Air Pictorial 1957-09
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Photos by request
PWS-10 (Podlaska Wytwornia Samolotow - Podlaslan Aircraft Manufacturing Establishment). The PWS-10 was the first Polish-designed fighter intended for the Military Air Service as a replacement for the numerous foreign-designed, Polish-constructed aircraft such as the Czech Avia and French S.P.A.D. and Wibauit fighters. A single-seater, the PWS-10 was first flown in 1928 and had a maximum speed of 152 m.p.h., climbing to 16,400 ft. in 15 min. 15 sec. for a gross weight of 3,290 ib. Service ceiling 21,300ft. Powerplant was a 450-h.p. Skoda/Lorraine twelve-cylinder, water-cooled inline with three banks of four cylinders arranged in "broad arrow" or "W" formation. Some sixty-five PWS-10 fighters were delivered to the Polish Air Force, eventually to be replaced by the PZL series, including the P.VII, P.XIA and P.XIC. The remaining PWS-10s were then transferred to fighter training and gunnery roles. Span 36ft. 0 in.; length 24 ft. 7 1/2 in.; height 8 ft. 6 in. Colour scheme: olive green overall, including undersides of wings and fuselage.
PWS-26. The PWS-26 was a two-seat advanced military trainer used in large numbers by the Polish Air Force before the war. A logical development of the earlier PWS-16bis and PWS-18, the PWS-26 possessed superior all-round performance. About two hundred and fifty units were built by the Biala Podlaska (PWS) plant from 1937 to 1939, when war broke out. The bulk of these attractive biplanes were destined for the Central Flying School (CWL) at Deblin, which boasted a central school and four satellite bases within a radius of ten miles. Powered by a 220-h.p. Avia-Wright Whirlwind radial, the PWS-26 had a maximum speed of 130 m.p.h. for an a.u.w. of 2,420 Ib. Climb to 3,400 ft. took 4 minutes, while service ceiling topped 14,400ft. Armament consisted of one forward-firing, fixed 7.7-mm. machine gun, plus two underwing 25-lb. practice bombs. A camera gun was fitted in the lower, port mainplane. Span 29 ft. 9 in.; length 22 ft. 11 in.; height 8 ft. 10 in. Several PWS-26 trainers were used by the Luftwaffe but none is known to have survived to this date. Colour scheme: olive drab overall, though some had sky-blue undersurfaces. Lettering and coding in black.