics. During its Polish service, there were 10 fatal crashes, which

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