The WZ.X was the Polish

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...

designed in the mid-1920s and manufactured in the Centralne Warsztaty Lotnicze (CWL) - Central Aviation Workshops in Warsaw. It was the first combat aircraft of own design built in Poland, in a small series.

Development

The aircraft was designed by

Władysław Zalewski Władysław Zalewski (21 January 1892 in Warsaw – 25 November 1977 in London) was a Polish aviation engineer, a constructor of aeroplanes and aeroplane engines. Arrested in 1940 by the NKWD he spent 18 months in Soviet camps. He was evacuate ...

, as his tenth design (Zalewski had already constructed aircraft for the Russian Air Force during the World War I). Work started in 1923, and the first prototype was flown in August

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

. Another airframe was built for static trials. Flight trials were successful: its performance was at least as good as the Breguet 19, and better than the

Potez 25 Potez 25 (also written as Potez XXV) was a French twin-seat, single-engine biplane designed during the 1920s. A multi-purpose fighter-bomber, it was designed as a line aircraft and used in a variety of roles, including fighter and escort mission ...

. However, maintenance was more difficult. In

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

, two pre-series aircraft were built (designated WZ.X/II, WZ.X/III), powered by

Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb The Lorraine 12E Courlis was a W-12 (broad arrow) aero engine produced by the French company Lorraine-Dietrich during the 1920s and 1930s. Variants ;12E: ;12Eb: ;12Ebr: ;12Ed: ;12Edr: ;12Ee: ;12Ew:The standard Eb fitted with a supplementary su ...

used by the prototype, with a fourth (WZ.X/IV) powered by a Gnome et Rhône 9A Jupiter radial engine with four-blade

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. The WZ.X did not enter serial production, because Poland had already bought many Breguet 19 aircraft from France, and started production under licence of the Potez 25 of the same class. Three WZ.Xs were given to aviation schools, where one or two survived in Dęblin until 1939.

Description

Wooden construction braced

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

, conventional in layout. A fuselage was semi-monocoque, elliptical in cross-section, plywood-covered. Rectangular two-spar wings, covered with canvas and plywood (in front), of equal span, slightly staggered. Ailerons on both wings, joined with struts. Strutted empennage, covered with plywood (stabilizers) and canvas (rudder and elevators). Crew of two, sitting in tandem in open cockpits, the first with a windshield. Conventional fixed landing gear, with a rear skid, the main gear with a common axle. Inline engine in front, driving two-blade tractor wooden propeller, with two round Lamblin radiators under the fuselage (in the WZ.X/IV - radial engine, with four-blade propeller and no radiators). Fuel tank in the fuselage. The pilot had two fixed 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns with an

interrupter gear A synchronization gear (also known as a gun synchronizer or interrupter gear) was a device enabling a single-engine tractor configuration aircraft to fire its forward-firing armament through the arc of its spinning propeller without bullets strik ...

, the observer had twin 7.7 mm Lewis machine guns on a ring mounting. Bomb load: unknown.

Variants

;WZ.X/I:First prototype powered by a

;WZ.X/II:Pre-series aircraft essentially similar to the WZ.X/I ;WZ.X/III:Pre-series aircraft essentially similar to the WZ.X/I ;WZ.X/IV:Pre-series aircraft powered by a Gnome et Rhône 9A Jupiter driving a four-bladed propeller

Specifications (WX.X/I)

References

External links