aircraft, Polish

Like its other military forces at the outbreak of World War II, the Polish air force was gallant and determined but massively outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed. During the Blitzkrieg Invasion of Poland in September 1939, most of Poland's aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Nevertheless, Poland built one bomber and one fighter of note. P.Z.L. P.37 LosB. This twin-engine medium bomber was powered by a 918-horsepower Bristol Pegasus XX engine. Top speed was 276 miles per hour, range was 1,615 miles, and bomb load was 4,850 pounds. Three 7.7-mm machine guns provided (wholly inadequate) defensive fire. With a wingspan of 58 feet 10 inches and a service ceiling of only 19,680 feet, the P.37 fell easy prey to German fighters. Only 108 were built. PZL 11C. The PZL 11C was the principal Polish fighter. Its wingspan was 35 feet 2 inches, and it was driven by a single PZL-built Bristol Mercury 645- horsepower engine, which meant that it was perhaps the most underpowered fighter of the war. Top speed was 242 miles per hour at 18,000 feet. Armament consisted of four machine guns and two 12.3-kilogram bombs. Range was extremely limited: little more than 200 miles. The plane entered service in 1934, making it the oldest active fighter aircraft in Europe. See also Poland, air force of. Further reading: Cynk, J. B. Polish Aircraft 1893–1939. London: Bodley Head, 1979; Koniarek, Jan, Don Greer, and Tom Tullis. Polish Air Force 1939–1945. Carrollton, Tex.: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1994; Peczkawski, Robert, and Bartlomiej Belcarz. White Eagles: The Aircraft, Men and Operations of the Polish Air Force 1918– 1939. Mardens Hill, U.K.: Hikoki Publications, 2001.